I just recently lost my job and my daughter's birthday is comming up soon. Anyone have any ideas on how i can give her the best birthday ever without spending alot? She is going to be 8 years old.

Sarah - posted on 10/28/2011

Well at dollar tree you can go by some streamer birthday plates and go to publix or whatever store is cheapest get a cake and have it somewhere fun like at the park and let her invite some school friends

hope this helps!..

Casey - posted on 10/27/2011

I have another idea. My step daughter just turned 7, money was a little tight this year and with it getting colder we couldnt have a party for her at the park. ( our apartment isnt big enough to have it here) So we decided to let her have a few friends stay the night. She had one friend one night and 2 the next. Kinda a birthday weekend. lol. We then had cake and ice cream. We took her to toy r us and let her pick out her gift from us. She loved it.

Colleen - posted on 10/27/2011

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your job. The great news is that you can do a party on a budget that makes everyone in the family happy.

I too used the www.birthdaypartyideas.com website the year my husband lost his job. We used the Winter Olympics theme and we played games indoors based on that theme.

Instead of cake I made cupcakes and let the girls decorate them with gummy worms, sprinkles and other fun stuff themselves and let them eat them.

Before I let them decorate and eat them I set them up to look like the Olympic rings and put the candles in them for her to blow put before the decorating began. She loved it.

We made hot dogs and my girlfriend brought veggies and dip over. We served potato chips. We kept the food simple and inexpensive. And I appreciated my girlfriend
helping out.

We are used to hosting her birthday party outside of the home and tend not to worry about the cost. But that year it was at home and so affordable and she loved it. I seem to remember having a budget of $100 for the party, not including her presents. I think that I could have spent less if I needed to.

She loved having her girlfriends over to her home. We cleared out the front room to give them a room to play games in.

I even made the invitations on the home computer.

I may do that again this year as we're working on a tighter budget again.

The theme made it feel important. And I let her have some input.

They can play loads of games to fill up the time and that site is great for ideas. Many of the games I printed out the materials from the computer. They did a simple craft. I handed out treats from the bulk food store as they played games. The most I spent was $15 on Twister. We can reuse that this year if we want to.

Much luck! I'm confident that your daughter will have a wonderful time no matter what you choose to do. My daughter just liked the attention of her friends and the presents that her friends gave.

ANDREA - posted on 10/26/2011

The smaller the party the better! If she invites say a maximum of 10 of her friends that will be easier and less stressful then if u had a huge bash with lots of kids & their parents. Dollar stores are your best friend. They have cute accessories as well as cool prizes and treats the kids can enjoy. You can buy a cake at your local supermarket bakery or bake your own. As long as u make it fun she wont even notice that u didnt spend a fortune.

SomeRandomMother - posted on 10/05/2011

A theme looks expensive and well thought out. We have experienced a few financially tight birthdays in the Random House and I have discovered a well thought out theme and the dollar store are the best things ever!

We did a back yard harvest rodeo one year. At that party we invited the kids to dress as anything 'harvest' related and we had scarecrows, farmers, pumpkins and farm animals show up. We did banana box races, guord bowling, pin the face on the pumpkin and wheelbarrow races in the back yard. I bought plain welcome mats at the dollar store and the kids each painted a Harvest Welcome Mat as a craft. We decorated our own cupcakes and make gummy scarecrows with toothpicks and candy.

I have also done a 'All Things Crafty' party for my daughter when she turned 9. I went to the dollar store and bought plastic wine glasses for each of the girls invited then they made beaded glass markers, filled their cups with an assortment of candies and added a straw for their candy cocktails. We painted nails, did hair, decorated flip flops, played Bling Bingo (each girl who got 'bingo' got to choose some 'bling' from a basket, jewelry was bought at the dollar store or thrift stores). the girls got to take their cocktails, bling, decorated flip flops and nail polish home as goodie bags.

At the girl party there were 8 girls invited and we did everything (my daughter's gift included) for less than $100.

Best of Luck!

Casey - posted on 10/05/2011

I was trying to find a good site to help you. But I had little success. You can watch come tutorials on youtube though

Casey - posted on 10/05/2011

Ive always made and decorated my kids birthday cakes myself. They might not look as good as the store bought cakes. but they are alot cheaper. Let her invite friends and play lots of games. You could get her a few cheaper toys instead of one bit expensive toy. Or you can explain to her that money is tight right now. But you still love her just the same. We buy our kids one toy and then a few outfits. I leave all the cool stuff up to family.

Anne - posted on 10/04/2011

How old is your daughter? My son is 5 and I buy a lot of his b-day and x-mas presents at yard sales, like Lego, Playmobile or Hotwheels toys. He doesn't care. He just sees the helicopter or car or boat and is the happiest kid alive! It doesn't always have to be new. We did the same with our daughter's Barbie horse. It's from a local flea market.

For our kids, the last birthday parties we celebrated at home. Hot dogs, cup cakes and a big treasure hunt through the yard or the neighborhood. The treasure box contained bubbles for every kid. We also played a lot of games, like musical chairs, stop-dance, etc.

Serena - posted on 10/04/2011

If you can't buy the expensive stuff she wants, go for quantity. Go to the dollar store and get lots of little things (20 items, 20 dollars) her favorite candy, little toys, hair stuff, etc. I've done this with my son before when we didn't have money. Lots of presents to open, and you can play with all the cheesy dollar store toys (they don't last long, but they can be a lot of fun for a little while). If your daughters grandparents are still alive, more than likely she will get one or two more expensive presents. But when it comes to the party itself - paper decorations, streamers, balloons, etc. You can have a great party with lots of stuff to open for under $30.00!

Michelle - posted on 10/03/2011

Look on Craigslist. Don't forget to look at the free section or whatever it is called. Goodwill, secondhand stores, and garage sales are great places to go if you are looking for gifts or fun stuff for the party. Dollar stores are good, too.



Also, you might want to start couponing. Depending on when her birthday or party is you can get some stuff for pretty inexpensive. Just look online for coupon sites that do the match ups for you like http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

You will be amazed on what you can get inexpensively.



You can do a great party on a small budget. You will just have to make things or think outside of the box.



If you are looking for ideas for a party theme I normally go to http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/



I normally modify things for what my kids would like, what I have on hand or can get inexpensive, and what I can reasonably do.



If you are looking for a little bit of money you can try and sell things on Craigslist. I do that when I need a little bit of money for something. Sell a little bit here and there and before you know it you have a little nest egg saved for what you need or want.



Good luck and sorry to hear about the job loss.