Hello again! As I’m sure many of you can relate to, life have been a bit busy…then again when is it not?! In the mist of all the working, blogging, and family time I got a little behind with some of my other responsibilities. There were heaps of laundry everywhere, the house needed a major cleaning, the fridge needed to be restocked, and I was literally running on fumes. I wish I was one of those super moms who could balance life perfectly and get it all done, but I am simply not one of them. In fact, balancing life is quite a struggle for me. I sometimes get to the point where life is so out of balance that I need to step back, re-group, get organized, relax, and start again. Unfortunately, last week was one of those weeks. I wish I could say that I’ve come back with all the answers on how to live a balanced life, but to be honest I’m not sure I will ever have all the answers. It is something that I strive to work at everyday; some days I succeed, and other days I fail completely. Such is the game of life I guess. Tomorrow is always a new day and a new beginning. As for today, I feel refreshed and so happy to be back!
During our week away, both Hanna’s daughters and my daughter all had birthdays! These little girls are growing up so fast! My little Addie turned 2, and I’m still besides myself at when my baby girl became a toddler! As you may remember from the
Picnic Themed Birthday Party post I wrote several weeks ago, we’re not big birthday people. Growing up we always had quiet birthday dinners with our family, and while we still like to keep things simple, you know how we love to throw parties!
So, this week we will be showing you some ideas on how to throw an inexpensive birthday party while still wowing your guests and making your child’s birthday special. 
While my daughter is still very small, I like to choose party themes that will entertain guests of all ages. This year I decided to go with an adorable donut themed party. Originally I had planned to have this cute little party at the park, but sadly due to a rainy forecast we were forced to move it inside at the last minute. With the last minute changes I didn’t have much time to plan out or decorate the new space, but in the end it didn’t really matter and every one seemed to have a good time… the birthday girl included! Any excuse to play with friends and eat yummy treats and my daughter is totally there!
As you can see, I tried to keep things fairly simple.
Here is a tip: when doing a party on a budget, be sure to check out your local dollar stores and party discount stores for all your paper products and party decorations. That is where I bought 95% of my decorations, plates, cups, napkins, etc. The adorable striped straws I found at Target for $2.99 for a pack of 20. Sometimes Target will also have some cute party stuff in there dollar section. I was also able to find some darling donut printables from
Oh Happy Day and
Confetti Sunshine. Not only where they a perfect addition to the party, but they are completely free! You’ll definitely want to check these out!
As for the food budget, I didn’t have $50 to spend on six dozen donuts so I decided to “make” them myself for half the price. By “make”, I mean fry. I simply took the Pillsbury Grand Buttermilk Biscuits, punched a hole in the middle of each biscuit, and then fried them in a pan of oil. Within minutes you have yourself a perfectly golden brown, delicious donut. After letting the donuts cool for a bit, I frosted them with homemade cream cheese frosting. For the cinnamon and sugar coated donuts you’ll want to toss the donuts in the cinnamon sugar when they are still hot.
Here is what I used for the frosting:
Basic Cream Cheese Frosting
4oz brick cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup butter (softened)
2-3 Tbsp milk
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tbs vanilla
Added flavors:
Chocolate: add 2-3 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder, plus an addition 2-3 Tbsp of milk
Strawberry: blend in 1/4 cup of freshly sliced strawberries
Maple: add 2-3 Tbsp of pure maple syrup
Lastly, I topped off my donuts with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, and almond slices.
To tie our two parties together, Hanna created this fun confetti dot banner. I mean seriously, what birthday party is complete without confetti?! You’ll see how Hanna used the banner in her party theme on Wednesday. If you love it as much as we do, we’ve created a FREE downloadable version below!
(click the text to download)
Overall, I spent under $75 in total on the party. $30 was spent on the decorations and paper products, and the rest went toward the food budget. After it was all said and done, here are some tips to take away when planning a birthday party on a budget:
- Shop at you local dollar store or discount party store when looking for decorations or paper products
- Search your house for items you can re-purpose or use as decorations
- Ask friends to borrow certain items you do not have instead of buying them
- Search for free printables online or design your invites/banners yourself
- Keep things simple (this will make your life and your budget a lot happier)
- Plan ahead, and shop sales!
While not everything went completely as planned, it was a great party celebrating a special little girl. While we are still fairly new-comers to the area, I felt blessed by the number of our new friends who came to celebrate with us.
