birthdays are some of the most expensive occasions in the year. Of course, we don’t feel begrudging of treating our nearest and dearest to the finer things in life one day a year – but it can be a little taxing on the wallet, particularly if you have a big family. Here are some tips to help you save on money for your family birthdays this year.
The Gifts
First of all, it’s crucial that you set yourself a budget and that you don’t let yourself go over it. One way to make sure that you don’t spend more than you mean to is to withdraw the money in cash from the bank before you go shopping – it’s so easy to spend more than you intend to if you’re using your credit card! It’s also a good idea to talk to whoever’s celebrating a birthday and ask them what they actually want so you can make sure that whatever you get them will be used and appreciated. No one likes to give or receive gifts that aren’t particularly wanted or needed.
The Party
If you have kids and you’re wondering how to keep the costs down at a birthday party, then hold it mid-afternoon so you don’t have to provide either lunch or dinner. That way you can go for snacks instead like bowls of potato chips, chopped up vegetables and cookies instead of having to produce burgers or pizza. When you’re considering your party theme, go for invites that can be printed off rather than bought like these ones from Adobe Spark, and make sure that you don’t make the guest list too extensive. You could also consider having your party at home instead of hiring a hall, but make sure that you cover the floors and put away any furniture or items that you don’t want to get ruined! If you usually hire an entertainer then why not research party games yourself? You might not be making any balloon animals any time soon, but anyone can pause a CD and turn it back on again to play a rousing games of musical chairs or wrap up a gift in a million layers of newspaper for Pass The Parcel. You could also get the kids to go nuts on an art project like decorating cheap T-shirts or paper wings.
The Decorations
One of the best ways to keep costs down at birthday parties is to cut back on the décor. This doesn’t mean that you have to have a complete somber space – on the contrary, why don’t you just ditch a theme for this year’s party and pick out party pieces that you can use again in the future? No one wants to be left with a huge stack of Frozen paper plates and napkins that they’ll never get out again (or be persuaded to use at every meal for the next week…). Make your own decorations like pasting together coloured paper to make paper chains and blowing up balloons instead of buying expensive helium ones.
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