tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150161980638649962.post1746865773367414465..comments2023-07-26T06:12:26.459-07:00Comments on Thankful & Thrifty: kids and birthday parties, great freebie...but hurry!!my frugal lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11240578900377705656noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150161980638649962.post-89138314972761985812010-04-13T08:07:46.133-07:002010-04-13T08:07:46.133-07:00Gotta love it! Thanks ladies for the input. You ar...Gotta love it! Thanks ladies for the input. You are so right...fun doesn't have to cost a lot!my frugal lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11240578900377705656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150161980638649962.post-84856549602432876292010-04-12T07:56:10.859-07:002010-04-12T07:56:10.859-07:00I am one of those mean ole moms who does not buy p...I am one of those mean ole moms who does not buy party favors for the kids. I mean, whose party is it, anyway? And when my kids go to someone else's party, I take them to the dollar store to pick out a gift. Really, a 4 and 7 year old don't have much money of their own, and I'm not interested in stockpiling the toybox of someone else's kid (except of course if it is family or a close friend). And you know what? The kids LOVE our parties! Even without the goodie bags. For Jason's last birthday (7), he and his brother were invited to invite 5 more boys over, and we did a campout in the yard party. I asked everyone to bring a sleeping bag and a flashlight, and they were invited to come over AFTER they had eaten dinner (also not interested in dealing with the vagaries of every 7 year old's finicky eating habits). I provided the enormous tent (which I borrowed from a co-worker), the campfire, and the s'mores and popcorn. We started by setting up the tent, then gathering wood for the firepit, then cooking our popcorn and s'mores over the open fire. Once it got dark, we buddied up and went for a nighttime nature walk up into the National Forest behind my house. By the time we returned, they were tired and just the tiniest bit scared by all the night noises, and I had no problems getting them to go to sleep. In the morning, there was every type of fruit imaginable plus cold cereal for breakfast, and all the parents came to pick their children up before noon. It was long, but I took advantage of what I have (lots of outdoor space) and I got lots of feedback later from parents that their kids thought it was the best party ever. No decorations, no party favors, not even any cake and ice cream. The only real cost to me was the fruit and the s'mores ingredients, but the truth is, I'd have bought that stuff anyway.<br /><br />And on the gift front, my son brought a $1 whoopee cushion from the dollar store to the last party he went to (again, remember, he's 7). Apparently, we should have brought more than one, because it was the gift that everyone wanted to play with from the MOUNTAIN of gifts that kid received that day. <br /><br />In short, it doesn't cost much to have fun!Vesuviusmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08447649002367621196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150161980638649962.post-37142906633389002262010-04-07T09:06:14.559-07:002010-04-07T09:06:14.559-07:00Summer birthday parties are always the easiest, we...Summer birthday parties are always the easiest, we had squirt gun/water balloon parties for Zach that he and his friends loved.<br /><br />I think for kids, the key is having over friends and then doing something out of the ordinary. It doesn't have to be expensive, just fun. We once had a sleep over back yard campout. Three tents in the back yard with a healthy dose of flash light freeze tag.<br /><br />I really like the jump house idea on e-bay. I'd bet those don't come along every day though.stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710025675015789344noreply@blogger.com