Birthday Parties on a Budget

Planning birthday parties on a budget doesn't mean you can't throw the best birthday party ever. It just takes a little ingenuity to pull it all together.

Renee from Chesapeake, VA shares tips and ideas for throwing a fab kids birthday party without shelling out too many bucks from your wallet.

Unusual Birthday Ideas : Hobo Party

Shared by Renee M. Chesapeake, Virginia

Birthday Parties on a Budget

My oldest daughter recently turned 10. We wanted to come up with an inexpensive way to celebrate, while also keeping it fun for everyone.

After much thought and creativity, we decided to throw a hobo birthday party. We sent out invitations to each child, asking them to come dressed as a hobo.

At the bottom of the invite was a request for one can of vegetables. All of the invitations were handmade and wrinkled up like a piece of trash. Authenticity is the key!

For party food we had hobo stew and garbage cake. For birthday games there was and old shoe toss game and hobo bowling. There was also a "worst dressed hobo" contest.

Birthday Parties on a Budget : Food

Planning was simple. For food the kids ate hobo stew. We used the veggies each guest brought and tossed them into a pot.

There were several different varieties which only added to the fun. The only thing we had to add on our own was tomato sauce and seasoning. Simple and delicious!

The cake was made at home using boxed cake mix, gummy worms, frosting and crushed Oreo's. The finished product looked like a pile of dirt with slimy worms seeping out from all angles. It was a riot to look at but even more fun to eat.

Birthday Parties on a Budget : Decorations

When it came to birthday party decorations, we recycled items from around the house. Old newspapers were used as table cloths and tissues were used as napkins. Not only was this a way to save but the cleanup was simplified as well.

Birthday Parties on a Budget : Party Games

Games were quite silly. We did a shoe toss, which consisted of each child removing their shoes and putting them in a pile.

One by one the children would toss the shoes from the pile, into a cardboard box across the room. The child who got the most shoes in the box won a prize.

The prizes also went with the theme and included things like body wash, deodorant, flavored toothpaste and more.

We also played hobo bowling. Using the cans from the veggies, we set up "bowling pins". In place of a bowling ball we used an old basketball that was sitting in the backyard.

Believe it or not this game is harder than it looks. The cans would scoot across the floor if not hit just right. This made for several laughs.

Between games, cake, presents and food, we had music playing and let the kids burn some energy. It killed some time but also let them mingle with one another. By the end of the party most of the kids were worn out.

Costume Contests are Free!!!

The only thing left to do was judge the hobo costumes. Prizes were awarded for worst dressed. One boy hobo and one girl hobo won a special prize.

The prizes can be anything but we decided on a basketball hoop for a boy (the kind that hangs on the back of their door) and a stationary set (with stickers and pens) for a girl.

The whole party was a success and in total we spent about $50. That is much lower than the average birthday party these days. Anyone on a budget should give this idea some serious consideration. There's very little work to do and your wallet (and kids) will thank you.