Thrifty Ideas for a Kid's Birthday Party

Little Miss O has been on top form lately! More or less the model child! She'll be turning 4 soon and we're so proud of her and I want her to have a really fun and special birthday. Now, we had agreed when Little Miss O was one that she would have a birthday party every other year at the most... It's not that I'm a scrooge (really, I'm not), it's just that we want her to know that she can have a fun birthday without having to have a full blown party.

For Little Miss O's first birthday, she had a party...but that was more for ourselves to be honest. She was the one and only child star of that show. She didn't know that it was her birthday, so marking the occasion was fine for us. We had about 20 people in our home and it was a lovely sunny day so we just chilled in the garden. It was really nice. We didn't spend and extortionate amount of money but it was a noticeable change to our usual monthly outgoings - much like her first Christmas, I felt she needed a brand new outfit for the occasion. She had to have a matching hat, sundress and shoes etc. Of course she didn't at all - but it was her first birthday so Mr O just left me to it!

The day of Little Miss O's second birthday, was the day before I submitted my PhD thesis (for the first time!)...by 2, she knew it was her birthday, but she didn't know about birthday parties or even what it meant other than 'its my birthday'..bless...

 Needless to say, we didn't throw a party that year, but I did spend the whole night before blowing up balloons so that her day would start of 'special' you know! She chose her own cake that year too...

By the time Little Miss O's 3rd birthday came around, she knew exactly what a birthday was, and had her own ideas for a birthday party. She'd been to a few by this stage and she had high expectations. As it was the first time she was properly aware of it - we went ALL OUT. I viewed 4 venues before selecting the perfect place. Little Miss O had a Princess and Pirate themed party at a play centre. Her Princess Tiana dress was custom made - the girl even had a calico made and boy did she love her dress fittings! The making of the diva had begun... : ) The kids ate Harry Ramsden's fish and chip meals, jelly, cakes, fruit, raisins and carrot sticks (just to add a bit of balance to their diet!)..they played 'pass the parcel' (3 year olds aren't great at this by the way - I'll be saving this for age 5 and up I think!)...we did a treasure hunt where they had to seek out tiaras, wands, pirate hats etc etc... It was a complete extravaganza for about 15 kids. Of course being me, I went a little OTT and also provided extra food, donuts, drinks for the parents... I thought it was a nice touch and it was really well received. Little Miss O loved it and still talks about her 'Trafford Centre' party today. It cost a small fortune, so she better still be talking about it when she's 10! : )

[notice the recurring purple and pink balloon theme - obsessed much?]

So, this year there will be no extravaganza... BUT I do want to mark the occasion for baby girl and create a fond memory for us all to smile about in years to come....

But its easy for me to create a fantabulous party when I throw money into the mix...

This time, I'm aiming to create the same fab day without the price tag....I'm putting my party planning skills to the test... I'm challenging myself to throw her an imaginative and fun-filled 2 hours soiree for pint-sizes.. and all for.... £...

Yikes - why am I testing myself?!

Any ideas for a thrifty kids party?

No, no, don't help me - it's a test!