How to Keep a Birthday Party Under $100

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So I might not quite be like the lady who kept her daughter's birthday party under $10 bucks, but I know how to be thrifty when I want to be! There are quite a few variables that go into planning any party - location, age of child, number of guests, etc - so planning a party on my budget may not be as easy for you, but I'm going to show you how I'm planning my daughter's 5th birthday party for under $100. If you have any tips, please leave them in the comments!

Location -- We are planning on having her party at the park. They charge $15 to rent a pavilion, so that only leaves $85 to work with. Sometimes you can have a party at the park for free, or have it in your back yard or even at a relative's or friend's house. Brainstorm to come up with different free venues. Sometimes restaurants that have indoor play areas will not make you reserve and pay for tables for your party, but that also means there may not be tables available when you show up. -- $85 left

Party Supplies & Decor -- There are great sets out there when it comes to buying things for character birthday parties, but don't get sucked in! Sapphire wants a Hello Kitty birthday party, so we are going to get a few HK balloons and the rest will be solid colors to match. The plates, napkins, etc will be solid colors to match as well. This article talks about using origami to fold the napkins. Great idea!

 Napkins, table cloths, plates, cups, decorations - Under $15 total at Dollar Tree. -- $70 left

Party Favors -- Depending on the age and gender, tiles, crayons, or even hair accessories (tutorials here, here & here) may be good party favors. A good rule of thumb is to spend no more than $1 per guest on party favors when trying to stay under $100. I'm going to use organza bags that I have on hand, and fill them with hair accessories for the girls and bugs for the boys ($1 for 10 at Wal-Mart for bugs in the party supply section). - $10 total, as we expect 12 guests and I have most of this stuff on hand. -- $60 left

If you search for cheap birthday party ideas, many places will tell you to skip invitations. I disagree with this, because I absolutely love receiving mail - so I figure everyone else does too! You can have the birthday girl create invitations, or you can make them in Word - your expenses will be minimal. Or you could even purchase them at Dollar Tree for $2 and use the rest for postage. Under $10. -- $50 left

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Games & Entertainment --  Skip the cheesy $200 magician, or the $100 creepy clown, and go old school. Play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Musical Chairs, and any other games that are free. -- $50 left

Remember, most kids just want to have fun and eat cake. Read this article on how to simplify your party.

Food & Drinks -- For our party, we are serving hot dogs and chips: think end of August in St. Louis... do you have a better idea?? :) I know this opinion isn't favorable, and almost every "budget birthday" article tells you to bake your own cake, but I do not like them. So we are going to serve cupcakes that we purchase from a bakery. Drinks will be water - I have a ton of bottled water from when it was free - and punch (on hand). $35 total -- $15 left.

The last $15 can be spent on gifts, or on making and filling a pinata!