You’ve taken the first money-saving step by mustering the courage to host a kids’ birthday party at your home. Now you’re wondering, how do I keep this group of kids entertained, make the party memorable and stay within my budget — all at the same time? Below are some cost-saving birthday party ideas that can keep kids engaged and occupied.
Photo: Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash
Put on a scavenger hunt
A scavenger hunt works well for all age groups. Hide toy soldiers, fake coins or other small items you can purchase from a dollar store or already have around the house. Before guests arrive, scatter the items around the house or outside.
- Sufficient Quantity: you will get 100 golden pirate coins, enough to fill up your treasure chest or share with your friend
- Size Information: each fake gold coin measures approx. 3.5 x 3.7 cm/ 1.37 x 1.45 inch, and weighs just about 1.3 g, easier for you to hold and carry
- Strong Material: the pretend gold coins are made of quality plastic material, which are safe, reliable and strong, glossy surfaces and not easy to fade or deform, which can be applied for a long time
Depending on the age of the kids, you can leave them out in the open or hide them to make the game more difficult. Give each kid a maximum number of items they can find (to avoid hoarding) or have them break into teams to play.
To make the hunt more challenging for older kids, have it take place in a dark room or outside at night with kids using flashlights or glow sticks. If the kids want to play a second time, let the first person to find 10 items create the scavenger hunt for the next round.
Create a music video
Take advantage of those FREE iPhone or iPad applications. The Video Star application by Frontier Design Group can be great for parties. Video Star is easy for kids to use, works with any song you have downloaded and can be stopped or started at any time, making for really cool choreographed music videos (or really silly, as the case may be).
You can create a music video contest with a theme chosen by the birthday kid or have a showcase of all the creative videos once completed. The best of all the masterpieces can be easily forwarded to friends and family for future viewing.
Photo: Deposit Photos
Make an obstacle course
An obstacle course can be done in the yard, in the garage or even inside the house. It may take some prep work, but it gets the kids moving. Your course can become a princess challenge or superhero training.
Include some type of balancing act, jumping back and forth, climbing through and climbing over — but only using items you already have at on hand.
- AGE-APPROPRIATE FUN – Carnival games like ring toss, bean bag rings, and bean bag cone sets are ideal for both adults and children.
- DURABLE MATERIALS – Crafted from reliable and durable materials, these carnival-style games are built to last. They’re waterproof and also resistant to tearing, fading, cracking, and warping so you can enjoy them for years to come. Not to mention, the bag pack, unicorn ring toss, and cone bean bag rings are all eye-catching, creating a colorful and inviting game for any carnival theme party!
- HOME ENTERTAINMENT – A carnival-style game like the jumbo outdoor games and ring cone toss is the perfect way to keep your family entertained.
Track individual times or group times through the course with the goal of improving upon the initial time each successive try. Creative challenges can always be added, such as going through the course backward, on one leg, hopping, holding something, blindfolded, etc. The sillier the added challenge, the more fun.
Build forts
This all-time favorite works well with all ages, and especially for sleepover parties. Use blankets, pillows, sheets, chairs and other miscellaneous furniture to build forts. You gather what items you have on hand, and the kids will creatively build their fort inside the house. See who can build the fastest masterpiece or biggest fortress possible.
Play a group guessing game
Guessing games range from classic Charades to a team version of Family Feud. My favorite is a version of Pictionary. Stock up on poster board from the dollar store and tape it to the wall. The kids (or team) will take turns choosing the item to be drawn and guessed within the time limit. You come up with the list of items based on your birthday theme and adjust for difficulty based on age.
Make a stop-motion movie
Divide the kids into teams and have them each create a stop-motion movie. Stop Motion Studio by Cateater is a great FREE application (for Apple or Windows devices) that can be used for any gathering. My 8-year-old especially likes it for Lego creations.
One idea for older kids is to give each “team” a bag of Skittles and see which group can make the best moving motion design out of skittles in 15 minutes. The possibilities are endless, even in a limited time with minimal props.
Want more ideas on how to save money on kids’ birthday parties? Follow our money-saving tips on how to plan a kids’ birthday party for less than $100.
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