Party Like a Pro on a Budget: Tips and Tricks for Affordable Celebrations

Party Like a Rockstar

Are you a busy Mom or Dad trying to plan a spectacular party for your little one? Or are you celebrating soon to be parents by hosting a baby shower? Or maybe you're the Maid or Matron of Honor in charge of creating the perfect Bridal Shower celebrating the Bride to Be, like I was last summer.

If you've answered 'yes' to any of these, then continue reading. All of these special occasions deserve to be top notch, but we also don't want to empty our pockets in an effort to create a memorable experience! I have some suggestions to help stay within a decent budget without sacrificing the fun and flare for your party.

Just a reminder, I am an advocate of bulleted and numbered list, because we're all busy and ain't nobody has time to read a novel about party planning.

1. The Venue

If it's warm outside, Park pavilions are my go to, because they are cheap to rent. In my area, a park rental ranges from $30-$40. This is relatively inexpensive compared to an indoor venue. To find a cheaper indoor venue, check to see if you can rent your local township building or fire hall. These rentals tend to be more cost effective than a fancy shmancy event hall.

2. Invitation and Decoration Options

If you are computer savvy, consider making your own personalized invitations to send to guests. A couple things to note here. I have personally used Canva to create beautiful invitations. I've purchased cardstock and printed the invitations using my printer at home. If you don't have access to a printer, have no fear, because Canva can print them for you. Another option would be to skip the physicial invitation all together and opt into an electronic version. You could create an Event using Facebook to send to your friends and family. You can also find cheap write in invitations, like the ones here.

Try crafting your own decorations using items from the Dollar Tree or repurposing items you may already have on hand. You can also find low-cost party supplies online or in store. Pinterest is a great resource for finding DIY decorations. Just beware, Pinterest is addicting!

3. Food that Stretches

If you're planning to feed your guests, consider budget-friendly food ideas, such as a food bar. What is a food bar, you may be asking? A food bar is using a main food item (tortilla for a taco bar or potato for a potato bar) as a vehicle for many toppings. Depending on where you live a bag of poatatoes may cost $7-8 and the toppings could cost arond $20-$30. That could be your main dish for under $60. Now don't come for me on the numbers and math, I'm just guestimating here.

Homemade subs and salads can also feed lots of guests and not completely break the bank.

For my sister's bridal shower last summer, myself and the brides opted to host a bridal brunch. We had a waffle bar along with 3 types of breakfast cassorole dishes (cinnamon roll, potato hash and eggs with sausage or bacon) and fruit and yogurt parfaits. These are dishes that stretched to feed all of our guests and were relatively inexpensive. Our guests kept coming back for more!

The food doesn't need to be complicated and it can be made by you or with the help of others. This will avoid the steep cost of having to cater the entire meal.

I hope this helps by giving you ideas to make your special occasion one for the books!