How To Throw A Party On A Budget

I was recently asked by Jillian at Catch My Party to share my tips for throwing a party on a budget.  You may remember that she featured my Sock Monkey Baby Shower and wanted to know how I did it on a fairly small budget, so I sent her the details and she recently shared it on Catch My Party.

Just in case you missed it, I’m sharing my tips with you today!  Here are my 5 tips for throwing a fabulous party on a budget:

TIP 1
“Shop” your house or borrow items. When planning the party look around your house and find inspiration and decorations from items you already have.

• I decorated my twin’s nursery with Sock Monkeys so I knew I had lots of items at my disposal to decorate. The look and feel I decided on for the party was inspired by my twin’s room. I used vintage toys and sock monkey’s from their room to decorate with.

Vintage toys

• I also borrowed a tricycle and red wagon from a friend to complete the look.
• I had fabric scraps leftover from my twin’s bedding so I used those to create the banner and some of the table runners.

Toys borrowed and already owned

TIP 2
Keep it simple. You don’t have to buy extravagant decorations or have a huge spread of food to throw a great party. For this party the decorations were simple, but the impact of a few key items created the perfect atmosphere for the party.

• •I did splurge on 2 items and those were the sock monkey cookies and cake pops, however I only ordered enough to add that extra little detail. I filled in the rest of the sweets with cake pops I made and store bought cupcakes.

Sock monkey cookies – a splurge

Sock monkey cake pops – another splurge

•  I kept the food very simple by making mini portions, putting the fruit on the skewers and dressing up pasta from a box mix. I was able to stretch my budget farther a little farther by keeping the food simple.

Pasta from a box and fruit on skewers

TIP 3 
Dress up store bought items. You can make simple and cheap store bought items look like a million bucks if you take the time to dress them up.

•   I bought red & white polka dot cupcake liners that I found at Hobby Lobby for only $1, I added those and custom cupcake toppers to store bought cupcakes to create a cute and custom focal point on the table.

Store bought cupcakes dressed up with cupcake liners

TIP 4 
Reuse & Repurpose. Stop before you throw it away can you use it again? Like I mentioned before I have lots of parties so I have an arsenal of supplies on hand that I can reuse over and over again.

• I made tissue paper pom poms (which are inexpensive to start with) for my daughter’s Strawberry Shortcake birthday and saved them to reuse at future parties. Those pom poms can be a pain to make and I knew I could at least reuse them for Christmas so I stored them in the attic. They add pops of color throughout the house and provided a backdrop for the sign-in table.

Reused tissue paper pom poms

• The cute banner was made using my Cricut, scraps of fabric, polka dot wrapping paper ($1 at Target Dollar Spot) and some of my nephew’s onesies.

Made with a Cricut and onesies

• One of my favorite details was the individual crudités. I used candle votives I had to make individual crudités and served them on a tray I keep in my bathroom for display.

Crudite served in candle votives

TIP 5
Make an investment. Invest in items you can use over and over again.

•   I was super lucky to find the white square plates and serving tray on clearance at Walmart a while back (only $1 each!) and it’s been one of my best investments! I simply add a piece of scrapbook paper that coordinates with the party.
• •While I’m a DIY girl who loves to create things, I can’t ever make the invitations look as good as the ones you can buy! I usually invest in custom printables and have been lucky to work with some amazing vendors. I try to spend $20 or less, but they really help make things look extra special.

Party Expense Break Down
Here is how I spent my budget on the Sock Monkey Baby Shower. I had lots of things already on hand and my sister was able to do all of the printing for free.
Food – $30
Cupcakes – $12
Custom Cookies & Cake Pops – $38
Paper goods – $6 (bought at Dollar Store)
Fabric – $2 (I only bought 1 yard of the Polka Dot fabric and used a coupon, the other fabric I already
had)
Printables – $20
Total – $108