Your little space explorer will absolutely love getting Astronaut Food at their Space party! You can also use these in a lunch box for an awesome surprise!
The best part? They’re FREE!
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When planning a party with kids, it’s a good idea to have something to entertain them. They are more likely to have fun, it can help keep them out of trouble, and the adults can better enjoy the company of the other guests. Below is a list of 12 inexpensive ways that you can entertain kids when you’re hosting a party.
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Chalk
How much more simple can it get than chalk?! If you’ve got a sidewalk, slab of concrete, chalkboards, or even a simple wooden fence, you can let the kids imaginations go crazy without having to worry about a giant mess to clean (Thank you rain!).
One of the best parts is that you can buy chalk for next to nothing!
If you like to DIY and really want to save money, you can easily make your own chalk with egg shells!
Amazon has some decent priced boxes of chalk in bulk if you want a lot of chalk for your party.
Crayons
Another super simple way to inexpensively entertain kids at a party is with crayons. Whether you have a large piece of butcher paper taped to the table or print party themed activity sheets, pretty much all kids love to be creative with crayons!
There are so many different kind of printables out there that will easily keep kids entertained. From BINGO, to coloring pages, to crafts. Perusing Pinterest might land you with some free options, but if you can’t find something specific on there, check out Etsy! There are so many amazing printable shops that sell printable kids games, pages, and crafts at cheap prices!
What kid doesn’t love bubbles?! You can give each kid individual bubble wands as party favors or set up a bubble station where they can refill their containers.
To simplify it even more (or if you have a lot of tots running around that’ll just dump the bubbles instead of blowing them) then opt for a bubble machine instead. These might be a little more expensive, but if you have one already laying around then it’ll definitely be a cheap option for entertaining the kids!
Here is an awesome bubble solution that makes 5 gallons of bubbles which would provide hours of fun for a great price!
These mini star wands would be easy to incorporate into a kids party!
Bean Bag/Ball Toss
If you have a cardboard box and something to cut out holes with, you can make a fun bean bag/ball toss game to match your party theme! You can paint a character on it or just turn it into a simple bullseye target.
Really, you can use anything you have laying around that kids can throw bags or balls into/ through. Cans, cups, baskets… Get creative and have fun!
If you don’t want to make your own game, here is a bean bag/ring toss kit that is ready to use!
Balloons
I can’t tell you how many hours of fun balloons have provided for my kids. They’ve played “Keepy Uppy”, popped them with their butts, tossed them in baskets and boxes, and even decorated them with stickers and markers.
Balloons are definitely an inexpensive way to entertain kids and the best part is that you can easily double them for party decor!
Needing balloons? I’ve found an awesome bulk bundle of those for you too! I’ve used these for my parties in the past and all the kids had a lot of fun with them!
Obstacle Course
Obstacle courses are also easy to make with items you have around the house!
Tape can be put on the floor in different patterns for kids to walk on, jump over, etc. Boxes can be used as tunnels. Wood can be made into balance beams. String can be taped to walls for kids to climb through.
Just see what is available in your home and you’ll be able to entertain kids at your party practically for free!
Pretty Real shows a perfect example of how you can use many different objects to make an obstacle course.
If you need a little help getting started, here is a game kit that you can use for your obstacle course. I think the medals would be an awesome addition to help motivate the kids!
Tic-Tac-Toe
A childhood favorite: Tic-tac-toe! You can take a piece of wood and paint some stones to make a quick, but fun tic-tac-toe game. If you want something easier, paint some beans and make a tic-tac-toe board on a square of cardboard. You could also use cereal, noodles, or stones. Whatever you have around the house can work!
This is an easy game to personalize and send home with your guests as party favors!
Bowling
This is another game that is easy to reuse items around the house! Tin cans, water/soda bottles, plastic cups.. Anything you can stand up and then knock down with balls.
Scavenger hunts are easy to do when you have a themed party! You can make a fun printable page with pictures for each of the kids and send them around the party site to find those party themed items!
Canva is my go-to for making simple pages like this. Just find graphics that match your theme that the kids can find (or upload your pics if you took special pics for the hunt) and then put them on your paper wherever you’d like them. The kids can circle or mark through the items as they find them.
If you have older kids, make it more challenging by having them use a phone or camera to take a picture of each item they find.
If you have access to a sand box (or can make one), these are easy kid entertainment centers. Trucks, dinosaurs, blocks, animals… so many items can be played with in a sandbox! Bonus points if you can match it to your party theme!
Sugar Spice & Glitter made a blog post about different sand options and many can be used for themed parties!
Water Fun
Water table, water buckets, water guns, water balloons, sponges… If your guests are fine with kids getting wet then you can incorporate many different kinds of water play into your Summer parties to keep kids busy (and work all of the sugar out of their bodies!)
Here is a fun blog by Mama Cheaps that shows many options that can be used for your birthday parties!
Let me know if I’ve inspired you in some way! I’d love to hear what cheap ideas you’ve used to entertain kids at your own parties!
Are you wanting to host a party for a special occasion, but you’re maybe feeling a bit lost because you’re needing to stick to a budget? Let me help you find simple ways to cut the costs associated with hosting parties and give you some tips and tricks for making your party fun so you and your guests can make some awesome memories no matter what your budget is!
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Timing
When you’re planning your party, the time of day can make a big difference in how much money you spend.
Try to plan the party around the most comfortable times of the day according to the season. I love throwing outdoor parties because I am able able to tie in elements of nature with my decor, and I am able to entertain more people comfortably. If the weather is hot, I plan an evening party and plug in a few fans around the party area. If the weather is cold, then I do it during hours of sunshine.
When considering timing, don’t forget to take rain in to consideration for any outdoor party and have a Plan B if you’re planning an event in a rainy season.
The time of day also can make a difference in how much you spend on food.
You will spend more on food if you plan a party during lunch or dinner times. If you have a party in between meal times you are able to serve simple snacks and appetizers (bonus points if they go with your party theme!) and it can easily help keep costs down.
Which brings us to our next topic…
Food
It is so easy to go over budget when buying party food. I highly recommend finding party food items that are cheap or on sale.
I have so much fun matching my menu to my party theme! When I’m planning my parties, I like to challenge myself to find cheap food items that I can prepare or label in a way that goes with whatever theme I’m doing. I can turn fruit into a turkey for Thanksgiving or have simple “Meaty-or” meatballs for a space party. In the picture below I mostly used labels to tie in my Splash Pad party theme.
The week of the party, check out your local grocery ads. See what is on sale and check out available coupons.
Then I would highly recommend jumping on Pinterest to see if there are party foods or food displays you can make with those sale items.
If you’ve got a deep freezer and pantry space (and you’re planning your party with plenty of time to spare) you can keep an eye on sales each week and buy your food items over time so you aren’t limited to only one week’s sale items.
Discounted Party Supplies
When looking for paper goods, decorations, or other party supplies, make sure you check for sales and discounts!
You can get things like colored paper plates and plasticware from the Dollar Tree, but local grocery stores often have sales on paper goods as well.
If you know you will be hosting parties in advance, it is a good idea to check for Seasonal items when they go on sale. This is usually one of the easiest ways to cut party costs. There have been times I have been able to stock up on things like paper plates and cups for under $.50 a pack and get decorations for up to 90% off just because I bought them after the season was over.
My favorite items to look for are the ones I am able to use for more than one type of party. Like plain red plates can go on sale after Christmas, but they are also able to be used for Valentine’s Day or even a kid’s party that has red as a main color.
Recruit Help
It can be hard to ask for help, but I’ve learned over the years that it’s ok to not have it all together all the time and the people we love usually want to help in some way, but they don’t know what we would need help with.
If you’ve got friends or family that want to help (and you know you can rely on them to follow through) then definitely recruit them! Hosting a party on a budget gets a lot easier when someone else brings food, drinks, or party items.
For example, my mom and sisters frequently offer to help with party food for my kid’s birthdays. In doing this, it relieves some of my stress and I’m able to focus more on decorations, entertainment, seating, etc.
Evites
Another tip to host an awesome party while on a budget is to send out an evite instead of a paper invitation.
It is super simple these days to make an invitation on the computer using something like Microsoft Word or, my personal favorite, Canva.
On Canva you can easily use an invitation template that they already have, change the colors, fonts, or graphics, and then download the final product.
After you download the invitation, simply send it out to your guests in an email, text, messenger, or however you keep in touch with them!
If you’re super crafty and have items on hand, you also have the option of making an invitation, taking a picture of it, and then sending that out to everyone as well.
If you really don’t have time to make your own invitations, there are many cheaper options on Etsy that are quick and easy to edit and download as well! (I have some kids party theme invitations available in my shop!)
Reuse Your Home Decor And Sprinkle In Some Nature
Within the last week or so of my party, I usually go around my house (and dig through my garage) to see what I can find. I look for anything that can match with my party theme or can be used for staging.
You can use things like mason jars, vases, books, bowls, decorative containers, etc. Pinterest is full of amazing ideas if you’re not sure how you can make things work!
You can also see what kind of greenery and flowers you have outdoors. The day of the party, snip it and place it in a container with water to add to your party decor. It’s a super simple way to add life to your party without needing to spend a dime!
Make Your Own Decorations
The main thing I tend to spend the most money on (besides food) is my decorations.
I love being able to bring a party together throughout the whole space I’m working with. To stay within my budget I do a lot of DIY.
If you’ve got craft paper or even something like burlap hanging around, you can make a garland! A plain colored sheet can be used to start a backdrop setup. You can even turn a cardboard box n to SO MANY different kind of party decorations like a photo prop or backdrop decoration.
You’re only limited by your imagination!
Kid’s Entertainment
If you are also hosting kids at your budget party, you’ll probably want to have something to entertain them so the adults can enjoy the company of other party guests.
It can be as simple as chalk on a sidewalk or wood fence if you’re doing an outdoor get-together or you can set up a themed craft table.
For my budget parties in the past, I have done things like bubble paintings, balloon pit scavenger hunt, and party themed coloring pages.
You can usually find some free printables on Pinterest for the kids to color and most of the time you can even find themed party printables as well. The Dollar Tree now has a decent craft section which can make finding a fun craft for the kids even more budget friendly! You can set up kids entertainment for next to nothing!
Let me know if I’ve helped inspire you today! I love hearing your ideas!
If you’re planning on having a party with a water theme like pool party, splash pad party, or ocean party then you’ll find food inspiration with these brilliant water party food ideas!
From sandwiches and wraps to cupcakes and candy, we’ve got a little bit of everything to help you design your perfect water party!
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You don’t have to be an amazing cook to make these awesome starfish sandwiches. Most little ones would love the pb&j, but you can also make them into your favorite flavors for the adults. Grab that star cookie cutter and have perfect little sandwiches in minutes!
While we are on the subject of sandwiches, check out these submarine sandwiches. I love the idea of using a straw for the lookout!
Seaweed spiral pinwheels would be another item that can easily be altered to fit your taste buds. Just make sure you’ve got something green in there for your “seaweed”!
“Sea Snail” crescent sausages are one of the finger food ideas that my family would definitely get excited for!
Side Items
A super simple water party food idea would be chips! You can make most chips into “Pool floats”, “Pool noodles, or “Beach balls”. Just grab your favorite chips, dump them in sand buckets, and add a sand shovel to complete the look!
“Take a dip” with this adorable octopus made with a red pepper.
Your guests will sail away on an awesome adventure when they see these cucumber boats! Even the kids will want to eat this healthy snack as it sparks their imagination.
Veggies can be simple, but you can add an awesome food label to easily incorporate them into the party theme!
This vibrant beach ball fruit platter is a “Must Have” for any water party! The watermelon on a stick would also be super easy for little ones to munch on .
If you don’t want Jello, you can also make this kind of dessert with pudding. This would also look amazing with mermaid tails!
These shark suckers are so creative and vibrant! They would be sure to spark excitement in any kid!
These beach bear treats are so fun! It would be easy to change the colors with different colored candies!
If you’re not completely at home in the kitchen or short on time, I’ve got you covered, too! Throw some M&Ms in a cup with Sweedish Fish like Tonya Staab and you’ll be party ready in no time!
With just a couple ingredients, you can make a shark chocolate bark that would make a big impact.
What water party doesn’t have pool noodles? This “Pool Noodle” candy would be super simple to set up in many different kinds of containers!
I hope you enjoyed this ultimate list of brilliant water party food ideas! If you’ve found inspiration for your own party, please feel free to leave a comment below! I’d love to hear from you!
When my daughter, a very social, creative, and rainbow loving kid, was about to turn 4, I automatically knew what kind of party I wanted to put together for her… An art party! The main drawback I had was that we weren’t making a lot at the time which meant I’d have to throw the Art Party while on a budget.
We were also living in a small, dark apartment, but I wasn’t letting that hold me back!
I knew I would have to DIY most of the party, so I started getting things together over a month early.
There are many things I knew I wanted for the party, balloon garland backdrop, food table, and a craft project. I started researching different options and ideas and was able to put together a pretty awesome party for around $160. (You can easily go cheaper if you cut out some projects)
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The Rainbow Backdrop
My first (and most important in my mind) priority was finding the right backdrop for my art party theme. I knew I wanted balloons. And rainbows.
I ended up getting a rainbow balloon kit off of Amazon (if you buy from my affiliate link, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you), made a shimmery white fringe backdrop (check out the full blog post here), and made a paper garland to match the Art Party theme.
Side note… This was my first time making a balloon garland, so I didn’t realize how big it was going to end up. It would have been perfect if I would have made the white fringe section bigger.
If you just LOVE the printable garland, you can find it here. It is easy to edit, print, cut out, and hang!
The whole project cost me under $30!
Food Table
I absolutely love being able to tie the menu into my party themes!
For this Art party on a budget, I went with simple sub sandwiches, chips, potato salad, fruit, veggies, and lemonade. My desserts included some homemade rice crispy treats in the shape of watercolor paint and cupcakes.
Here is the instructions for how I made my paint palette treats!
Of course I was needing to keep prices down, but I wasn’t sure at first how I could tie in cheap sub sandwiches with an Art party. Then I realized I could make some printable signs!
I made these super awesome food labels to match my theme and then researched different artists’ names to make it all work together. I ended up with “Dali’s Deli Sandwiches”, “Paint chips”, “Pollock Potatoes”, “Van Gogh Veggies”, “Fresh Coat Fruit”, “Munch-ies”, and “Creative Juice” for the lemonade. (You can easily use this same idea to fit any food theme you come up with!)
Thankfully, my mom helped buy the fruit so that cut my costs even further!
The cupcakes were made simply, with vanilla cake mix and a rainbow swirl designed frosting. (Full tutorial here). They were absolutely perfect!
Total costs (including paper/plastic items): Under $70
Our Art Party Craft Project
The next important thing on my list was finding an art project the kids could do. I had kids aged 1.5 to 9 to consider which made things a bit tricky.
While perusing Pinterest, I came across the idea of bubble paintings! Thanks Living Well Mom!)
It was easy, didn’t require a lot of time to set up or materials (I got the main items at Dollar Tree), and what kid doesn’t love bubbles!?
Plus, at the end of the day, all of the kids had a cool painting to take home with them!
Awesome, right?!
Total cost: Under $15
Party Favors
Party favors can easily cost a lot so in order for me to be able to do the Art party within my budget I went in search of items on sale.
Since the party was in August, I knew school supplies were on sale. Perfect!
I found boxes of crayons at Walmart for only $.25 each!
With these as my main focus, I decided to make little coloring books for party favors.
I bought some coloring pages from Etsy (The shop is no longer open for me to be able to link), resized the images to fit the size of book I wanted to make, and then made my own front and back pages personalized for my daughter.
It took me a little bit to figure out how to turn a picture into a coloring page (there are many different tutorials on YouTube), but I love how they turned out!
Throw them in cute cellophane bags (found at Hobby Lobby), tie them up with these awesome printable Thank You party favor tags, and …TA DA! Fun, personalized party favors to fit the Art Party theme!
This project cost me under $5!
The rest of the decor
I may have been creating an Art Party on a budget and living in a tiny apartment, but I didn’t want to stop at only a backdrop and food table.
My wall above the couch was the first thing someone would see when walking in, so I made a pretty rainbow fan display to go there. -Around $3 to make
The number 4 I made was created by simply cutting out cardboard and melting crayons on it with my heat gun! (Let me know if you want a tutorial on how you can make one too!) -Practically free!
I also made a fun hanging decoration above my counter where we were serving the desserts. These were made out of paint samples (FREE!), tissue pompoms I found at the Dollar Tree, and string. -Around $3
By reusing an aluminum can, I was able to make a utensil holder with crayons and a ribbon for around $.50!
A rainbow garland was made out of paint color samples and tape- FREE
The most expensive item for the party was my yard sign. I had it printed by Office Depot and attached a couple balloons to help the party guests find our apartment. -Under $25
Finally, I wanted my little artist to stand out and feel special so I designed an outfit for her as well! We had the awesome tie-dye skirt already, but I made the shirt by using my printable iron-on Art Party design, then added a flower crown I had previously made for her. She definitely loved it all! -Around $5
Other Art Party Printables
All of these items are the rest of the printables I made to tie the party together. It’s all a matching Art Party theme so you can easily mix and match any of the printables from this post to make your own budget friendly Art Party!
All in all, this whole party came together easily after I figured out what all I could DIY.
The biggest thing to consider when doing a party like this is time… It took quite a bit of time to do all of these projects and then get it all set up (especially with 3 little ones running around!)
If you are on more of a time crunch, you may want to cut some projects out of the plan or buy already made items from other crafty people to save you time and effort!
Either way, you can absolutely make a fun Art Party for your little one while on a budget, too!
Please leave a comment and let me know if you use any of these ideas for your own party!
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