Budget for kid's birthday party

Dear Supriya,

Though i dont have any practical experience yet i am still poking my nose here,hope u find it useful Computer Typing

I had recently attended a birthday party for 1 yr old twins.
They had organised the party at home.Cooked majority of food at home.They had ordered sweets and naan from a gud hotel nearby.That way the food was v gud.
Then for all the kids that had come to the party they gave 1 cute paper bag.In that fancy paper bag there were choclates,a gift card from Babies R Us and a small fancy toy.The kids and their parents were happy with the goody bag.
I felt we all adults as well the kids had a gud time.They also did it on a medium budget.But it was v neat and not kind of cheap.

Hope u like this..

suji

 

Hi Supriya,

How old is your son goind to be? Depending on that you have a few options.

1. Going to a restaurant will prove expensive. Most restaurants want a minimum number of people to cater to. So think about how many people you are inviting before going with this option.
2. Park is great. A lot of us have our parties in the park. Kids love it, since they get to run around and have fun. Some parks allow you to reserve the spot for a small fee, and then if you like you could get a person who does those fancy ballons or a carcicature artist or something on those lines.
3. Chucke Cheeses itself has party packages. A really nice and neat and clean deal. They take care of everything. I think they give you about 2 hours for the whole party, but then if your child is under three, then this is not a good option since the underthree lot do not know what to do other than play in the ball pit!. the packages usually are about 10 bucks per kid, and minimum of 10 kids. then all the food for adults ( which you have to order fromthem) is extra.
4. If hosting at home, then you could have the entertainment at home itself , and minimise the cost. Get some activities based on some character and you could give them a good "goody bag" in return. We already have athread on goodybags in the kids forum please search for that.

Hope this helps.

Vandhana

 

Supriya,

Being in NJ, how can you miss going out to a park its the best thing for kid parties.. they will have lots of fun...

There are lot of state parks with minimal amount (like $20 or something to book the area for your party).. The area will be open bunches and a small area for serving... I remember a very nice park somewhere in bridgewater.. there is a pond and lots of playarea.. kids and even we adults had lots of fun.. you have many such around.. just call up and find out..

And if you have 1 week time, then you can prepare one dish per day and have them ready.. since its kids party.. u can have a simple menu

(1) 2 dishes and one rice
(2) kiddy food - some snacks, pizza or whatever they like.. mommies know better
(3) Drinks.. - lemonade

With inflation, going out to dinner will burn your purse like anything last week my friend had a party in sukh sagar... just the usual buffet.. it was $20 per person.. I just fainted hearing that.. because when they opened long back.. we had $10/person parties....

If your budget is $500[just for food], then you can try tawa.. I guess the togo might work out cheaper if you go and talk to them in person and bargain

Also, I wouldnt suggest at home parties...unless its in the middle of november :mrgreen:

(1) you got to cleanup the whole mess before and after
(2) Since you had mentioned, your kid loves to play, it would be unfair to confine him to a single room Big LaughBig Laugh
(3) Its summer !!!!!!!
(4) Its not a get-together(2-3) families.. I guess you had mentioned 50 guests?
(5) you need to spend some money on home entertainment(games for them to play) goody bags. If park or playareas like chucky[might be costly when compared to park.. but anyways check it out], then thats it.

 

Hi Supriya,
I had never organised any kid's party at my home, but still writing FB from my experience of attending kid's B'Day......
Party at home during this time of the year will not be much of fun....
We have a recreation club in our appartment which is at the pool side....so many of my frds had arranged parties over there....and they are not time limiting, so u have whole day to spend there.....kids enjoy games/swimming etc.....so, you can also have a theme for your party.....and it will make things easier for you apparently while organising games....and also include parents in that....make group of either of a parent with the kid while the other will be cheerleading.....
You will find many games in Internet itself.....
If you have good frds around, u can ask for a helping hand......frds generally love to help while arranging parties.....
About food, you can prepare some if you like but here people used to go for catering as it's not a costly affair......make sure to add some kids food like Pizza/pastas/chips.....as kids here used to make a fuss over rice/naan......
About cleaning, most of the people are very conscious here and with all disposible things available in USA, cleaning is absolutely not a big task after the party...
Regards.

 

Supriya... I met the state parks.. it was years back.. it was the bridgewater state park I guess... She has moved to NY... let me try to get the details.. but I cant guarantee :mrgreen:

Best thing would be to check out the state park site and call them.. they can give you more infor.. Also she was resident in bridgewater.. may be you can get to alone those in your county...only that way it will be cheaper I guess.. so its better to call and find out...will buzz you if I get more info

 

Hi Supriya,

For cakes , the trend is usually to do your childs most favorite tv or cartoon character . The bakery can make it in the shape of the character ( more expensive) or you could go for the regular rectangular or circle cake and have the bakery put some nice decorations pertaining to the theme along with the small figurines of the character. When you go to order, they will have an album with pictures to help you choose.

Depending on the number of people order the cake. 1/4 sheet serves about 25 to 30 guests ( that is medium slices). 1/2 sheet will serve 50 + people.

if there are more adults in your party than kids, go for a fresh fruit filled cake . Like strawberry short cake , or a mango mouse cake.

More kids then go with the usual favorites of plain vanilla or chocolate cake.

Hope this helps. Hope you find some suggestions for a good bakery, if not, most of the time your local grocery store bakery cakes are good too.

V

 

supriya.. you know hotbreads in oak tree road, next to swagat? Awesome cakes... I have a fan of it from my childhood... you can pre order with different themes... it shudnt cost more than $50.. check it out.. my friend did spiderman cake last year