2yr. DD Bday Party on a budget. Where buy food, cake & paper goods? & ideas for games/activities

[colegiala]

Hi, I am giving a small bday party (25-30 people)for my 2yr DD in my buildings recreational room which is by the pool area this Aug 5th. I am not sure what to have for food. I am thinking maybe hot dogs, burgers, potato salad, macaroni salad. The idea is to keep it simple, fun and on a budget. I live in S. Florida we have Publix, Winn Dixie, BJ, Cosco. I don't belong to the clubs, but I can go with a friend. Where do you suggest to find the best savings on the food & birthday cake? Would love any other ideas on the menu.

Also I haven't bought tablecloth and paper goods. She loves the Wiggles but I didn't find them at my Party City or Target. Second choice would be Elmo. Who has the best prices on these?

Lastly, any ideas on games activities? Babies with diapers are not allowed in my buildings pool so I am having 2 small inflatable pools for them. Any ideas on activities/games I can have for them. Goody bag ideas?

I know I'm asking lots of ?, but any ideas would help.
TIA,
Gaby

[lil_acorn]

We just did ds's 3 year bday party and had to provide the food. We went to BJ's - they were having a promotion on membership $10 off so the membership was only $35 and valid for 15 instead of 12 months.

For teh kids, we bought Uncrustables. For adults, we bought a 3 foot sub for only $25- it says it feeds to 10-12, but I think we could have fed 15-18 with it. You have to pre-order 24 hours from the deli. We also got chips and I made a pasta salad. Their cakes are also really good - whipped cream frosting and not too sweet - a half sheet was only $20 and that's with the decoration - we went with Sesament street, but they may have Wiggles. They've got a whole cake book of themes.

We didn't bother going with special theme plates, just picked up decorative ones at BJs and they have table cloths with balloons on them - 3 for $7.

For goodie bags, hit Target - they have an entire section devoted t othis. We picked up dollar spot flash cards (animals, dinosaurs, etc), bubble makers, stickers, playdough.

Good luck!

[miki]

You can't go wrong with Costco. For that many people, you might actually be able to finish one of their decorated sheet cakes. You can order it in advance and pick the flavor cake, type of filling, and the decoration on top. They also have plenty of prepared foods and party platters. They always have veggie and fruit platters at the one we frequent. Also, if you just want to stick to hot dogs and such, they have good deals on that stuff too. You can buy all the stuff you mentioned in quantities large enough to feed 30 people.

[bubbaray]

25-30 people is a small party? Wow, I'm in the dark ages....

Schedule your party mid-afternoon and people won't expect a full-on meal. Costco has good prices on slab cakes. I like the idea of a sub for adults. I find, however, that if you have cake and maybe ice cream for the kiddos, fruit & veggie trays for the adults and some beverages, you're good to go for a mid-afternoon party that's after lunch, before dinner.

I would do one thing (napkins or plates) in your "theme" and do the rest in color-coordinated items from a dollar store. For example, you could get Elmo napkins and red or blue plates, cups & tablecloth, white cutlery. I tend to get only napkins in the theme and then use more generic colors for the other items (so I can buy in bulk and use them from year to year).

I wouldn't do much of a game/activity for a 2yo. I did one for DD#1s 2nd (bought sand pails and tons of stickers, kids got to decorate them and take them home, loot bags were related beach items -- her b-d is in April). The kiddos d/n do much of the activity, their parents did. The kids were happy with "free play" in our family room. For her 3rd b-day, we hired an entertainer (not really a clown, but kinda -- story, magic show and balloon characters), which was a huge hit.

FWIW, we had a HUGE party for DD#1s 1st b-day (over 100 people) and it was stoo-pid. For her 2nd, we had 5 kids and their parents. Much more fun for all. We had about 8 kids for her 3rd. "They" say invite as many kids as the b-day child is old -- so for a 2nd b-day, invite 2 kids. I think that's a bit small, but DD#1 would have been plenty happy with just 2 kids for her 2nd b-day. We've learned by experience -- DD#2 will be having much smaller parties, LOL!

HTH
Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[SnuggleBuggles]

I would make cupcakes from scratch. They would be much cheaper than most other options- and be healthier and tastier. You could make a regular cake(s) too. Cupcakes work well for that age though. Trickier to transport but for $15-20 you can get a cup cake carrier at Michaels (Wilton brand). Shoeboxes work too.

Pizza is really cost efficient, I have found, for b-day parties. Add to that a cut up watermelon.

Stickers and bubbles would be fine goody bag gifts and you should be able to find them cheap.

Paper goods? I would go with solid colors for most things then some accents. The meal plates could be solid but the cake plates could be The Wiggles or Elmo. Try other party supply stores b/c I have found that even in the same chains in my city they have different selections.

ETA- I wouldn't worry about activities. At that age just have some outdoor toys (bubbles, sidewalk chalk, a ride on toy, balls,...) and just let them play. The little pools are a nice idea too.

Btw, I agree with a pp- I am behind the times! 25-30 is a big party for me. :)
HTH a bit,
Beth

[dules]

The recipe on the Hershey's unsweetened cocoa package (has a cup of boiling water in it) is failproof and really good. I'd make your own cake or cupcakes with that, and a simple frosting.

As far as snacks v. meals, etc. it depends on the time of day. Party at 2PM, serve snacks and cake. Party at noon, you have to provide lunch.

I agree with the PP's; we had about 15 people (adults and kids included) for DD's 2nd and it felt fairly large!

Have fun!

Mary

[kransden]

Do you have Dollar Stores? You can often get the table coverings, plastic forks etc. and birthday plates there for... that's right a dollar :) Sometimes they also have Elmo plates that you can mix with solid color plates for the adults or use just for the cake.

I think the hotdogs or burgers would be a pain for you. I would go with pizza or a sub sandwich like other pp have suggested.

Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[Jen841]

Here are a few party on a budget ideas we have used...
Make your own cake/cupcakes if you can. Everyone always loves cupcakes made in ice cream cones. Family Fun has cute easy to make ideas. For your size group for $15-20 you can get a cake or cupcakes from Costco or Sams. I confess, I love their cakes!

I am all about solid plates/napkins/cups, and adding accents with character napkins OR plates for dessert/cake.

Activities, you can never go wrong with bubbles. E's #1 b-day was a bubble party and I went crazy on all the bubble toys/gadgets I could find. Kids and adults had our back yard full of bubbles.

Goody bags... not necessary, but fun (I live for unique/inexpensive ideas!). We did Bob the Builder Pizza books for J's last b-day (pizza party). I added a sticker to them saying "Thanks for coming to J's 4th birthday party" and tied them with a box. I bought them for $2 each via bookclosets.com. In the past we have given...
B&B soaps (I stock up at their 5 for $10 sale)- they will give you the celephane bags and I tie a ribbon and attach a sticker (Thanks for coming...). My goal is $2-3 max per person.

Bubble toys/gadgets

I am all about food goodie bags... decorate a lunch bag with stickers/stamps and fill with individual snack portions of food that are the fav's of the b-day girl- or whatever is on sale : ) Drink boxes are a nice filler too. Basically whatever you like to have for emergencies (boxes of raisins, drink box, fruit snacks,...)

Pepperidge Farm Goldfish is a favorite, so I have given bags with a bow and a sticker ($1 on sale at Target and done!)

Coloring Books/crayons

I was going to give gift certificates for an ice cream cone at a local spot, but have not exercised that idea yet.

As for food, I think people have you covered. Pizza or subs if meal time is cheap, just snacks are perfectly acceptable if at other times.

[Tondi G]

I have often found this site to be good as far as prices go on party goods! we've used them year after year and everything is good quality and the order is quick and painless!

www.birthdaydirect.com

they have some Wiggles stuff on sale right now too!!!

http://www.birthdaydirect.com/kids-birthday-party-wiggles-c-1076_1158.html

Oriental Trading Company also has party theme goods and often has good prices... you can also order goody bag/favor stuff for cheap! Bubbles and Balls have always been a hit with kids! You can order beachballs from Oriental trading!

[hellbennt]

we just did a irthday party & ordered food from a local italian restaurant- pizza for the kids & pasta for the adults (basic pasta- baked ziti and rigatoni in cream sauce with broccoli- the little ones, babies, enjoyed this as well)
we made our own salad
we could have done just the pizza- ask them to slice the pieces in half- this is good on cutting down waste...
you could also put out small cups/bowls of baby goldfish for snacks
(we bought a box of indv'dl bagged chops from costco)
chop up a water melon if you want some fruit
I also agree about mixing and matching themed paper goods- I bought elmo cake plates and just one pack of elmo hats that I put on/handed out to random kids as the cake came out
we got our cake from publix (I splurged on a ben & jerry's cake for the adults, lol)
HTH
~laura in miami~
ds1 7/03
ds2 7/06

[colegiala]

Thanks for the link. I will check this weekend to see if I can't find the Wiggles anywhere else. If I don't find them locally, I already have my order ready with birthdaydirect to send out on Monday. They told me they ship the same day 2-3day to FL. If I end up ordering thru them, I will do the paper plates, hats, tablecoth, cupcake deco and I couldn't resist their Wiggles pinata. The rest will be coordinating solid colors, as suggested by pp post, cups, napkins, balloons...that I'll get at Dollar store, Costo or other on sale.

Thank you all for all the great cheap & simple sugg. I think I'm now going to do the 3ft sub, potato salad, pizza, cake (Costco or BJ), cupcakes from scratch (I found the cupcake stand at Ross $11.99 which is the only thing, besides the inflatable pool, I've bought so far for the party.) Also some Chips & Drinks. I'll have to see who has the best deal on the Pizza close to me & check newspaper for coupons.

For entertainment, my husband found an offer from Neflix offering 35free downloads. So we downloaded all her fav. Wiggles and other songs. I'll have the small inflatable pool for the little ones. Lots of bubbles, some sidewalk chalk, a beach ball and different stickers. For the Goodie bags, I am still reading some of the ideas here: raisins, goldfish cookies, crayons/colr, stickers.

Thank you all for your post. I feel so much more confident that I can pull this off. It's the first time I'm giving a bday party so I'm very green. Her little brother is due in Dec; so I better get the hang of birthday parties since I have many more to come.

Still open to any other suggestions if you think I'm over or under doing things or missed anything.
Thanks again,
Gaby

[Melanie]

I would say a veggie & dip platter, small PB&Js for the kids (even more fun if you use cookie cutters to shape them, but that does waste a lot), chips & dip, any salad sounds great. Maybe a platter of those rolled-up sandwiches from Costco. Don't forget the water.

As for a theme, I think you could save money and achieve a great look if you went with a solid color table cloth that coordinates with whatever paper goods & cake theme you select.

Check www.birthdayexpress.com for every theme under the sun.

I usually make our cakes so they're without HFCS or sugar; but if I recall Albertson's (do you have that?) were the tastiest. Costco was nice, too, and you'll get an enormous one for the price.

Wading pools are great, but is it safe for them to be near the big pool? I know my 2 year old would be maknig a beeline for it every chance she got and it would be no fun for us at all. Is it gated?

I would also add some fun water toys to the wading pool like squirty fish, or even simple cups/sieves/measuring spoons/sponges from your kitchen. Ds (5 yo) had the most fun on the days at school where the kids just had basins of typical kitchen items in water to play with. I would have never thought of sponges, but they were a hit! Have lots of towels or bath mats around to mop up!

Games are a litle lost on that age, I'd go with just free play. For goody bags you could get aforementioned water toys (check the cheapy toy aisle at Target for $1-3 items). I think quality (okay, that's ironic after the 'cheapy toy aisle') is better than quantity. Meaning it doesn't have to be a bag stuffed with crappy candy and junk, but two or three nice small things is nice, or you could get one nicer big thing and wrap them like gifts. Maybe keeping with the water play theme? Just please, no squirt guns! I was horrified when Ds got one in a goody bag from a party. I think it came in the pinata crap mix and they shoved the extras into the party bags.

It's funny, as this is probably the exact same party we're having for our 2 year old, except it's going to be in the yard.

[bubbaray]

If PB&J is the only "food" for the little ones, I'd check with the parents of the guests. Lots of parents that I know IRL and online don't let their 2 yo's eat PB. If I knew that PB was going to be the only food served, I might have to skip the party as both DDs have tested +ve for PB allergy and we actively avoid it. Its super hard to explain to a 2yo that she can't eat what the other kids are having, so its easier for us to just avoid the situation. Bringing our own food d/n work at that age, b/c she wanted the "party" food. Now, she's fine with her special food, but it does kinda defeat the purpose of going to a party if I have to bring a cooler of my own stuff, KWIM?

Even parents without an allergy might appreciate the heads up so they could bring their own food if they are not giving their children PB until they are older (some docs recommend waiting until age 3).

JMHO

Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[Melanie]

Hi Gaby! I just got back from Target and the aisle that I mentioned with all the water toys was on clearance. Each Target is different, but it's worth checking. I got really nice buckets ($2-something) & squirt toys (68 cents) for favors for all the kids; plus some to play with at the party.

HTH