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Budget Friendly Birthday Traditions for Kids

August 10, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Life2 Comments

Fun Birthday Traditions to Start This Year.

I love celebrating my kids birthdays every year.  They love having their special day all about them.  fun to have one day just focused on helping them feel important and loved.  I try really hard to give them a special day to remember, WITHOUT spending very much money; I truly believe that you do NOT need to spend money to help a child feel special.  Here are a few of our budget friendly birthday traditions for kids.

12 No-fuss Birthday Cakes

Decorate Bedroom

The night before a birthday, I sneak into my childs room after they fall asleep, and decorate. 

I blow up a bunch of balloons and leave them on the floor and then hang streamers from the doorway.They know every night before they go to bed what will happen, but they still love it.  It’s so fun for them to wake up to a party!

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Birthday Breakfast

A birthday is always started with our traditional breakfast of birthday pancakes.  These are so easy to make, but the kids favorite.

Whip up a batch of this delicious pancake recipe and then add some sprinkles to the batter.  So easy!

Sometimes, if I’m feeling real fancy, I’ll try to make a pancake in the shape of their initials….but let’s be real, I’m rarely fancy!  😉

Your-Choice Dinner

The birthday child at our house always gets to choose what I make for dinner the night of their birthday.  If they choose pizza, I make pizza!  If they want waffles, well then, I make waffles! 

This isn’t a hard tradition by any means, but my kids think it’s fun to get to be in charge of all the dinner plans.

  • Related:  Budget Friendly Pancake and Pajama Birthday Party for Tweens!

Red Birthday Plate

Another fun birthday tradition for kids is the “Red Birthday Plate.”  I bought this red plate years ago at a home decor store.  It’s a little chipped and loved, but also full of memories and joy.

This red plate only comes out on someones birthday.  The birthday child gets to eat their dinner on this special plate. 

This is a tradition I grew up with and have enjoyed carrying the tradition on with my own children.  It’s so simple, yet for some reason, it brings so much joy to whoever gets to eat on the birthday plate.

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Birthday Love

Another fun traditions happens while we are eating dinner.

Everyone in the family takes a turn telling the birthday child what they love about them.  I love focusing on all of the many wonderful qualities in each of my kids, and getting to hear them express these to each other.

Bedtime Stories

At bedtime I lay with the birthday child and share the story of their birth.  I try to go through all the details from that special day years ago, including the highs and lows.

Of course, I always end with sharing how that day was one of the most special, important, beautiful days of my life and I talk about just how perfect my life has become because they were born.

In Conclusion

None of these traditions cost a lot of money.  Sure, I spend a few dollars on streamers and balloons, but really that’s it!  It does NOT take a “pinterest worthy” birthday to celebrate a loved one.  All it takes is a little thought and a lot of love.

Related Articles:

Kids Birthday Party on a Budget

34 Places That Will Give you a Birthday Freebie

Pin this article for future reference:

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What are some of your birthday traditions for kids?

LEGO Birthday Party for Under $20

August 5, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Life5 Comments

Cheap LEGO birthday party ideas for boys.

We had an exciting birthday at our house recently!  My son turned six years old!  When I asked him what he wanted his party theme to be, he immediately asked for a LEGO themed birthday party with all of his friends.  He loves all things LEGO and I was excited to make this party come together.

I wanted to give him a special birthday, but I also wanted to spend the LEAST amount of money as possible (story of my life!).  I DID it!  The party was a huge success, and I spent LESS than $20!  Seriously proud of myself right now!  Today I’m breaking down the party and how much I spent.

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The Invitations:  $0

Sticking with the theme we (obviously) wanted LEGO themed invitations, and to save money I committed to only using supplies I already had at home.

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After some creativity and trial and error I came up with these super easy DIY LEGO party invites.

Homemade LEGO Party Invitations

Cut a colored paper into a rectangle card shape. (see how exact I am....;) )

Cut out six circles per card in matching colors.

Glue circles to front of card in a LEGO style pattern.

Optional:  I cut little pieces from a Magic Eraser and glued them to each of the circles.  This gave them a raised look.


Inside the LEGO invite was just a simple typed up paper with all of the party info.  It only took me a few minutes to whip it up on my computer!

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My son adored these invitations, and didn’t cost me any money Big win!

The Decorations:  $4

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I tried to go fairly simple on the decorations (these are 6 year old boys we are talking about….I don’t think they even noticed much of the decor!).

First stop is ALWAYS The Dollar Tree!  While there I bought a pack of balloons and a couple rolls of streamers.  I tried to focus on the classic LEGO colors of red, yellow, green and blue. These were all used to decorate around the house.

  • Related:  Kids Birthday Party on a Budget

For the table center piece I grabbed a few of our mason jars from our storage room and filled them with some LEGOs from our collections.  These also ended up being so fun for the kids to build with while they were waiting for me to serve the cake (I love multi purpose decor!).

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The total for decorations came to only $4!

The Food:  $6

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To cut costs on food, I decided to have cake the only food served at the party.  I made the cake from scratch, spent $2 on the frosting, and $3 for the Oreos used on top.

The goal was to decorate the cake to make it look like a giant LEGO.  Truthfully, it didn’t turn out great…..but, my son thought it was the coolest cake ever, and that’s all that matters!

The cake was so simple to make.  I cooked the batter in a 9×13 pan and then frosted it with blue frosting. 

Next, I frosted the Oreos with the same frosting and placed them on top so that it would resemble a LEGO.  My kids told me that the cake needed the word LEGO on the Oreos, so I used a toothpick to include write out the word.


These darling LEGO themed plates were also found at The Dollar Tree (of course!).  I had plastic cups and forks already at home so I used them on the table as well.  We pulled out one of my fabric tablecloths and skipped buying a plastic one.  It worked out perfect!


Out of all the categories, I spent the most money on food.  The total came to $6.

The Games:  $2

Honestly, I don’t love planning birthday party games.  It always feels so stressful to me.  I decided to go a little more simple and stress free this year, and it seemed to work!  A plus side to simple is that also usually means less money (and I always like spending less!)!

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Pin the Head on the LEGO Man

Our first game was pin the head on the LEGO man and it ended up being a big hit!

Go here to print out this free LEGO man printable.

Each child got to choose one of the silly LEGO faces.  Then one at a time they were blindfolded, spun around a few times and then had to try to guess where the face needed to go.

The kids loved getting to choose from all of the fun faces.  We played this game again and again!


Don’t Eat Pete

Our next game was Don’t Eat Pete.  This one was really fun and simple.

You can print out the free LEGO Don’t Eat Pete printable here.

Put cheerios (or any small finger food) on each of the LEGO men.

One child leaves the room and the other kids point to one of the LEGO characters to be “Pete.”

Bring the child back into the room.  He then begins eating the cheerios one by one.  If he picks up the chosen “Pete” cereal the other kids yell, “Don’t Eat Pete.”

This entertained them for a good 20 minutes!  Everyone wanted a turn to eat!

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LEGO Treasure Hunt

This LEGO treasure hunt was another easy activity and I was able to use items we already had around the house.

Before the party I hid a bunch of our LEGOs around our yard.  The kids all ran around trying to find as many as they could.  (kindof like an easter egg LEGO hunt! 😉 )

Spoon Relay Race

Once we found all of the LEGOs I split the kids into two teams for a LEGO on the spoon relay race! 

Each team was given a bucket of LEGOs and a spoon.  They had to walk with a LEGO on their spoon across the yard a little ways and drop their LEGO into another bucket. 

The first team to successfully bring all of their LEGOs across wins!  It was so fun watching all those little boys trying to run fast AND balance their LEGO!

  • Related:  Birthday Traditions for Small Budgets

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Ball Toss

Our last game was probably the favorite!  I spray painted two boxes (I bought the spray paint for $2), and then cut two holes in each box. 

The kids had to stand at some tape I put on the ground and try to throw a ball into one of the holes. 

This was a little hard for most of the kids, which created a fun challenge.  They wanted to play this game for a few rounds to try to get the ball in each of the holes.

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I have decided simple really is the best way to go!  Simple games brought me a lot less stress and I only spent a total of $2 for all of the games whoo!

The Party Favors:  $5

I really struggled trying to come up with a cute yet frugal LEGO themed party favor, so was THRILLED when I found these cute little LEGO boxes at The Dollar Tree.  They came in a pack of 4 for $1, so I bought 2 packs.  I also bought three packs of Starbursts for $1 each.

We filled each of the boxes with a few pieces of Starbursts candy and the kids LOVED them!  I thought the candy would be the hit, but the favorite was definitely having their very own little box. It ended up being the PERFECT favor, and I only spent $5!


The Total:  $17

In total I spent $17!  I was so thrilled that I was able to pull this party off without having to spent a lot of money.

I’ve realized that kids REALLY don’t care how extravagant the party is….all my son wanted was to have a few friends over, blow out candles on his birthday cake, and open a few presents.

He didn’t notice that the party was all done on a very small budget.  All he noticed was that his family and friends were taking the time to show him some love.  And you know what….THAT is ALL that matters!

 

Don’t forget to pin this article for your next party:

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I hope you enjoyed this lego birthday party theme on a budget.

Budget Friendly Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party!

September 8, 2018 By: Sweet Frugal Life2 Comments

Easy Tween Girl Birthday Party Theme.

Why is it that every time my kids have a birthday I get so emotional????  Please tell me I’m not alone in this!  It is so fun to watch my kids grow into amazing people, but oh how my heart hurts to see just how fast time passes and how quickly my babes grow!  We celebrated my daughters 10th birthday last week with a Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party!  I definitely shed a tear or two, but I mostly enjoyed celebrating her sweet life!

The rule at our house is that I will throw my kids a birthday party with their friends every other year.  This year happened to be the year for my daughters party.  It took us a few days to come up with a theme that felt a little more “grown up” for her.

  • Related:  Budget Friendly Birthday Traditions for Kids

We finally decided that a Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party would be the perfect tween girl birthday party theme.

Like all of my parties I try to plan simple, fun and FRUGAL.  I want it to be a special day for my kids and all of the party goers….but I also want it to be the least amount of stress possible for me!  (that’s just how I roll!)

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Disclosure:  “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

The Invitations

I spent $2 on the invitations.

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I found the cutest invites at the Dollar Tree!  Seriously, how cute are these?!?!  They were perfect in every way, cute enough to keep my daughter excited and cheap enough to keep me satisfied!

I highly recommend checking the The Dollar Tree when you are looking for budget friendly birthday invites.

The Decorations

I spent $0 on the decorations.

By using items I already had at home I was able to spend $0 (yes, zero!) on decorations for our Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party!  This made me so happy!

With the help of the birthday girl we chose the colors turquoise, pink and white.  I scrounged through my stockpile of streamers and balloons to find some in her requested colors.

We ended up hanging a few streamers and balloons around the house, and made some tissue paper pom poms for a fun statement over the dining room table.

It turned out beautiful!  I was so happy the way the colors all went together.


The Table

I spent $5 on the table supplies.

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Because the party was centered around eating breakfast, I wanted to make the table cute and inviting.  I found the plates, utensils, cups, napkins, and table cloth all at Walmart for $.97 each.  The colors matched our theme colors perfectly!

 

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The centerpieces were put together using items I had at home and I love how they turned out!  I simply filled a mason jar with fruit loop cereal and put a flower inside.  So easy!  So cute!  The girls loved munching on the cereal while they were waiting for the food to be ready.  An appetizer and a decorations!

 

The Food

I spent $10 on food.

Most of the ingredients I needed for the party I already had at my home.  But, I did spend some money on buying a few extra fun toppings.

Unfortunately, I completely spaced taking pictures of the food I prepared, whoops mom brain!  

I cooked up a huge batch of pancakes and set up a pancake bar for everyone to pick and choose their own toppings.  We had Nutella, strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream, maple syrup, raspberry syrup, and sprinkles (it was a birthday after all 😉 ).

I overestimated the amount of food these girls would eat.  We ended up with a lot of leftovers!  So, when you are buying food for your Pajamas and Pancakes birthday party remember they might get distracted and not eat a lot.

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The Activities

I spent $40 on the games/crafts.

The activities were my biggest budget item, and I honestly spent more than I usually do.  But, a few of these activities doubled as the “goody bag.”  And they were all so much fun!

Once everyone was finished eating their pancakes we started playing the games.

Silent Football:

First, we played Silent Football.  The girls had so much fun playing this game!  They didn’t want to stop!

The Cereal Game:

The Cereal Game was so much fun to play, and perfect for a breakfast themed party!  It was based off of the popular White Elephant Game.

How it works:  I bought 9 mini cereal boxes (1 for each girl) and made 9 slips of paper each with a number on it (1-9).

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The girls sat in a circle and each picked a number.  Whichever number they drew was the order of when they would be able to choose a cereal.

The girl who drew #1 was able to choose from all of the cereals first.  Then the girl who drew #2 had the option to choose from the cereal that was left in the middle or steal the cereal box from the first girl. 

Play continues in the same way until all the girls have each had a turn to steal or choose from the middle.  If a cereal is stolen from you, you will receive a turn to steal from another person or choose from the middle. 

A cereal can only be stolen twice until it is “dead,” meaning it can not be stolen again.

This game was a huge hit!  The girls loved having a mini cereal box to take home with them.

 

The Craft

Next came the craft!  Each of the girls were given one white pillow case.  They then used fabric markers to color and decorate their pillow case. 

Honestly, before the party I wasn’t sure how long they would want to sit still and color, but they surprised me!  They sat quietly for a good 20 minutes decorating their pillow cases, chatting and giggling.  It was so fun to see each of the girls put their own personality on their pillow case.

I also had one extra pillow case for the birthday girl.  Each of the girls signed their name and wrote a little note to my daughter to help her remember this special day.

They loved this craft!  This activity was the biggest expense of the party,  but I decided it was well worth the money.  I found the cheapest pillowcases were in bulk on Amazon.


The Results

I spent $57 on this party.

The Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party ended up being a huge hit!  I loved seeing all the girls show up in their darling PJs and have a “mini sleepover”!

Now, I get to enjoy my sweet girl at age ten…..and keep hoping someone invents a special potion that will make kids stop growing!  Anyone???  Anyone???

Related Articles:

LEGO Birthday Party for Under $20

Kids Birthday Party on a Budget

 

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This budget friendly Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party was so fun!

Hello! I’m Melanie!

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