I'm so upset, I could cry, please help regarding Birthday party.

*Sparkle*_3

I sent some kids home with no party bags this year for my daughters 7th birthday, mainly because i had spent so much money on taking her out and presents that i couldnt be bothered to do bags.
The previous year we had a huge party with over 30 kids and i made party cups which consisted of a plastic cup filled with little sweets like marshmellows,a glitter pencil, balloons and other little bits, wrapped the cup with celephane and tied it at the top with a ribbon,they looked very effective and they were cheap. brought all the bits from poundland.
Go to asda or another supermarket(i recommend asda for cheap range) and go for all of their value range, you can get 3 packs of sweets for £1 big bag of lolly pops for under 50p, you can get the chocolate/strawberry log sponge cakes for 27p for a pack of them, you can get 6 rasberry tarts for around 30p
bag of carrots and cucumber chopped for dipping, could make your own dip get some mayo add lime to one dip, mint to another put them in little pots.
Jelly is really cheap, you can get some good cheap vanilla value icecream too.
Make your own potatoe salad and colslaw, very cheap to make.
sandwiches are great for kids, you could even do jam filling.

Make your daughter a birthday cake, i did this last year,although i did it for the attention ,no one could believe i made her cake
I made a 3 tier cake which had iced flowers all over and lots of sparkly edible glitter!

Plus if anybody ask's would you like me to help, just say to them please bring a dish of food.It's not rude to ask, actually its standard practice at most of our family parties,even when your not strapped for cash.

Oh and another is Macoroni cheese done the caribbean way, very cheap dish.
Pack of macoroni costs under 50p.
Cook macoroni as directed on packet.
To make a cheese sauce, melt the butter,slowly add milk and plain flour and grated cheese mix all together gradually in heated pan once sauce has good consistancy put with cooked macoroni into oven proof dish, add some grated cheese for the top and cook on 200c for 30 mins.
Lovely dish and so cheap, my kids love it.

Becles

Most of the supermarkets have BOGOF and 2 for £x offers on treat size chocolate bars and little bags of Haribo type sweets in the Halloween promotions. A couple of bags would give each child 2-3 sweets to take home, which is more than enough.

I also second all the home made party food comments. Keep it simple with finger foods for the children and let the adults eat the leftovers.

hjb123

Sorry to hear of your situation.

If I were in that position I would visit both Aldi/Lidl and the pound shops - it is amazing how much stuff you would be able to get for your £20.

Is there any grandparents/friiends/family that could help out?

curlyfairy

Sorry to hear of your problems.tbh the kids don't need party bags at 2 .Maybe send them home with some cake?
My eldest daughter turned 6 in september and she asked for a Build a Bear party so we organjsed it all for 8 friends,she then in the school playground asked my wife where the invites were for her friends but lots of other friends where standing with her,they are in the car my wife replied quickly.In the end we had about 18 kids and it cost over £250.Oh well,she had a great time and thats what matters and its only money,I thought thats what CC's are for LOL.

Ben.

Kimmywim

You guys thanks so much for all your ideas, you have given me so much inspiration, especially loving the "Party Cups" and printable games and things. I suppose that I could ask familt to bring a dish, I just thought that they might think it was strange, as they all seem to think that because my husband has got a promotion we are rolling in it!!

I have cellophane and ribbon so am definately gonna make my own party cups and will visit the pound shops for little bits, the food i feel more confident about but am still gonna put a thread on money saving old style for cheapo buffet food, I feel so much better about my situation now, I just suppose I felt so daunted.

the kiddies that are coming will be ranging from 1year to 3 years, so are very young. If anyone has any other ideas/suggestions that would be amazing!


:T Kim x

*Sparkle*_3

Kimmywim wrote:

You guys thanks so much for all your ideas, you have given me so much inspiration, especially loving the "Party Cups" and printable games and things. I suppose that I could ask familt to bring a dish, I just thought that they might think it was strange, as they all seem to think that because my husband has got a promotion we are rolling in it!!

I have cellophane and ribbon so am definately gonna make my own party cups and will visit the pound shops for little bits, the food i feel more confident about but am still gonna put a thread on money saving old style for cheapo buffet food, I feel so much better about my situation now, I just suppose I felt so daunted.

the kiddies that are coming will be ranging from 1year to 3 years, so are very young. If anyone has any other ideas/suggestions that would be amazing!


:T Kim x

Rrrrrr i'm glad you feel better, dont forget to make a little list or two or three if your anything like me;) and anything you see and think is a good idea write it down, as organising a party can get quite overwelming at times.
I've had so much practice at doing party's now i really enjoy it...
you could even get the little ones to make their own party hats,if you dont mind the mess, get long strips of card, some glitter,prit stick and foil bits to stick on and let them decorate their own hats.

nickyc_2

good luck with the party, hope it goes well...if you want ideas for party bag contents try this..
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=270029

It might not be the right time of year, but do any friends have a bouncy castle you could borrow? we asked recently and found loads of them did (find a friend with an electric pump!) kept kids amused for ages.

squibbs25

call me scrooge if you wish, but my dd turned 4 Saturday last week, i never held a party for her!
We kinda did a 'family thing' as in, i didnt know what family was turning up when so i made some egg mayo / ham sandwiches, cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, crisps, iced jems and a little selection of party rings and choc cakes. The only main 'expense' was the cake @ £6.99 LOL a fifi flowertots one.
The idea was that if anyone was here for the birthday lunch they could join in.
As it happened, my mum and dad, dh's nanna, my sister + 2 kids turned up all within 25 mins of each other

Dont fret to much, the most important thing is that you enjoy your daughter's birthday.

hjb123

Dont forget with kids that age alot of the food may get left anyway! You could make sandwiches and cut them into nice shapes and the bits that are but off use as dips with carrots or other veg

hilstep2000

It was my sons 16th in September. It cost me £17 for 5 boys. DVD's and Playstation, bucket of KFC to eat, and a home made birthday cake! I took a photo of them all together, and printed them off which they all took home. They had a great afternoon and evening!