"THE" Birthday Party

Today is my oldest son Lukas' birthday and for the last seven years my husband and I have been tasked with planning just the right party for him and his friends and/or family members. I love using my creativity and planning usually begins well in advance. I am willing to give it serious thought and attention because of what I am NOT willing to do: spend boat-loads of money on a party! I am constantly amazed at what parents spend for their child's (or children's) birthday parties, especially for the younger set. The list of party possibilities is nearly endless if you are willing to drop a few hundred dollars, and that doesn't include the presents. Popular choices include: Chuck E. Cheese, Pump it Up (or similar inflatable place), Zoo, Restaurants, Movie theatres, Science Center, Video Game Arcades, etc, etc.

Additionally, I am amazed at how few people do what we have chosen to do, host the party in our own home or at a local park. It seems people may be paralyzed by fear of having extra children in their home, of what to do with them, what to feed them, etc. For me the savings makes this choice a no-brainer, hosting my own party puts me in control of the costs and all of the variables. I can choose the time, the amount of guests, the food served and the games to be played, as well as what will be placed into the ubiquitous goodie bags. The first step is choosing a theme, then a location, and finally how much food I want to worry about which determines the time of day. This year we chose a "biking" theme as my son loves bike-riding. Our neighborhood park was the perfect location with its bike path and play area, with no reservation or payment necessary. I didn't want to worry about bringing lots of food to the park so we chose to simply do cake, drinks and some munchies - this meant mid-afternoon instead of a meal time for the festivities.

Our costs were minimal as we only invited a dozen guests. We had the kids decorate their bikes with streamers, then they played a few games, rode bikes, ate cake and played on the playground. If I round the costs up, I probably spent $50 on the entire party which included everything I mentioned (food, drinks, decorating supplies, & goodie bags). I challenge you to try an at-home party or simply a do-it-yourself party as opposed to paying someone to do the planning for you. You may surprise yourself at how much fun it is to use your creativity!