5 Ways to throw an epic small party for kids

I don’t celebrate every birthday with a huge party. I cant’ afford that! I think the milestones are 1, maybe 5 (huge maybe) 10, if I don’t celebrate 10 then we will do 12 (not doing both). Sixteen is a good number and then 21. After 21…..don’t call me, don’t come looking for me, don’t ask me nada, you are grown and I will be there for any other parties that you celebrate that YOU pay for. I had my son a 1yr old party and then one at 4. Let’s talk about that party at 4 shall we. I spent over $500 invited about 20 people…..I wanted it to be the first party at the house you know with a theme all the good stuff. About 60 people showed up at my house and we had to go out and buy more food never ever again will I do that….ever! My house was a mess afterwards and I was tired. I vowed that I will not have a party at my house again. That 4 yr old party scarred me for a few years so my son came to me a few months ago to ask if he can have a small get together with a few friends for his 11th birthday. I said sure why not small meaning no more than 5 boys (which ended up being about 7) and if their parents allowed them they could spend the night. I thought this can be a small gathering I don’t have to do much just get him a cake throw some hot dogs on the grill and call it a day..or so I thought. I told him he can have his friends spend a night on Friday night going into Saturday the first weekend of June. Here are 5 Ways to throw an epic small party for kids.

5 Ways to throw an epic small party for kids

On Thursday we went to Six Flags here in GA. I invited some of his friends to come with us that way we could get the party started off right! So they spent the night on Wed and we were off to Six Flags on Thursday. Those friends ended up spending the night on Thursday night also and into Friday….Friday comes and I get about 4 more boys that night spending the night. From there it was a revolving door of boys, some came Friday night, some came Saturday night. Six Flags was a great way to kick off his party because he got to ride rides that he couldn’t ride before…my son is short for his age so he was happy! He also got to premiere the Justice League: Battle of Metropolis!

Engaging in a full-sensory journey on JUSTICE LEAGUE: Battle for Metropolis, guests will battle alongside BATMAN™, SUPERMAN™, WONDER WOMAN, THE FLASH and GREEN LANTERN against Lex Luthor, The Joker and his henchmen. The interactive attraction features:

·         A 22,000 square foot HALL OF JUSTICE to house this full-sensory thrill ride;

·         A 4D ride experience with wind, fire, mist and fog effects, plus life-like animatronic characters;

·         Non-stop action, as the JUSTICE LEAGUE Reserve Team travels through laughing gas and flames in 11 high-intensity scenes;

·         One of the first-ever virtual loops, giving riders the feeling of going head-over-heels;

·         High definition 3D animation that fully immerses riders inside the city of Metropolis;

·         All-new, Unreal 4 Gaming engine; and

·         6-passenger vehicles with multi-degrees-of-freedom to transport riders through all the exciting twists and turns

Smaller parties for kids are a great way to celebrate those in between times where you want your child to have a special day without all the hoopla. Here are some ways to throw a small party for kids……

1. Have a backyard movie night If you can find a projector (I am sure you can rent one also) find a spot in your backyard and set up a movie or two. Pop some popcorn that evening, blow up some air mattresses, get a fire pit going, and set up a movie night. The kids can also “camp” right in the backyard. Make sure you get stuff for bugs but ideally this doesn’t cost you anything but popcorn and juice. No need to buy food since it’s late in the evening and the kids should have already eaten. You can have your kid invite maybe 5 or 6 of their closest friends and set up a tent. This is quick and easy and doesn’t cost a whole lot.
2. Go to the beach This is very small and we did this for my sons 9th birthday. The hubs and I along with one of his closest friends and their kids packed up a truck and hit the beach for my sons birthday. It was a spur of the moment thing but we had a blast and it was only 9 of us all together. We split everything down the middle and only had to buy some cupcakes to sing happy birthday to my son on the beach. Simple and easy! Plan a quick trip somewhere around town (don’t go far) and have a blast. You can also do this with just your family no need to invite a bunch of people
3. Invite some friends over to spend the night – Keep the number small. If your child has a lot of friends then maybe just keep it to the parents that you know personally. My son has a lot of friends but I don’t even know the parents first name so I don’t know them personally. I told my son to only invite boys where I knew the parents.
4. Dinner with friends – Everyone pays their own way….so you can tell a few people, hey my family and I are going out to dinner at such and such place you are welcome to join us. Most people won’t want to pay for their own meal so only a few will come and most parents will just send their kids with you. This is a great way to celebrate a non milestone party without a lot of spending (the parents send their kids money or so I hope they do *side eye*)
5. A day at a theme park – My son was excited to go to six flags and he was so happy I made that a part of his small party. This doesn’t have to cost a lot either. Only invite a few kids for this and find out if your local theme park has discounts or special passes for kids under a certain age. Also, my kids school gives out free tickets for Six Flags as a part of a reading program that they did so my kids had free passes already and most schools in my county and those nearby have the program

If you are cheap like me here are a few more ideas to save money on parties that aren’t milestones

• Invite through Facebook and don’t send out paper invitations (saves you a lot of money and this is a new generation….hardly anyone still sends out paper invitations)
• Skip the goody bag and instead do an epic photobooth and send that photo as a thank you note to the parent or the child
• Party decor can be homemade and doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Look for deals online and find an someone crafty in your family to help you save on decor
• Kids come to party not to eat. Don’t spend so much money on food…find a way to have the party after mealtime (backyard movie night example) that way you cut down on the cost of food. If you have food have something small like hotdogs. The cake or cupcake should be the only expensive food you buy
• My son only wanted to play video game and play basketball for his party so they played a little then went outside and teamed up for a game of basketball…..I didn’t have to plan any games or bother my nerves with them
• Keep it simple with just the people in your home. Kids don’t need a lot of gifts just a fun day with the ones that they love makes all the difference in the world

Overall I think non milestone parties should be small and unique. Don’t spend a lot of money! How do you celebrate non milestone parties? Do you have a party for every birthday?

I was invited to attend this media event at Six Flags. All opinions are my own!