Creative Partying (w/ a Budget)

I know I've been talking about saving money

I threw my son his 3rd Birthday party back in December

His first two birthday parties were very low key with family

This year I wanted to go all out for him

Mainly because I know he is so amazed by things now

I kept envisioning the joy on his face when he would walk into the room.

I try and be a thrifty person all the time

Our economy has forced my family to watch what we spend even more

So I thought over the next week I'd share a few of the things I did to save money

and still have a totally decked out party.

Step One:

Choose your Theme 

You don't have to choose characters and Pre-made decorations

I love to remind people to think "outside the box"

If your little boy loves tractors

You don't have to have decorations w/ tractors stamped all over them

Use green tablecloths,plates,and plastic ware (Green pastures)

Throw down an old straw beach mat on the floor (hay)

Pin the Tail on the donkey - definitely appropriate

Plastic toy tractors and farm animals

 If your little girl loves Butterflies

Use her favorite color for tablecloths,plates,and plastic ware

Lots of flowers - silk or paper.

Make copies of flowers and paste them on the walls

Make copies of butterflies and hang them from your ceiling

(let your kids color them)

Pin the butterfly on the flower

The ideas can be endless and your party will be unique.

If you feel you just aren't good at brainstorming

The best thing to do is use the Internet !

We chose Spongebob as our theme

I spent hours Googling SB party ideas

There is so much to be found

The best part is

You can chose what you feel most capable of

How much you want to do

How much you want to spend.

From decorations to food

Make a list of your favorite ideas and keep them in a notebook...

Part two tomorrow..

I will also be participating in Thrifshare tomorrow

so I will have two separate posts!

Loved Deeply - Photo Challenge

Todays theme is Loved Deeply

part of Jeanne O's
All Four Love

photo challenge

Here are a few pics of my lovies

The Daddy

The Builder

The Teaser

The Model

The Player

The Thinker

Who do you Love Deeply?

Coming Attraction

This weekend

Partying PreSchool style on a budget

Happy Friday!

Just wanted to share with you an amazing

supplier of lots of vintage

and just fascinating things

for artisans and just those who like to collect

Reginasstudio

http://www.etsy.com/people/reginasstudio

Love these cute bright playing cards

All kinds of curiousities..

Have fun browsing..

See you tomorrow with the photo challenge!

Challenges....

If you are like me and love art

Here is a challenge from fellow blogger

Jeanne Oliver

(check her out at http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2011/01/)

Every Friday for the next month

there will be a challenge that you can participate in

If you'd like to see my contribution

check out my blog this Friday and look at other entries on Jeanne O's site

This challenge is called "Loved Deeply"

Anyone you love

kids

parents

grandparents

your mailman

your Barista

your Hygienist (hee-hee)

whoever is special to you in your everyday life.

I can't wait to see some of the pics

Hope you will come back

to see

some beautiful photographs

Jeanne O's sight has details for the link up

Happy Wednesday!

A question of Creativity...

Just like most people I am on a budget right now.

The year I got pregnant with our son

 I unexpectedly had to leave work at 5 mos.

That year was tough ,

but taught us a lot.

One year later we had the great economic downturn and are surviving on one salary again.

They always say things happen for a reason .

Had we not had the experiences we had the year I was expecting ,

this past year may have been unbearable,

but we were prepared.

I feel creativity is not just a word you apply to artists.

People are creative in all sorts of ways.

For instance

How often have we had to turn getting our kids to pick things up into a game?

Turning foods they have turned their little noses up at

into something fun that eventually got them to gobble it up?

 (forgive me - I can't get this photo to rotate..I have long way to go w/ the technical skills!)

Yes that is a banana clown atop a muffin....

I have heard so many people say they cut back on gifts for holidays this last two years.

They aren't eating out as much.

They don't make as many trips around town - they cover more ground in one go.

Two things

What is so wrong with  any of these?

I know in the last few years my time has become more precious to me.

Time with my family, time to get things done, time to relax.

Instead of going out to eat we decided to make it fun.

We decided to spend one of those evenings cooking something

we've always wanted to try.

We use less gas and get more time to play.

I got almost obsessive about coupon clipping

When the double or triple coupon sales happened

it became a competition.

You should see the serious Bargainistas who have binders

with baseball card laminates with coupons in them.

I tell you what though...

that creative budgeting put MORE food in my pantry

than we had ever had

and I spent less!

Then I had the money to spend on other things

that some people were cutting back on.

After all that I wasn't going to just spend it on anything.

I was going to be just as thrifty with that cash.

I picked holiday gifts up from September through December.

I bought clearance and sales and made a few things myself.

I think anyone can learn to get what they want if they

put the time and effort in to it.

I don't want to come off with an air of "I am so great"

We have had to struggle and still do.

I just remember so many stories from both of my Great Grandmothers and Aunts

of growing up during The Great Depression

 I am so thankful for what we do have now.

I guess I want to rely on myself a bit more

because I know what we used to spend

and what I have learned we really need to survive.

Someone made a comment about my spending habits once recently.

They wondered why I was spending on "luxuries"

when we are living on one salary.

I didn't indulge them in explaining myself because I don't fell I have to.

Then I thought it was funny because

I have people thinking I am buying frivolous things because I have money to burn.

It made me feel good because I have made what I do have

go such a looong way!

Now that I have gone on...(are you bored yet?)

I'd like to start offering up a few tips every week for thriftiness...

Not major investing advice

Every day things I have learned

That have made my dollar go 2 or 3 times farther than it ever has before.

Thrifty Tuesday?

What do you think?