Birthday Party Plans

    I can't believe that my Grace is turning six this year! I feel like it was just yesterday that we were having her, and now she is a sassy, smart, beautiful child with so much to offer this world!  Every birthday in this house is important, especially for the kids.  They love their birthdays because we make them really special, while trying to stay within our budget.   My budget for birthday parties is usually around $125.00 and that includes their gift.  This is not hard to accomplish, especially with the internet and sites like Pinterest.  So here is the plan for Grace's birthday party this year:

     We are having her party at the Spray Ground at Seneca Lake State Park in Geneva.  It is only $7.00 per car to get into the park and they have a lot of space for us to set up our canopy and lots of picnic tables and grills so we don't have to rent a pavilion. This year we are serving hot dogs, chips, macaroni salad, and baked beans.  My sister is bringing a watermelon and my other friends have offered to bring things too, so our meal is going to cost around $25.00.  That is going to feed about 30 people.  Although it seems impossible, it's not, and here is how I am going to spend my budgeted dollars: 

I am shopping at Aldi and the following are prices that I know in my head for the items I am looking to buy, some of them might be off by a small amount if anything that I have listed has gone up or down in price.

Hot Dogs: 24 count $2.99 (I need 2) $5.98
Buns: 8 count $0.89 (I need 5)          $4.45
Ketchup: $1.49
Mustard: $.89
Relish: $1.29
Elbow Macaroni: 2 lbs for $1.69
Eggs: $1.55
Celery: $1.19
Chips: $1.49 (I need 2) $2.98
Dip: $1.19 (I need 2) $2.38
Beans (Great Northern) $0.59 (I need 5 cans) $2.95 

This totals $26.84

Luckily I have some of the ingredients for these dishes on hand in my house, those items include: Mayonnaise, maple syrup, brown sugar, and vinegar for the salad and the beans.  I have some ketchup and mustard too, but I like to have a fresh bottle when we have a party to ensure that we don't run out.  

For drinks we are having lemonade and water.  I buy the lemonade powder and mix it into a large 2 gallon drink cooler, there will also be a drink cooler full of water as well.  Cost will be around $5.00

I will have to purchase plates, napkins, and cups for the party.  I only do the "theme" plates for cake so everything else is just a generic paper product.  My cost for those will be around $10.00.  

Now for the cake...or cupcakes in this instance.  I love to bake (if you haven't read that already) so I make all of our birthday cakes/cupcakes, whatever the kids ask for really.  For a picnic like this, cupcakes are the best option because they are easy to keep cool and hand out. Unfortunately because it is July and this is a picnic party, there won't be any ice cream to serve. My cost for these will be about $5.00.  

Party games are not on the agenda for this party because we are going to be at a beach/ water park.  

     The total cost of this party is going to be about $50.00 for food and drink.  I won't purchase a lot of decorations because it will be hard to keep them in place.  I may get a few balloons to hang around the canopy.  So the only thing left is her gift...which I try to keep under $30.00.  I am really hoping that this party will come in around $90.00.  That is way under budget, which is okay since we went slightly over budget on vacation.  

Birthday parties can be really expensive but with planning and budgeting they don't have to be!  

Have a blessed day!