I am soo excited and sad to report that last weekend was my littlest’s first birthday 🥳😭 soo many emotions go on as a mother when your baby turns 1! It was such a fun get together and I actually planned ahead to get everything done ahead of time so I didn’t have too much stress! I stuck to a budget of under $250 which would have been easy if I didn’t want a ball pit. But after many searches I found the setup and balls for all under $60! We had a blast having all the family over- with my sisters and my husbands brothers we have 8 cousins plus my 2, so it was a FULL house!
For the kids we had the ball pit, a coloring station and a few toys (I cleared out most of the playroom to cut out the huge mess that would have ensued).
But it seemed that everyone had a blast! I made all the decorations, cake & food. And I have to say it looked so amazing that I left it all up for a week! Lol!
From the front door you already feel the kitty rainbow vibe (my 4 year old helped with the theme) and I made fun and funny puns to go on the banners and table tents.
Here are some tips that kept me on budget and helped make the party festive:
-Making your decorations, this is a MUST if you want to not blow your budget. You can hand cut them if you don’t have a fancy silhouette or find a friend that does and see if they are willing to help you 🙂
-Balloons – a few parties back I bought a fill it yourself helium tank from Michael’s, it was on sale and I used a coupon. Not to mention this was “free” since it was bought for a prior party 🙂 also I did a balloon staircase, to keep people downstairs and also to look cool and I just used the good ol LUNGS for that lol 🙂 It was tough but fun!
-PINTEREST! I know some are not crafty but every one of us has a little craft in us, you just have to find it! Pick simple ideas, and ideas you can make ahead so that day of or even a couple days before you are not feeling the stress – I had oreos that were dipped in white chocolate in the shape of paws (buy silicon paw trays, fill with melted white chocolate, shove oreo in tray, put in fridge to harden)…. Now ANYONE can make these 🙂 lol
-Use Amazon, marketplace (Facebook), or your Moms groups for party supplies! Just put it out there in a group and see if anyone has something for sale cheap or free that you can use to make your ideas happen! I bought balls for the ballpit on marketplace and got twice as many as I could afford off amazon for WAY less! Plan ahead tho- buying in a pinch is always when you spend the most $$. Which brings me to my last tip:
-PLAN AHEAD! This will help you watch for deals, things to go on sale and will also alleviate stress of feeling like everything is happening all at once 🙂
Steph's Lifestyle 