Money magic! Decorating your kids party with a dollar - RI Magician Kids Party Ventriloquist Steve Zany
Decorating your kids party with a dollar
In my last post we discussed how you can decorate your kids birthday party on a budget with items from dollar stores like Dollar Tree or Family Dollar.
As you might imagine, as a kids party magician performing throughout RI and nearby MA, I see all qualities of decorating — from gaudy to fantastic.
So where do you begin with kids party decorations when you want to watch your purse or wallet?
You need to, of course, start with an invitation, says party planner Cicely Rocha-Miller. You can often find elegant foam backed invitations that you can print off your computer, at dollar stores. They are worth checking out rather than going to a card or party store.
Balloons also are always a huge hit. You can buy lots of balloons and have them blown up at many dollar stores for (no surprise) $1 each and it comes with the string too. Compare that to your local party store. You can’t beat it. You can also use larger-size balloons as ‘punch balls,’ the fun activity you used to do as a kid.
You can even create centerpieces. Get a big bowl from a dollar store. Some include a dozen lollipops. Then find something like a colorful, flower shaped plastic fly swatter and a flower vase placed in a flower vase with colored tissue paper.
Places like the Dollar Store allow you to really think out of the box and have a wide selection of items that let you walk in and out with everything you need.
While you do get what you pay for, there are ways to avoid having those decorations look cheap.
Be sure to stick with a theme and avoid buying pre-made party kits. Here’s where you get creative. For example, the party store sells party hats, but you can glue onto the top of them pom poms and stickered lettering and it is an instant upgrade to a hat.
You could use a colorful chip dip container (the ones where the dip goes in the middle) as a flower-like wall decoration by drilling a hole in one end and hanging it on the wall with a tack or string.
You can even often find a packet of birthday candles for a dollar.
Looking for an activity for the kids to do. Check out the $1 molding clay. You could even create little activity stations for the kids to rotate to.
Want to have each kid customize a mug? Dollar stores often have blank mugs that you can have the kids paint on or for older kids use permanent colored markers available at the store.
Don’t want to serve ice cream on a paper plate, get $1 ice cream cups to decorate the table. Some cups are even nice enough to let kids take home. It sometimes depends what the store has stocked on the shelves at any given time. It can be hit or miss.
A note of caution. It’s all to easy to walk into a dollar store and spend more on items than you really need.
Given that you can’t get a refund on items (typically only a store credit) be sure to 1.) go in with a theme, 2.) have a budget that you will stick to, and 3.) try to come up with some ideas prior to your store visit.
I hope you found these suggestions of help. Have ideas of your own or experiences you’d like to share. feel welcome to share your comments below.
Happy party planning!
Steve Zany, RI Kids Party Magician and Ventriloquist
RI Magician Kids Party Ventriloquist Steve Zany - Nickelodeon Parents Pick Award Winner!
