Kids birthday Party ideas on a budget

Parties don’t come cheap.

Chances are, if you’ve been to thirty parties from everyone in your kids class, you’ll probably feel obliged to throw one.

The pressure also mounts when you have a small looking at you with those big, wet eyes, saying “Please can I have a party this year?”

With everything costing a fortune at the moment (I can’t go to the shop without spending £10 minimum these days!) you might want to host a kids birthday party on a budget.

I’ve been to a fair few kids birthday parties now. At soft play, at a farm, at village halls. From all the parties I’ve been to, some of the budget ones have been the most fun.

Here are some kids party ideas on a budget.

Hire a hall.

Halls aren’t too pricey, and you can keep your guests warm and dry. You can even offer adults tea and coffee — if you want to.

Hall hire where I live is around 15-20 an hour. You’ll probably need the hall for 3/4 hours. Hour before to set up, and 30 minutes to one hour after for clear up.

When you hire a hall, don’t feel pressure to hire an entertainer as this is where the price can mount up. Older kids might need one, but for younger kids keep it cheap.

I went to a great party once where the dad led all the entertainment featuring musical statues, pass the parcel, what’s the time Mr Wolf, and pass the balloon. They also had a craft station with temp tattoos and stickers. This went down really well.

Talking of balloons. Balloons are a godsend for hall parties. Kids love eating sweets and chasing balloons around a room.

You could even set up a DJ station and get someone to ‘DJ.’ It doesn’t have to be a professional. Get some basic disco lights and you’ve got yourself a P A R T Y.

Party in the park.

Naturally this works best for summer birthdays. Get everyone to meet in the park at a set time. Provide snacks and drinks for the kids and let them play. The park is great free entertainment.

Tea party at home.

I had a tea party for my birthdays most years growing up and I loved them. I’d choose a select few friends to come over to play. We’d have a picnic at the table, loads of cake and play.

We never had a huge house, just a traditional semi. But we always made space for a tea party in the kitchen with a few of our best friends.

If you don’t have a huge space at home, host it as a garden party. The Range have lots of banners, tablecloths and general party goodies.

Sport party

If your kid loves a team sport, like football, and so do their friends, get everyone out for a kick about. Arrange a date in a local field, set up goals and play a match. You could even do a few fun drills and games to get everyone moving.

Then, when they’ve built up an appetite, bring out the snacks and sarnies. Just make sure there aren’t any football tournaments on the field that day!

What about cheap party bag ideas?

Don’t worry about the party bags. Wrap up a slice of cake. Or you could bake some cupcakes for each guest to take home.

Who needs a load of plastic tat. Especially those bubbles that never work or get spilled in the car on the way home.

Save yourself £20 and do the planet a flavour.

What food should I do for a kids party on a budget?

Here are a few food ideas for your kids party on a budget.

• Sandwiches cut into triangles. Cheese, ham, jam.
• Carrot sticks, watermelon sticks, carrot sticks.
• Packets of crisps.
• Cookies. Either homemade or a few packets of supermarket Maryland replicas.
• Cake. Tesco traybake. It’s a people pleaser.

Beware not to over cater, or get too fancy. The last thing you want to be doing is throwing food away, and money.

There are my best cheap party ideas. Some I’ll be coming back to over the years for sure!