Tips for Creating Stylish but Affordable Birthday Bashes

The economy is making it hard for a lot of people right now but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate birthdays with style. If you need to create a birthday party for someone you love, these tips will help keep expenses down, while still creating a party everyone will remember:

Be Creative with the Party Theme

Why not try something different, like a theme that can be implemented without breaking the bank for your guests or you? For a children’s party, the guests can bring low-cost items that would be appropriate for a  homeless shelter that serves families or a local animal rescue organization. If you call the organization in advance, you can compile a list of low-cost items that can be included with the invitations you send to your guests. Suggest that they wrap the gifts as usual and then the entire party can meet at the organization to deliver them. This would not only be meaningful for everyone involved but it would also give children first-hand experience with how good it feels to give to others.

For adults, you can help your guests save money by having a recycling/re-gifting party. Most people have at least one gift in their closets that they’ve been given but don’t want, so let them wrap them up and give them again! Make sure to let them know who is coming to the party though, so people don’t bring gifts they got from someone who’ll be at the party! If you’re worried about hurt feelings, this idea also works well for items that people have bought new on impulse but never used. The gifts should be limited to a dollar amount that’s appropriate for the group, so people at all income levels can participate.

Make Your Own Birthday Party Decorations and Invitations

The Internet has an unbelievable selection of printable birthday invitations for kids and adults. So why spend money on invitations from a party or stationary store when printing them at home is so easy and inexpensive? There are also lots of birthday clipart options online, which make perfect party decorations. If you can find high resolution art, you can make banners or signs. If you can’t find the right kind of clip art, you have the option of decorating flower arrangements or plants with clip art cut-outs or making table place cards. If you like antiques, try printing and cutting out various vintage greeting cards and tie them with fancy ribbons to a string that forms a garland. This will create a distinctive old-time feel and make the room look great! To finish off the vintage theme, get intentionally mismatched plates, glasses and silverware at a thrift store to use in place of plastic and paper partyware.

The most important thing to remember when trying to save money on a birthday party is that you need to be creative. If you infuse style into your party plans, no one will ever know you did it on the cheap!

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