Birthday party that is cheap

My oldest who just turned 8 wanted an IPod for his birthday. My husband and I agreed to do it, but we were going to severely cut back on his party because of the expense of his gift. He still wanted to spend time with his friends, and since our pool only allows a few guests per resident, I stole a great idea from my good friend Julie. Against my control-freak, have-to-know-everything-that-is-going-on, must-have-everything-planned-out self, I sent out invitations for all his friends and our family to meet at the park after school. The only problem (and it's a big problem for a type A person like me), was I would have no idea how many people would be at the park, whether they would be playing a soccer tournament there, or if someone else had the same bright idea as mine to do on the same day. I prayed everything would turn out well and it did (I'll blog more about how awesome God works in this way later). The boys had a great time playing games thanks to my brother the sports junkie who organized everything. My son also got a huge amount of gift cards - I don't think I got as much as he did when I graduated high school. The best part about it was it was free - and the kids had a wonderful time. Here's how I saved:

1. the park - free (no $300 party at Pump It Up this year) 2. I used photo paper I had here at home and printed up colorful invitations to mail out - basically free. 3. I used left over paper plates, napkins and cups that weren't used from various parties we've had here. It got rid of stuff that was cluttering my pantry and the kids could have cared less that they weren't "themed". 4. Had my brother organize games and after a while, most of the kids just wanted to play on the playground anyway. 5. Instead of expensive juice boxes, I bought fruit punch that was on sale and distilled water with ice - worked out great and much cheaper than juice boxes. As a matter of fact, there was so much punch left over I am using it tonight for our baseball party. 6. Cupcakes - what a wonderful thing! My son wanted cupcakes so instead of a $25 cake (or more), we had cheap, delicious cupcakes. I also cut up watermelon that was great for an outdoor party and bought snacks that were on sale at Target. So, that's my recipe for having a fairly inexpensive birthday party for a child. You can do it - it just takes a little planning.