We have four little ones… (see them in the picture at the bottom of this post) and they love their birthday parties, but as a mom I want to keep these parties low-key, but fun!  Our kids do not care if they have the best party with matching everything.

They don’t care if they have the most expensive cake or the most elaborate decorations.   Nope…. the parents might care, but the kids certainly don’t.  They will have fun with their friends no matter where they are or what they are doing!

So, I try to remember that these parties are FOR THE KIDS and not for me…   A stress-free mama having fun at their party is so much better than a stressed-out hostess trying to make it perfect!

With that, here are some easy cheap birthday party ideas for you…

Planning their birthday parties COULD be stressful, or it could be easy and fun!  I choose easy & fun!    I wanted to share some ideas with you to have a party that requires little planning, not a lot of money, but loads of fun!   These are parties that we have done in the past:

 1).   A park party!

We have had playground parties time & time again because it is built-in entertainment!
I bring cake, chips and water.   OH- AND I LIKE TO USE CUPCAKES AND PUT THEM ON THIS DIY CUPCAKE TOWER – it is easier and requires less ‘materials’ at the party (knife, cake plate, messiness of serving it…)

FAVORS:  Put the water in a new water bottle for your favors.  Now you aren’t buying cups (saving money) and you are giving a favor at the same time.

2).  A Bike Party: 

Our most recent part was a bike party.
I called our church and asked if I could ‘rent’ the parking-lot.  They gave us permission, free of charge.   We booked it for two hours.  The kids came and brought their bikes or scooters.   When they were tired of that, they moved to the playground at the church.
Again- I just gave cake, chips and water in the water bottle favor.

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3).  House Party: 

When I have a party at our house, I keep the kids outside.
I set up outdoor stations (playset, cars with this DIY racetrack, an area for the kids to create with our Creativity Kit)
We have cake, snacks and I think that I gave out water-squirters ($1 each) for the favor.

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4).  Pool party 

Our clubhouse has a pool, so we just book it for two hours.   Again- built in entertainment.
(Remember to pack these 6 things that moms forget to take to the pool.)
At the end, I have the kids take presents home to open them.
The favor is usually something pool-related, like a water-squirter or beach ball that they can inflate & play with at the party or at home.

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5).  Taking a few friends out for an adventure. 

If our kids want to pick just a few friends, less than five, we can go somewhere fun like to a kid-museam, gymnastics place, movie or to an amusement park.   This is not a cheap option (well, if you only have one or two friends, it can be about the same price as the parties), but it is always really fun!

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If you want to have a theme party that requires just a bit more planning, this one is really adorable, too:  (Click on the picture to be taken to our Bee-Day Party Pictures!)

Oh and get the siblings involved with this tip and then see your child wake up so excited on their birthday morning here!

Here are our sweet kiddos, enjoying their view of the ocean~ this was the night before our latest party.  We were 6 hours away, enjoying the beach.   Because our parties are low-key, we can easily have a party the day that we get home from a vacation!

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Make your own cupcake tower:

Try my NO-GIFT birthday party:

Or our “RE-GIFT” birthday party