Any Ideas for a 3 Yr Old Boys Birthday Party on a Low Budget?

we just played the fishing game at my nephews 3rd birthday party. It's one my mom did for my birthdays when I was younger. We took an old sheet and drew fish and seaweed on it, hung the sheet up and someone was posted behind the sheet who actually puts stuff on the end of the line. Each kid got a chance to fish by casting the 'rod'- we used a broom handle with a clothespin tied to the end of the string- over the sheet. We already had goody bags pre-made with stuff from the dollar store. In between getting the goody bags, occasionally kids would get an old shoe or underwear, empty cans,etc. We got things that we knew the kids would find funny. It was fun for kids to watch what others were ending up with on their line. It was a lot of fun.
Another idea is to let kids decorate cookies or cupcakes. You can bake everything ahead of time and color a few jars of frosting and have fun embellishments. The kids will have fun and it's time consuming. They can take their creations home with them, too. And it's cheap.

Dollar store, Dollar store, Dollar store....you could probably have a pirate party adn you can get party favors for the kids to dress up as.....and they could do a craft, decorating thier pirate hat....basically one craft and play tiem is good!

Bubble Blowing can be a fun and cheep activity. Have an adult blow the bubbles and the kids run around trying to pop them. Make games out of it, can you run under the bubbles, can you jump over the bubbles, etc. It can take up a full 15-30 minutes. Bubbles also make an easy party favor.

Hi C.!

I had a "Rock N Roll" Party.........well, that's what I called it anyway :O) I brought out every musical instrument in the house (drums, guitars, keyboards, whatever!). Then I went a spent about $30 at Party America on cheap instruments, blow up guitars,tamborines, morraca's, microphones, and a bag of "cool" glasses :O)

Oh Yeah, I also bought a kids party DVD of TV Themes (Bob the Builder, etc..) and had plenty of other "Rock Music" at home :O)

I put a Metallic Curtain pinned up behind a wall, and created a "stage". That was it. The party favors were the instruments & glasses that I had bought for them to play with.

I pushed "play" on the TV themes to get them going, and my husband even started playing instruments, so they knew what they were supposed to do :o) They can be shy. But after that and a couple of cute group pictures with their glasses on, they all felt like Rock Stars and played for a non-stop hour switching instruments with eachother.

I'm sure whatever you do for his birthday will be wonderful. I know it's hard to keep coming up with different inexpensive ideas. But there's mine :O)

OH, another favorite is always a Jumphouse. You don't need anything else, but that and the kids are happy :O)

Happy Planning!

~N.

I get in trouble with my husband every year when my kids birthdays roll around becuase I go OVERBOARD but I always do so on a budget. The trick is to do alot of stuff yourself instead of buying things. For instance, when my oldest was 3 he loved Star Wars so we had a Star Wars party for him. I made the cake to look like R2D2 which i got the idea from www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com. I made a pinata in the shape of the Death Star (paper mache'd a big round balloon). For a games I printed a bunch of little pictures of bounty hunters from the movies & one of Princess Lea and then put them in balloons I bought at the dollar store. Then the kids had to "save" Lea, I dropped all the balloons with the pictures plus a bunch more without on the ground and the kids had to pop the balloons until they found Lea. For favors I made coloring books, I downloaded free coloring pages of the internet printed them out on card stock front & back & then stapled a few pages together to form books, on the back it said thank you for spending my birthday with me & my sons name & the date. As for food we just did regular run of the mill party food but I gave it all fun names so it "seemed" fancy, I had a veggie tray and called it Felucia Foliage, chocolate chip cookies became Wookie Cookies etc.
With a little creativity and some time you can do an amazing party for very little money.
Feel free to message me if you need help coming up with ideas for your party I would be happy to help you out. I love this type of thing and I absolutely love matching everything to a theme, even if the kids dont notice, I think it matters.
I also plan & throw kids parties for extra income so if you would rather just pay one flat price & not worry about it at all I could help you there too.

Have a cake-and-ice cream party with no snacks, and do it at your house to save money. You can get a roll or two of streamers and a pack of balloons to decorate in his favorite colors, just to make it festive. He probably won't notice or care if you use characters or a theme, and those things can get pretty pricey, so you can save by buying solid color plates (or just using your own dishes!) Little kids are easy to entertain: you can make your own pin the tail on the donkey type game, print out coloring sheets from the internet, and do simple activities like "red light, green light" or "Simon says." At my son's preschool, they played a game like musical chairs with X's taped to the floor. Whoever was "out" got to join the cheering section (so as to spare hurt feelings), and then the last one left standing got to be the first to wash up for lunch. Your prize could be "gets to sit by the birthday boy" or something equally free. If you keep on telling him it's his special day, then he will feel special... Good luck!

Contact your local fire department and ask them if you can set up a tour of the fire station. It's FREE and the kids love it! Be sure to ask if the department hands out anything at the tours. Some stations give out fire hats or coloring books and pencils and almost all will give out badges to the kids. If they don't give out hats, the dollar store sells them and they make a great favor. There is also tons of fire themed stuff at www.orientaltrading.com.

We had my sons third birthday at a fire station. They give free tours and even let the kids spray the hose. They had a blast. We then walked to a park accross the street were the kids could play and have cake and ice cream. It was one of the most inexpensive parties and the kids still talk about it 2 years later.

All I have to say is www.familyfun.com I swear by them. Good Luck!

Hi C.- One money saver right off the bat is don't serve a whole meal. If you have it after lunch but before dinner (2pm-4ish)you can just serve some snacks (goldfish, chips, juice boxes etc.) and the cake. No one will expect a meal. At three years old there is always at least one adult attending with each child (sometimes two adults and siblings!) so not serving a meal will save tons of money. Also keep the goody bags cheap and simple. You don't even need to spend money on bags with a bunch of plastic in them which gets pricey and is really just junk anyway. Homemade treats, helium balloons, bubbles or the inexpensive supermarket balls make all kids happy. You are smart not to try to spend too much as the children really won't notice or care. Good luck and have fun!

My twin daughters 3rd birthday is on Easter this year. We are having a small party with our friends who have kids. We are having cake and an Egg hunt. I'm getting dollar store eggs and a few small things to put in each egg. I'm going to have $1.00 bill in one or two eggs and another will have a secret ticket, the person who finds this will get a bigger prize.

I know March is kind of uncertain for weather, but we always choose a park to invite friends to. I like to do it on Saturday mornings and bring donuts and coffee for the parents, and either cupcakes or cookies for the kids. Everyone always has a lot of fun this way, and then they still have their day ahead of them for naps or whatever.

You could bring bubbles or inflatable balls for the kids to play with.

I think some parents try to do too much sometimes for parties. The kids have fun no matter what.

A.

Hi We went to little farm at tilden park-got a case of mixed celery and lettuce for the animals to be fed and bubbles balls and blankets snacks/lunch and cake it; a great time -a little hike and you'r one the parents can hang out ads play frisbee and kids play -fun for all just postpone another sunday if rainy- L.

my daughter turned three in November and we did not have much of a budget either. I bought two packs of balloons 140 total and we blew them all up the night before so when my daughter woke up in the morning the living room was fill with the ballons. She loved it. Then we had a potluck party and asked for food instead of presents. We played kids music and we had fun paper plates and juices boxes. Each of the kids took several balloons home with them. We were lucky to have a sunny day and set up tent and tunnel in the backyard. Everyone seemed to have fun and it was very inexpensive. My daughter still talks about the balloons.

My favorite birthday idea for kids ages 3, 4 or 5 is to go to a nearby park or playground, bring cake, snacks, favors,and balloons - the kids have a blast - there is no mess in your house, other parents are comfortable with it - and it can be as low budget as you want-!

Go to the park (free) and just get cake and have some games. Most kids will play on the park stuff, crafts and games can be very cheep. I read a story at my daughter's party, kids and parents all loved that!
As the go home treat give everyone a balloon (save money by turning a decoration into a party favor) and a little zip lock of crispy treats (2-4 each kid).
Your done! It doesn't have to be a bunch of money, just make your child feel special.

Three may be a little early for this idea, but when our boy was little, he preferred to do something special with just one or two friends. One time that I remember best is when we went to Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkely. Of course that's a bit over the heads of three year olds, but there are special places that some threes might enjoy. Have you thought about that sort of thing, and possibly even asking your boy what he'd like to do?
Each year as the birthday approached, I'd ask our boy what he'd like to do, within reason for our budget, and who he'd like to invite. He normally didn't want a crowd of friends, just the family and one or two extra friends, sometimes with and sometimes without their families.
BTW, as a grandma whose been this route long ago, I'm going to put out an idea that goes along with what's been said already by some that there is a tendence to want to "keep up with the Jonses" regarding having the biggest and best birthday parties for kids these days. My personal feeling is that having a huge party every year takes away something from the specialness of a birthday. Why not go to a party for the first birthday, then another for the fifth birthday, and maybe the tenth, thirteenth (becoming a teenager always seems to be a big deal), the 16th and the 18th. Some people might choose different special years than I did, but you get the idea. In between those years, have a family party, with the immediate family and whatever relatives live nearby... and possibly one or two special friends chosen by the child. Make that a simple cake and ice cream get-together with possibly a light meal and some simple games or activities that the guests and the birthday child will enjoy. Keep it simple and as inexpensive as possible.

The park is always great because it is free, but the kids have a blast.

How about a picnic/party at your local playground? Run around and play is what 3-year-old boys like to do, anyhow, & they will probably have more fun if you keep it to no more than 5 or 6 kids

is he into fire trucks?? if you call the local fire department, you may be able to set something up, like a tour of the firehouse or having a fire truck come to your house. my neighbor just did this for her son & it was a HUGE success (and, it was free!). she decorated a cake with toy fire trucks & gave all the kids plastic fire helmets. they had a blast!

Last year for my sons 3rd birthday, we took him and his brother and sister to Chuckie Cheese. We had a coupon for tokens and were able to get 100 tokens for really cheap. We divided the tokens up and said when the tokens run out we're done. Of course, my oldest was done first, but my son loved it and still talks about it today. (We did not buy pizza, drinks or anything else only tokens and we let the kids know this before we went)

We invited friends and family at a certain time the same day to come to our house for pizza, and icecream cake. We did a pinata for the kids activity and everyone loved it. The whole party itself cost under $50 including the visit to chuckie cheese. We didn't decorate the house and each kid still got to go home with something.

And dollar store works wonders for party items, cake mixes and frosting.

My sons 4th bday is just around the corner and we are on a very tight budget. We've decided to do Chuckie Cheese again. With a coupon for 100 tokens for $12.50. I am making the cake(items from dollar store), and my husband has a friend who makes pinata's and are getting one from him for cheap. Just an idea I was thinking of, but have not weighed the cost yet, is to buy items for kids to make their own pizza. I have about 5 kids total at the party, and make appetizers for the adults. Or I am just going to use up my coupons for pizza and order pizza for everyone. Also, hamburgers and hotdogs are cheap for food.

And one yr. we did a bday party at a time we didn't need to provide food (which saved a lot of money) and everyone just came for cake and ice cream, pinata and kids left with their bag from the pinata.

It seems like every year my sons bday comes around and money is tight for us, I have to set a budget for how much I can spend, including his gift and I work from there. They are so young at this age that just having a cake and presents to open is the light of their day. Save your money now, b/c when they get older that's when it get hard to please for the bdays and they become more demanding. As I am finding out with my 11 yr. old daughter. And the parties don't need to be long and drawn out. I find that 2 hrs, max works the best for us and just enough time to get everything in that we want and the only acticity we do is a pinata and the kids love and look forward to it every year, yes, even my 11 yr. old still wants a pinata for her bday.

Good Luck!

I agree with Marlene. Too much pressure has been put on Moms trying to impress "other Moms" with parties. The standard cake, ice cream and balloons is all kids really need to start a party. Balloons galore all over the place is the way to go. Then you can have the "sit on the balloon till it pops" game when it's time to end the party.
Have a toy box available with toys you don't mind all the kids playing with, and then of course there will be some new ones (presents) that will also aid in keeping the kids occupied. On the invites keep the party short. Something like "Come join us for Cake and Ice cream from 2pm to 3pm. Presents are welcome!" That way if it gets boring you have the option of ending the party, or if the kids are all having a blast you can run the party till it dies down. If you have a yard for the kids to run and play.... add balloons, and they will make up their own games. Kids are good at entertaining themselves and really don't need a lot of structured things to motivate them. Sugar and balloons is good party medicine.

I also like the park. I had my daughter's 1st birthday party. You may also want to check out your local community center for a room rental. I know the Santa Clara Youth Activity Center has something for birthdays. http://santaclaraca.gov/park_recreation/pr_yac.html

make an obstical course in the backyard.

once when it was raining and I hadnt had time to plan a party, I asked 3 families to meet us at mcdonalds and they all played in the playland. I brought homemade cupcakes, and bought each child a mcdonalds dollar ice cream sundae.(there were only 10 kids)and bought 10 helium balloons from dollar tree which acted as decor but at the end each child took one home.

it worked out great.

Hi C.,

I provide a very fun stuff-n-fluff animal workshop for children's birthday parties. It's called Noah's Ark Animal Workshop. Usually, I come to the party myself and serve as the party leader, but since you're in Bakersfield (and I'm in San Ramon...in the Bay Area), that wouldn't be possible. But what you CAN do is order the stuffable animals and materials directly from my website, have them shipped to you, and conduct the activity yourself. It's really quite easy, and the kids absolutely love bringing their plush animals to life. I'm not sure what you have in mind for a party budget, but you might find that this option is affordable. You can see the variety of animals, clothing and accessories available and the associated pricing on my website, www.planetfluff.net. Or if you want to call me with any questions, you can reach me at ###-###-####-5409. I also see that you're a mom of two young boys. If you might be looking for a home-based business that you can do alongside your family activities, I'd love to talk with you about the business opportunity Noah's Ark Animal Workshop provides. Let me know if I can be of further help!

maybe a trip to a local zoo, or even a day at the park. just invite family and friends and set up fun and games the little ones will enjoy. then just provide a bbq, its totally cost effective for everyone

For my son's 3rd birthday (or 4th, can't exactly remember), I found lots of big cardboard boxes from grocery stores, appliance stores, etc., and built them into a maze in the backyard. The kids had SO much fun. After it was over, we just recycled the cardboard.

The least expensive party you can have is one at your own home. That doesn't mean it can't be fun or exciting. Last year my son had his party at home and there was about 15 or kids. We rented a bouncey house thing, and then played some games. We did limbo, duck duck goose, musical chairs and then a parent-child race of wheel barrow races. I had trivial prizes for the first three places in each contest. The kids loved it and many people said it was the best party. This year we are going to a place to have a party, only because the weather is supposed to be cold and wet. The prizes I had were like pencils and rubber balls, etc from like Wishing Well. Of course, all of the kids got goodie bags at the end, so it was all good.

Good luck!