Pink Princess Party

 Image from Kara's Party Ideas

I've been very busy lately planning my first real party!! The theme? A pink princess party! I'm so excited and have been greatly inspired by some ideas on Kara's Party Ideas (one of my fav party sites!). Often, Kara features a party from another party website. All of the parties she features are gorgeous (and obviously expensive). So, my goal is to plan a party that is beautiful, fun, and...cheap! The budget is $50-$100, so it's pretty tight, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. I've done great so far. Here is some of my other inspiration from Kara's:

Looking for Inspiration!

What was your favorite birthday party growing up and why? OR What has been your favorite birthday party that you've planned for your child?

Pink 'n' Red Vintage Party

I'll admit I love anything vintage. As often as possible, I try to incorporate vintage pieces into my wardrobe, decorations, scrapbooking, etc. Exploring the web for vintage party ideas and supplies has been a blast. Enjoy your sweet celebration!

Invitations: 

 

• Download an adorable retro/vintage font such as "Romantiques" or "Little Lord Fontleroy" for free at dafont.com to type out the details for your party. 
• Decorate your invitations with pink and red papers from the K&Company (my favorite scrapbooking brand) paper. Wow! $6.99 for a K&Co. paper pad is a steal! They're usually around $12- Smitten Double Sided Specialty Paper Pad 
•  Embellish the invitations with K&Co. Wild Saffron Adhesive Paper Ribbon.
• If you'd like, also add paper flowers- I recommend making them yourself with a paper punch (make sure it's one that goes straight up and down instead of tilting- The tilting one I had broke easily.) Although it will cost a few dollars more initially, it will save you in the long run. hobbylobby.com  Add some pizazz to your flowers will buttons or plastic gems. 

Decorations:

• This vintage banner craft idea is simple, cute, and perfect for the party theme! Plus, you can use the extra papers from your Smitten pack- kindawonderful.typepad.com
• Cover the table(s) with inexpensive red gingham tablecloths
• Set the places at the table with white lace doilies ($1 for 32 at the Dollar Tree!)
  
• Keep the centerpiece simple by filling a mason jar with handmade crepe paper flowers (easy!). (How To Video!!!) To secure the flowers, either fill the jar with dirt, or use a piece of floral foam and cover it with peat moss or colored shredded paper
• Use clear plastic cups and serve pink lemonade in a clear pitcher
• Serve snacks on pink paper plates. ($1.99 at Hobby Lobby) and white or red beverage napkins ($1.99 at Hobby Lobby)
  

Activities:

• Download these adorable vintage paper dolls from Photobucket for free!! Let your guests cut out the clothing items and play with the dolls. (Note, there are several sets!)
• Play music from the 20's/30's in the background- you can probably find some at your local library.
• Play classic party games such as "Pin the Tail on the Donkey", "Duck, Duck, Goose", a clothespin drop, etc.

Food:

• Cupcakes are an easy, budget-friendly birthday treat. Bake vanilla cupcakes and top with delicious homemade buttercream. I made the following recipe and it was so yummy.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting from Cooks.com

I also make my own cake mix because all store-bought brands (besides organic, which is pricey) contain transfats. If you want to make your own, this is the recipe for you. For a rich, custardy taste, add an extra egg! Basic Yellow Cake Recipe from About.com

Red polka dot baking cups

At $3.50 for 45 baking cups, this deal's too sweet to pass up! layercakeshop.com

Top your oh-so-sweet cupcakes with these vintage-inspired pink rose picks. $2.50 for 12. layercakeshop.com

For a fun beverage: Countrytime pink lemonade (always my favorite)- add lemon and frozen strawberry

Favors:

Fill brown paper sacks with pink and red vintage candies such as

• Good and Plenty candies
• Big Cherry candies
• Bubble tape dispenser
•  Pez
• Pink and red rock candy
• Pink and red Push Pops
• Pink and red Pixie Stix

 For a more inexpensive option, simply send each guest home with a Pez dispenser or a single Bubble Tape dispenser! To save, buy in bulk.

And, for a party for ten, the grand total is...(drum-roll, please!)

$53.44!!!

Here is my complete list of what I would choose to purchase to keep my party under $60!! WOW:

Baking cups- $3.50

Rose picks- $2.50

Plates- $1.99

Doilies- $1.00

Cups- $2.00

Mason jar- $1.27

Supplies for paper flowers- About $5.00

Cord for banner- $1.00

Glue dots/photo adhesive squares- $3.50

Napkins- $1.99

Forks- $1.69

Tablecloth- $2.00

Countrytime Lemonade- $2.40

Frozen strawberries (Aldi) - $3.00

Lemon- $0.50

Cupcakes- $3.00

Frosting $3.00

K&Co. paper pad- $7.00

Paper ribbon- $2.60

Bubble Tape- $7.50

Of course,  your party cost may vary depending on where you are, what you choose to purchase, etc. I have not added the cost of shipping (only a few dollars more- Amazon often provides free shipping), but you will probably be able to find almost everything at a store near you. There are a few things on the list that could have been more inexpensive (like the picks and the cupcake wrappers) but they add so much vintage flair that I decided to keep them. If you choose to purchase cake mix and frosting, you might save a couple dollars, but to me, the value of your health is greater than the value of your money. That's just me. The activities listed barely cost anything. By keeping it simple, we saved almost $250!! (That's right, from looking around on the internet, I've found many parents who say that they spend from $100-300 on their child's party alone!!!)

Coming soon- Elegant spring garden party and an Everything Boy Outdoor Party!!

Contest Winner!

Congratulations, Barbra! You are the winner of FamilyFun's Birthday Cakes book!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Party

Amazon.com

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the cutest children's books of all time. For that simple reason, I am excited to give you some budget-friendly ideas for a super cute caterpillar party!

Invitations:

If you're the creative type or you want to get your kids involved, try making either a collage card following Eric Carle's style or a thumbprint caterpillar card.

If you'd rather just buy something and be done with it or slap some stickers on a piece of paper, try these Eric Carle stickers (mailjust4me.com, $5.95).

Here's a really cute idea for those of us who are a bit more daring!

Decorations:

Make your little caterpillars feel right at home with bright "grass", "trees", and "flowers". Make your own out of construction paper for the best deal, or invest in some of these fun, long-lasting wall stickers! (Amazon.com, $12.99) Although they aren't the same brand, I have a tube of wall stickers and they are very durable- they can be peeled on and off the wall without damaging the wall or the stickers (if you're careful!).

And although this is a bit more expensive, it's too cute to pass up- especially if you have a little insect lover in your house: Caterpillar Wall Stickers (Amazon.com, $34.99)

Another (smaller and single) sticker for a smaller price: Very Hungry Caterpillar Sticker (Etsy.com, $10.00)

Or these! (Etsy.com, $4.00)

Or this one, similar to the first set, but a better price! (SlickSticks.com, $26.00)

Craft:

Collage project

Supplies: Construction paper (Amazon.com, on sale for $0.53) , glue sticks (I have done quite a bit of crafting and I always use Ross- it works best and it's cheap!) , tissue paper in a variety of colors (Amazon.com, on sale for $1.48/50 sheets) , kiddie scissors

Instructions: Let the children create their own Eric Carl style illustrations! Give each kid a piece of construction paper and several sheets of tissue paper as well as a glue stick and scissors. Children should draw out their designs first, then cut the shapes out of the tissue paper and paste them to the paper.

Note: For younger children, cut small squares out of the tissue paper, then simply let them glue the pieces to the page.

Thumbprint caterpillars

Amazon.com $8.63

I found the idea online to make thumbprint caterpillar invitations, but I thought it would also be a fun and easy craft. We've had a fun book for years called Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book that give instructions for creating fun drawings with your fingers and a stamp pad! It's a very easy activity even for young children. I recommend purchasing a washable ink pad at your local craft store for the best deal and quality. (Although multicolor ink pads can be fun, I've found that the colors usually end up getting mixed together when little ones are using it!)


Games:

There are several great Very Hungry Caterpillar party ideas on birthdaypartyideas.com that I would really encourage you to check out. The first two ideas on this list are inspired by a couple of them:

• Caterpillar cocoon hop: Purchase an inexpensive pillow case for each child. Set up a distance for them to race across a yard or room. Children must stand in their "cocoons" and hop across the designated area. Whoever crosses the finish line first wins.
• Caterpillar scavenger hunt: Hide treats like those in the book (lollipops, apples, pears, plums, oranges, chocolate snack cakes (Little Debbie or Oreo Cakesters), Little Debbie cherry snack pies, etc. throughout the yard- children must find the treats by crawling around like a caterpillar.
• Purchase this caterpillar tunnel for lots of fun! (Amazon.com, $17.99)

Activities:

Of course, read Eric Carl's Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Refreshments:

Anything the very hungry caterpillar eats in the book:

• Red apples
• Green pears
• Purple plums
• Red strawberries
• Whole oranges
• Chocolate cake
• Ice cream
• Salami
• Swiss cheese
• Pickles
• Lollipops
• Cherry pie
• Sausage
• Cupcake
• Watermelon
• "Leaves" (lettuce)
• Also serve gummi worm!
  

Click here to find one of the sweetest cakes I have ever seen! If you're not the creative type, this cake will be perfect for you- it looks very easy. And please notice the candle antennae! :)

In order to make sure the frosting for the head actually turns red instead of pink, I recommend using Wilton gel food coloring (find it at almost any craft store)- it gets it the color you want a lot faster!

Favors:

• Neon caterpillar toys (Amazon.com, $0.29 each)
• Caterpillar cookies or caterpillar cookie cutter (Amazon.com, $1.95 each)
• Lollipops (since the caterpillar eats one in the book) I like the idea of organic lollipops which you can get for less that $0.10/piece! (Amazon.com) If you want to go with a lollipop more like the one in the book, go for mini swirl pops at $0.15/piece from OrientalTrading.com.
• Go buggy with mini insect erasers at about $0.02/piece from OrientalTrading.com.
• I got this idea from birthdaypartyideas.com- Make caterpillar antennae for your guests using Dollar Store headbands, pipe cleaners, and painted Styrofoam balls or pop poms.
  

Become a Follower!

To learn more about the book, click on the picture above.

Listen up, readers! Anyone who becomes a follower of the Birthdays on a Budget blog (not the Facebook page) within the next week (March 9-16) will be automatically entered to win a free copy of FamilyFun's Birthday Cakes book- with ideas for 50 cute and easy party treats!

Becoming a follower is easy- just scroll down on the sidebar until you see "Followers" then click "Become a Follower"- You'll be entered for a fantastic prize in minutes! If you have any questions, please comment on this post.

Chocolate Lover's Party

I absolutely love chocolate. So, it would only make sense that a chocolate lover's party would sound...amazing to me! I hope you enjoy your chocolate party just as much as I enjoyed planning it!

Invitations:

Supplies- One Hershey bar for each guest (the kind wrapped in foil), computer with printer, paper, tape or glue

Instructions- Take the brown wrapper off of each Hershey bar, but leave the silver foil on the bars. Replace the brown wrappers with your own customized wrapper like the one I have created below (which you are welcome to use, although I'm not exactly sure the measurements are correct). Print the party info on the inside of the wrapper. The size of a full size Hershey bar is 5" wide x 5 1/4" long.

Decorations:

• Brown and beige balloons, streamers, cutlery, etc.
• For a girl's party, I love the Paisley party decor from Hobby Lobby- for the quality, it's not a terrible price and you can often get a coupon for 40% off one item.
• Make a candy bar bouquet!
  

Supplies: Vase or jar, shredded filler, a piece of floral foam, bamboo skewers, candy bars. Optional: ribbon

Instructions: Fit a piece of floral foam to your vase, then fill the vase with shredded filler in the color of your choice (to cover the foam). Poke the skewers into the foam, then add the candy bars. Decorate with ribbon. Here is a picture of one that someone made.


Games:

• M&M guessing game- I'm sure you've heard of this before. Fill a jar with a certain number of M&M's and make sure you remember how many there are! As guests are coming in, allow them to write their guess for how many M&M's are in the jar on a sheet of paper. Whoever gets the closest number without going over wins the jar of M&M's- yum!
• Musical Chocolate Bar- Wrap a chocolate bar in several layers of wrapping paper. Instruct the children to sit in a circle, then let them begin passing the chocolate bar around the circle while music plays in the background. When the music stops, whoever is holding the chocolate bar gets to unwrap one layer of paper. The game goes on until someone opens the last layer- that player wins the chocolate bar!
• What kind of candy bar? Unwrap several different kinds of candy bars (make sure no one is allergic to nuts) and cut off a small piece of each. Lay them on numbered napkins with the name of the bar underneath. Let all of the children examine each candy bar sample using sight and smell. They must write what kind of candy bar they think is on
  

Activity:

Make Chocolate Truffles

I got this recipe from a party on birthdaypartyideas.com.

Before the party put 3 cups of semi sweet chocolate and 1 can of sweet condensed milk into a saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Let cool for 2 hours. During the party let each guest roll some of the chocolate mixture into small balls, and then dip the balls in candy decorations. Place each truffle in a paper candy cup and put in a small box for each guest to take home.

You can find mini muffin cups (which would work for candy cups) at Amazon.com (100 for $5.44)

Refreshments:

• Chocolate ice cream sundaes with hot fudge and chocolate sprinkles

This hot fudge recipe from Desperation Dinners is a family favorite:

3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened baking chocolate
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 pinches salt

Put the chocolate, butter, and cream in a 4-cup glass measure. Microwave, uncovered, on high, until the chocolate and butter are nearly melted, about 2 minutes, stopping once halfway through to stir. Remove from the microwave, and stir until the chocolate and butter finish melting.

Stir in the sugar. Microwave 1 minute, uncovered, on high. Remove and stir well with a wire whisk. If the sauce is grainy, microwave just until the sugar melts, 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Do not overcook. Whisk to stir well.

Whisk in the vanilla extract and salt, and let the mixture cool a little. Serve warm or at room temperature.*

* Notes

Sauce can be refrigerated, covered for up to 2 weeks. Or frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator and reheat in microwave, uncovered, on high, until warmed through, about 1 minute

• Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting
• Chocolate chocolate chip cookies
• Chocolate milkshakes
• Chocolate pudding
• Chocolate Chex Mix
• Fruit dipped in chocolate
• Chocolate dipped pretzels- Easy to make using milk chocolate almond bark
• Oreo cookies
  
• Any chocolate candies
• Bagels with chocolate chip cream cheese
• Chocolate sodas
  

Must have chocolate fondue at your party? Go for the Wilton Chocolate Pro- much more affordable than a chocolate fountain! (Amazon.com, $26.39)

Favors:

Instead of sending your guest home with a bag of trinkets, invest in a few nicer items for them to take home.

• Once again, I must tell you that I love Hobby Lobby's party supplies. For just $1.99, you can get ten adorable pink and brown paisley favor boxes.
• Purchase a large Hershey's chocolate bar for each of your guests- I believe a little under a dollar a piece.
• Send your guests home with a tube of chocolate Nesquick lip gloss (Amazon.com, $2.50/3), or make your own, using empty lip balm tubes (Containerandpackaging.com, $0.15 each).
• Hershey's Kisses (a bit expensive)
• Tootsie Rolls