Birthday Party for Fifty Bucks!

Wednesday was Christopher's first friend party to celebrate his 5th birthday. Now, we have been invited to lots of Birthday Parties, most of them seeming very, very, very expensive. I am a newly single Mom, with a low budget.....what to do? Let me check my resources:

Yard......check

Front porch with enough chairs for the grown-ups.....check

Slip n Slide.......check

Sprinkler........check

Bouncy House.......check (thanks to over-the-top Pop Pop)

An embarrassing overabundance of toys inside.....check(3 sets of Grandparents)

Ability to make delicious appetizers......check

Desire to make awesome cupcakes.....check

Now, who to invite? Like I said, we have been to lots of parties, but don't have the space to invite everyone who has hosted us in the last year. Honestly, I remember only having one friend Birthday Party as a kid and it was at a craft store. Since my birthday falls close to Halloween, we made silver spider webs. I had that little web for the longest time, I wonder what happened to it? Hmm..... Oh well, I have a picture of it! Back to the original conundrum, I did what any rational person would do, I asked Christopher. He rattled of a few friends, and then we looked at Meetup, so he could scroll through the pics of his friends' Mamas to make sure he didn't forget anyone. He did make a last minute addition to the guest list, and I mean last minute. With only 48 hours notice, Jennifer came through and brought Samantha to the party.

Since I was not as organized as I would have liked to be, we used E-vite for the invitations, which was really awesome! It was nice to have all of the info and guest tally right at my fingertips. Everyone we invited RSVP'd yes, so suddenly the realization hits that I will be having 7 adults and 11 kids over! I figure, since it is a party, that the kids probably won't be eating much. Drinking and eating cupcakes, sure, but not too much in the way of food. So, I decided to concentrate on inexpensive, delicious food with a few selections for the kiddos.

Menu:

Cool and Creamy Spinach Dip: Served with veggies, beet chips, and potato chips

Pizza Pinwheels: I omit the sauce and peppers, and prepared some without pepperoni for my vegetarian friends. Oh, and add oregano, that's what makes them taste like pizza. ;)

Taco Pinwheels: Mix one 8oz package of softened cream cheese with a 1/4c taco seasoning, 1/2c salsa. Spread on fajita size tortillas (I like the habanero tortillas at Trader Joe's). Roll up, and refrigerate until set. Slice and serve!

Marble Cupcakes: Recipe from "Trusty", my Betty Crocker cookbook. I decorated them like the Despicable Me Minions with marshmallow fluff fondant on yellow buttercream.

In the cooler: Bottles of juice, water, and some cans of soda.

The food was inexpensive, so how about the paper goods? The Birthday Theme, or lack there of, was Birthdays Past. We had some Lightning McQueen decorations and plates, some orange and teal utensils from the Nemo party, and some small blue Solo cups I got for free with a super-double coupon. (woot!)

The day before the party was spent in the kitchen, preparing the food and cupcakes. The morning of, I set up the slip n' slide, bouncy house, water pistols (intended to be party favors that I forgot to send home with the kids), a bowl of bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and some other outdoor toys. Everyone began arriving the minute I was done setting up. The kids had a great time, some outside, and some in. The grown-ups enjoyed the snacks, and it went off without a hitch! Altogether, the party cost me around $50 (including the thank-you cards and postage I hope to get out in a timely manner). Now, I have a few yummy leftovers and my pocket is happy too!

One extra word of advice, don't forget your friends love you and want to help you. If it weren't for Laura, I'd have no idea who gave Christopher what! If it weren't for my Mom, I would have had to start on Monday! I should have assigned a photographer, I didn't get very many photos. Thanks to Laura again for getting a picture of the cupcake madness!!