Keep It Simple, Stupid

It's uncanny sometimes where a mother's priorities lie.

When Paul was laid off from his job in January, one of the first obstacles that popped into my head was the fact that we had a son turning five in March. And that he would require a birthday party of some sort. How would we pay for that??

Not . . . how will we feed and clothe ourselves or provide a roof under which our Things could safely live - no, this mama's stress level skyrocketed because of a birthday party.

Now, thankfully I have done a lot of research and have figured out a way to have this entire birthday celebration cost us very little money. We are not big "party" people and I am outspoken about not being a fan of the over-done, lavish, and ridiculously expensive children's birthday parties that are taking place on a regular basis around the globe. So this wasn't a stretch for us, although I did want to take extra measures to keep us within budget.

Here are some simple tips:

1. Make your own invitations. Better yet - send them online or use e-vite. Have your child help - you can use paint, crayons, chalk, sponges or any simple craft materials to create a simple, personal invitation in a few minutes. I made this very basic card out of stamps and cardstock that I already had on hand at home. Nothing too flashy or complicated, and a set of ten took me about 45 minutes. So far the response I've had from the parents who have received them has been fantastic. People always appreciate that extra personal touch.


2. Make your own cake. I rarely attempt this myself, but I found a cake for Thing 1's Indiana Jones' themed party that appears to be fool-proof. I think that even I can make this. I found a design at a local bakery, but it was going to cost close to $50. No thanks.

3. Plan party activities that don't cost money. It was easy to find Indiana Jones inspired games and activities online when I googled it. I got some great ideas and plan to do an obstacle course and have the children search for hidden "treasure". Some of the tips I came across were very indepth and totally overboard, but it is easy to take any idea and simplify it.

4. Keep food inexpensive. When asked what his choice was for lunch, Thing 1 insisted he wanted to order pizza from his very favourite pizza shop around the corner. If it were my other son, I'd make the pizza myself and he'd be happy, but since this tends to be the only pizza that Thing 1 enjoys, we will splurge on the pizza. A couple of pizzas are not going to run us into the poor house, and I assume all the children will be happy.

5. Don't go crazy on the loot bags. I'm dumbfounded by how much crap parents are sending home with kids in their birthday party lootbags. Remember when you were a kid and you got a pencil, a balloon and a stick of gum and you were elated? Not anymore, people. Loot bags are big business. And since I am anti-crap, I took the $5.00 per kid I would have spent on junk and bought each child a Lego fireman or policman, as pictured in the picture below. (They don't sell the Lego Indiana Jones characters separately, or I'd have been all over that like Raiders of the Lost Ark.)

My Things are obssessed with little "guys" and carry them around with them everywhere and play with them non-stop. I've noticed a few of their friends share this obssession, and I assume each little boy will be pretty excited to go home with a new little city employee of his own. And I can't take credit for this fabulous idea, my friend Julia did this at her son's party last fall, only she sent them home with Playmobil knights. Thing 1 and Thing 2 played with their knights for three months solid, every single day. And they still bring them out at least twice a week.

I didn't mention decorations, because we plan on just keeping it simple. A few balloons and a Happy Birthday sign that I already have will be perfect for a bunch of four and five year old boys.

So it appears we will celebrate Thing 1's birthday this Saturday, completely within our budget and with stress levels in check.

Stay tuned for results of the my temple making debut . . .