Frugal Birthdays

In  honor of my middle son's birthday today, this is birthday party day.  Birthday Parties are one of the many ways we show our kids how much we love them.  However, the amount of money that you spend does not have to equal your love.  You CAN do birthdays without breaking the bank.  Here are a few ideas:

• Invitations:  Use evite.com, this saves on the cost of the cards and the postage.  Almost everyone has an email address these days and that is all that is needed to send an invitation.  You can also track what guests are coming, send party reminders and (hopefully not) cancel the party if someone becomes ill.  (Can you tell this has happened to us?)  In our family, Great Grandma does not have email, we just send her a paper invitation that this kids have colored.  She likes that better than the expensive store-bought ones, anyways.  Our family has used this service for baptisms, baby showers, birthday parties, and weddings showers. 
• Make your own cake.  It is no secret how much store bought cakes cost.  Starting with my eldest son's first birthday, the kids were allowed to pick the "theme" of the party and I then make a cake that corresponds.  Skeptical?  I am NOT creative or artistically talented (that skipped a generation) but with the proper instructions, a cake mix and pre-made icing, you would be amazed what you can do.   Family Fun Magazine and their website are great places to find ideas.  I am motivated by the large amounts of money that have been saved and by the fact that my kids have loved being a part of making the cakes and helping to decorate them.  No matter how bad you think it looks (and some of mine have looked NOTHING like the picture), they always love them.  Keep in mind, however, my oldest is only 5, so my critics pretty much like anything that is brightly colored and covered in sugar!
• Growing up, we only had "friend" parties on certain birthdays.  The ages 4, 6, 12 and 15 are coming to mind.  We always had cake and ice cream with relatives, but the big friend parties were confined to those years.  With four kids, it was what you had to do.  We survived and I have really great memories of those parties.  I remember them very clearly because they don't just all blend together. 
• For the presents, wrap them in comics.  It is less expensive and kids don't care what is on the outside, they only want to get what's on the inside.  Frugal Fort Wayne has talked about this before, you can find it here.
• Thank You Notes:  Have your kids draw a picture or write them on their own, if able.  You don't need matching notes, just use the cheapest note cards you can find.  If you feel comfortable doing it, you can also send email thank yous to those that you don't think it will offend. 
• Use solid colored paper products if you choose to go the disposable route.  Kids like the characters, but solid colors are really a lot less expensive.
• If you have balloons, get them at the dollar store.  Did you know they sell mylar helium balloons there? There is a large variety of options. 
• Use what you have around the house.  This year we did a pirate theme for my middle son's birthday.  My mom made a pirate ship out of cardboard boxes, and we all wore bandanas from the dress-ups.  My dad walked around with a stuffed parrot beanie baby on his shoulder all night.  My sister Googled pirate sayings (most are pretty lewd, so be careful!) and talked like a pirate all night.  -- Pictures of the party to follow. 

Above all, don't apologize for your frugality.  You are doing the best you can with what you have.  If your kids don't have the Star Wars plates, they are not going to grow up thinking that you don't love them.

These are just a few ideas, not a comprehensive list, do what works for your family!