As you all know Charlee Ann is turning 1 and we are trying not to spend a fortune on something she won’t even remember!! So I have been racking my brain on things we can save money on. I have come up with a small list of ideas and am looking for ideas from you all to help me. I hope the list below helps you and feel free to leave your own ideas as well!! π
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Invitations-I know these can be quite cute but invitations end up on the fridge until the event and then they get thrown in the trash! How about making your own invites! Or making a few phone calls may work as well. We will be having Charlee Ann’s Birthday at my moms house 3 hours away from here and it will be all family so they will be getting a phone call. Unless I make my own but it depends on how Charlee Ann’s ear infections go! π
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Cut down on the people you invite– I am not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings here but really?? If you invite the whole class at their school or every kid you have ever come in contact with you may as well just hand over your checkbook! All a bunch of people will do is stress my kid out and then it is no longer about them is it? Then it turns into a party about us! Be selective and cut down a bit. You don’t want to leave out any special people but don’t invite the whole world.
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Don’t Feed everyone– Plan your party to happen at a time when everyone has already eaten. Maybe from 2-4 pm then you just need to supply cake and ice cream and not a 7 course meal! Maybe a few bowls of chips and nuts and that will be all you need!
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Skip the treat bags-When my children bring home a treat bag they usually snap up the candy pretty quick and the rest gets thrown around my house making a mess. It almost always ends up in the recycle bin or the trash. They are cute but you don’t really need them. Try turning the theme of the party into a treat. If you have a cookie making party then they take home a few cookie’s for a treat. If you make a craft then that will be the treat. I am thinking that Charlee Ann is going to have a swimming pool party. Now she is only going to be 1 so we are going to fill a wading pool and the adults will sit around sticking their feet in the Β water and we can all have a squirt gun and Charlee and Alicia and their cousins can play around in the little pool and then the kids can take home a squirt gun when we are finished! π
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Reuse-Use what you already have at home to make the party. Do you have tons of board games?? Throw a board game party. How about some paper bags and a computer sitting at home. Why not make a scavenger hunt list and have the kids go on a hunt.
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Cake– Make your own cake! Have you tasted the ones they sell at the store? Yuck! Make your own and it not only tastes better but you will save tons of money and it throws a personal spin on the party. Once Alicia’s dad and I made our own Veggie Tales cake for Alicia and it was the funniest looking thing you ever saw but Alicia loved it! She got to help make it and she remembers to this day and she is now 12 and it was for her 3rd Birthday! π
My daughter Alicia just turned 12 and Charlee Ann will be 1 in a month! My two girls are my life!:) How do you guys save money while still having some great family time on your Birthday’s???
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