Birthday Party on a Budget

My son just turned 11 this year so we decided to throw him a Birthday party at Chilly Willie’s, which is a frozen yogurt shop. Since two of his Aunts work there it seemed to work out. Although, since my son is in that in between stage of growing up, where he is not into toys as much as he was and more into pre-teen things, it was hard to come up with things to entertain him and his friends. So set out on a mission to throw a party on a budget.

Since his Birthday is close to Halloween we decided to do grab bags with little Halloween goodies. We went to our local Dollar tree and got some fun little critters, stickers, and pencils for his grab bags. We also got a few bags of candy from the grocery store. The best part, the leftover candy we could use for games, or for trick or treaters when Halloween does finally creep up. Or you can just enjoy a few pieces yourself.

After the grab bags were handled it was time to figure out some things to entertain all the kids. So we decided to fill a jar up with candy, and have the kids guess how many candies were in the jar. Our jar we used was a pickle jar, which held 40 candies. Depending on which candies you use and what size jar you have available will determine how much you could fit in the jar. However guessed the right amount or close to it, won the jar of candy. Although, we made a mistake in planning this candy jar game; two of the kids guessed the right amount, so I advise you to have a back up prize. We gave one of the kids an extra grab bag.

The next game or activity we had was Styrofoam pumpkins that you can carve with plastic knifes or something similar. We picked up these pumpkins at our local Dollar Tree, but I am sure your local arts and craft store may carry them as well. This project kept the kids entertained, and they had a lot of fun creating their own pumpkins that they could take home with them. 

After the candy jar game, and the pumpkin craft, it was time for cake and frozen yogurt. We filled up two 20oz cups with vanilla and chocolate yogurt. This way we can distribute the yogurt and cake between everyone, which worked out very well. We served 12 kids.

Being a family on a budget can be hard, especially when you want to give your kids the best. But, this is still possible without having to spend an arm and a leg in doing so.