Don't Let Another Birthday Present Ruin Your Family Budget!
Aug 30 '00 (Updated Jun 24 '07)
The Bottom Line Think ahead, buy on sale, buy classic items not trendy items. Then presents will not be outdated.
If your children are like mine then they are always receiving invitations to birthday parties. A party at Chuck E. Cheese's last week, another one at McDonalds next week. We have even had a few times when my daughter was at Chuck E. Cheese's and my son was at McDonalds for two different parties at the same time.
Then there are home birthday parties, and birthday parties at the movie theater. There are swim parties and parties at school. We have been to bowling birthday parties and to birthday parties at Michael's Craft Store. Birthday party invitations are constantly coming in the door. These invitations can really put a dent in the family budget. We need to know how to handle these parties financially!
Birthday parties for children get expensive. When an invitation to one comes in if you are not prepared with a gift for the party then it can ruin the weekly budget. Buying the gift, wrapping paper and a card. It adds up. It adds up especially when there are so many of these parties to go to. Once the school year begins the invitations begin coming in. It gets expensive. So I have devised a few plans to help me battle the birthday party expenses.
When wrapping the gift try to RECYCLE your old newspapers. A great and fun way to wrap a gift for a child is to use the newspaper. My daughter sits and cuts out letters from the newspaper to make a card. We use the YOU BORN TODAY in the horoscope section to make a card that is personalized. You can be very creative with a newspaper. We also use the comics section to wrap the gift. My children make all of their own cards for Birthday parties.
My daughter has made cards that are fun by cutting out the crossword puzzle section and pasting it into her card. She has added the word jumble and her own coloring and imagination and made some really nice cards for her friends. She has cut individual letters out of the paper and put the friend's name on it.
For the younger child's party it is not necessary to wrap the gift. If you are invited to the party of a one year old or even a two year old I think it is silly to wrap the gift. I make bags for those parties using paper grocery bags that the kids can decorate. For the smaller child the mom is usually the package unwrapper and I think it is easier to just reach in and take the present out rather than to make it long and drawn out.
Using recyclables to wrap a present saves money and it is a lot of fun. It takes more time and more thought than spending 4.00 on a sheet of wrapping paper, but if you have the plan in mind it is easy to do.
Buying the present itself can also add up. I shop at the clearance sections and keep things on hand. Kaybee has a great toyclearance section to purchase gifts for parties. I put these things away and pull them out when I need them. If I don't happen to have anything on hand then when I go to purchase an item I usually buy two. This way I can put the item away for the next party. If the next party doesn't happen then I have a stocking stuffer for one of my own children. I try to buy items that are classic toys. I do not purchase the trendy stuff. I put coloring books and markers and paint brushes away.
A great gift for an older child is a disposable camera. The child can use it at the party. I purchase these when I see them on sale and put them away for the birthday parties. School supplies are also a good gift. Blank books, notebooks, pens pencils. These can be picked up inexpensively when they are on sale and they can be put away.
Presents for birthday parties can be a lot of fun to purchase and to wrap. We make the wrapping be a lot of fun. You do not need to spend a ton of money. As your child enters school you will want to be prepared for the party invitations. So think ahead and your budget will be spared!
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