It’s our toddler’s birthday today and we celebrated last week with a Zog-themed party (Zog is a book written by Julia Donaldson, a.k.a. author of the Gruffalo, for those of you who don’t know). Well… I say “Zog”, but our son was probably more interested in Gadabout, the knight who appears towards the end of the book and “waved his trusty sword” (his absolute favourite line and part of the book)!

If you’ve been following me since my cake business days, you’ll know how much I love a themed event, and my kids’ birthday parties have always been the place to let my event-styling creative juices flow! And while this mostly translates into the birthday cake I make for them, I do love to have the theme flow through the rest of the party as well.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I find that having a kid’s party can be quite a costly affair! Throw in a theme, and that can not only make things even more expensive, but harder to plan as well! Especially if you have kids like mine who like to pick really obscure and/or specific themes (like Gadabout, as above, or my favourite: “crocodile with monkeys sitting in a tree”)! So, when your partner doesn’t share your love for themed events (and the bills they may come with!), then you simply have to improvise and plan it on a budget!

And to make your life easier, I’m going to give you some of my top budget-saving tips when it comes to planning and styling my kids’ birthday parties!

All planned, styled, and DIY-ed on a budget!

DIY Invitations & Stationary

Canva is THE best when it comes to creating your party stationary. From invitations to tags for your party favour bags, Canva is the only tool you’ll need! I’ve always paid for the Pro version because of my business needs, but even the free, basic version is amazing! And don’t worry, it’s very simple to use and they also have tutorials to help you learn!

Free/Low-Cost Venue

If you or the grandparents have a big home or backyard, that’s perfect! We don’t, but that’s where the local parks really come in handy, and we’re lucky because we’ve got a few amazing spots within walking distance from us! They’re free, spacious, and because it’s a park, you don’t have to worry about organising activities or games for the kids because they’ll have all the fun they need right there! Bonus: less clean-up as well! Just make sure you check the weather forecast and if it’s looking wet then have a backup plan. They won’t be free, but there are low-cost community halls or council venues you can hire if you need to move the party indoors!

DIY Decorations

There are a lot of themed decorations you can purchase but bear in mind that the cost can add up very quickly! Most of the time, we just DIY our party decorations. An easy decoration we like is to make our own streamer backdrop – we buy streamer/crepe paper rolls in 2-3 different colours of our party theme, then tie them onto a long piece of rope. An alternative to this is instead of streamers, you can print out pictures of characters or elements from the party theme (laminate them if you don’t have cardstock paper), punch a hole around the top, then tie those to the rope! So simple to make, and so much cheaper than buying ready-made banners! Plus, they can be reused or recycled!

Save On Food & Drink

We tend to do food and drink ourselves rather than paying for catering because it works out so much cheaper! If you’re keeping things simple, you can make your own fruit platters and grazing boxes at a fraction of the cost of hiring someone to do it for you. If you’re wanting something with a bit more bite, then you can purchase finger foods like spring rolls, party pies and sausage rolls. This is when bulk buying can come in handy – go to a Costco or Aldi to save money on your food and drink. Or if you don’t have one near you, then use your reward points to pay for your party supplies!

Cheap/DIY Party Favours

If you want cheap party favours/toys, again, bulk buying is your friend! You can order in bulk online through places like AliExpress and Temu. Otherwise, we like to DIY our own party favours! One of our favourite options is to do an edible party favour – less plastic toys that end up broken/in the bin, and more delicious! The simplest way to do that is to get lollies that fit your theme, pack them in ‘pack and seal’ bags, and create a little "Thank You" tag through Canva to attach to them!

I purchased the Lion King PDFs, but made the others myself on Canva.

Bonus Tip: The Birthday Cake

If you’re going to pick one thing to spend money on, make it the cake! The birthday cake is usually the showstopper for the event – everyone is going to gather around it to sing happy birthday, so if there’s one place you want to go all out for with your theme, it’s the cake! Trust me though, unless you’re a professional cake-maker or you’re super confident with your caking skills, leave the work (and the stress!) to a professional! When I had my cake business, I can’t tell you how many mums regretted trying to make the cake themselves because of all the time and effort it took!

That being said, I know that for many people, there just might not be enough in the budget for a fancy custom cake, plus, I know there’s a special joy in making your kid’s cakes yourself! So here are my easiest tips to help you bring out the theme in your cake:

• Colour– Use the colours from your theme as your cake’s main colours.

• Embellishments– Find a sprinkle blend that fits, and make sure your candles also match the theme/colours!

• Toppers– The best way to bring out the theme in your cake is with the topper! Depending on the theme, you can use toys, figurines, or create a themed topper (DIY or custom, depending on your budget).

I hope all those tips help you plan a brilliant but budget-friendly birthday party for your kids! But the most important thing you need to remember is that it’s not about creating a party that’s worthy of social media, it’s about celebrating your kids! So at the end of the day, don’t worry if the cake didn’t turn out the way you planned or if the balloons didn’t match the tablecloths! Your child will remember being celebrated and loved, and when they grow up, they will appreciate all the effort that you put into giving them beautiful birthday memories. So take a deep breath, keep it simple, and have a fun party!