When I was a kid, we didn’t have a party for every birthday. We did, however, get to choose what was for dinner. Boy have times changed.
Money was very tight when my kids were little. You know how the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Turns out to be a wonderful concept as it put my creativity into overdrive and my kids always had more fun when we created an event rather than simply hosting one.
When my son, Bennett, turned 3, (he’s now 13!) we held a birthday parade. At that time, we lived in a track-house neighborhood, which made for the best of parade routes. We invited guests to bring their bikes, wagons, skates and baby-doll strollers. We tied balloons to everything that moved. One mom pulled the wagon with the “Happy 3rd Birthday” sandwich-board that hid the boom-box blasting parade music. (As official parade director, I’m somewhere in the back.) We circled the hood to find neighbors coming out onto their porches and into their yards to wave us by. You’ve never seen a prouder group of tiny people. No one seemed to care that it was raining on our parade. Soon enough we were home for cake, ice cream and presents before everyone left happy and ready for a nap.
Homemade Invitations: $5…Balloons: $25…Cake & Ice Cream: $20…A birthday we’ll never forget: Priceless.
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any genius suggestions for a golden birthday? my hubby is turning 30 on the 30th and i’m still racking my brain for a fun idea for his surprise party! i only have 4 days left!!!!! all i have so far is the date (that one was easy), location, and theme (80′s). besides that i’ve got nothing! i would appreciate any cute and affordable suggestions!
Hi bbc,
Years ago, I gave a 30th birthday party for a friend. I asked the guests to each bring 30 of something. You wouldn’t believe what they came up with, including my favorite -30 phone numbers of single men (she was in her prime…). Let your guests be the creative support, you’ve got the location, now order up the food.
What a great idea! Might have to have a parade for my son’s 4th birthday.
You know what, I love that idea!! My daughter would feel so special if she knew the parade was for her bday!! I am going to have to remember this.
this is so great, I am going to link and write on post on my blog! Thanks for the inspriation!!!
What a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing.
I love this idea! Every year we have a bike parade for family and friends on July 4th. We decorate bikes and then play bagpipe music along the parade “route”. (I know, a little crazy. But we’re scottish and my children associate bagpipes with parades.)
But to do this as a birthday party – genius! I can’t imagine a birthday girl or boy feeling more special than having a parade in their honor!
thanks cathe! what a great idea! i’m totally going to do that!
This is so lovely and simple! Great suggestion!!
Having Louisiana heritage and a birthday right in the middle of Mardi Gras, I had always planned on giving my daughter a Parade-themed Mardi Gras birthday. Masks and beads are super inexpensive and every kid (and grown-up) loves to throw/catch them. Throw in some dubloons and a homemade King Cake and we are talking super-easy and cheap. Thanks for the suggestion for the wagons and sandwich board signs. Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!
awww ive actually got tears in my eyes *I blame mummy hormones*
that is the best birthday idea I think ive ever heard
the photos make it come to life :)
Just brillant!
That is such a cute idea!!! I would love to try that with my kids. Thanks for the suggestion!!
Adorable, that’s my kind of party. My daughter just turned 3 in March so we had an Easter egg party – a couple of $1.99 dye sets, a couple of dozen eggs hard boiled, a couple of plastic table cloths and old shirts for smocks, and it was a hit. Honestly, decorating eggs is so fun I would do it any time of year, for any occasion.
Also, my sister has a tradition for her kids’ parties that they can only invite as many friends as years they are old (so it’s not out of control), they always play a pin-the-something-on-the-something (homemade poster to go with any theme), and the main activity is either making their own food (like ice cream cone cupcakes or individual pita pizzas) or making their own favors (like pipe cleaner headbands or handprint totebags) – the idea being to knock out two birds with one stone and save herself work. Cheap, too, when the kids’ creativity are their own entertainment.
We have a mix of home and away parties. The at home parties are definitely the more remembered and talked about, but sometimes a home party just isn’t in the cards. My sons birthday is 9 days before Christmas. a bunch of 3-5 year old boys in my house a week before CHristmas is not going to happen. Now that he’s in school, I’m going to try and plan a 1/2 birthday during the early summer for him, so we can have the fun outdoor birthday parties.
I love the parade. We may have to try this someday!
Brilliant idea! That's a very unique birthday celebration. The kids were having fun and they are really cute.
Brilliant!
i just did a bike parade party for all three of my kids, ages 4, 7, and 9. they all have summer birthdays and i let each one invite about 6 friends. we decorated the bikes with spoke covers made from scrap book paper (templates on martha stewart), curly ribbon from the dollar store, homemade pinwheels, laminated name plates, streamers and of course balloons. kids of all ages enjoyed decorating and parading and with the giant costco cake and 25 helium filled balloons, the party cost me about 50 bucks. it helped that the town my husband works for just had a road respect rally with lots of leftovers. kids went home with pencils, bike lights, pens, and i splurged on some chocolate.
I just purchased a darling, wooden (REAL WOOD!), two-sided art easel for my daughter who is turning 3. After looking online at the plastic ones that were $60 and up, I turned to Craigslist and found a nice family that was moving and needed a new home for items their own children had grown out of. I could tell from the info and pictures that it was in good condition, and it fit within our birthday budget!
We have a family party where the birthday child gets to pick the meal and what kind of cake. This year my oldest 2 (whose birthdays are 1 month apart) both choose FROZEN PIZZA! Oh yea, that’s what I’m talking about! My daughter chose an Egyptian cake (I made a pyramid) and my son chose T-Rex (I made a volcano with a plastic T-Rex beside it). I believe the thrill is seeing what I will try to come up with.
We don’t do a friends party for every birthday. The last friends party we had was when my daughter turned 4 and we had an “Art Party” in the backyard. I borrowed most everything and made the invitations. We had it in the afternoon so no meal was needed. Total cost was around $25. And we all had a blast. The kids wore old bathing suits and we got out the sprinklers. I didn’t even have to clean the house! WINNING. Right here.
Cathe, I adore your blog! I would like to be you when I grow up!
What a great idea, especially on a tight budget! Love it :) Could maybe even do it at a park with a round-about path and have a dessert and birthday cake picnic afterwards. Thanks for sharing… I am pregnant right now with my first and will definitely keep it in mind for future birthdays to come!
I love it! What a great way to celebrate someone :)