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How to Plan a Party on a Budget

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Every party host wants their guests to leave happy, satisfied, and let’s face it, impressed. But the cost of so many things that go into a party, such as food, beverages, decorations, and party rentals, can add up quickly. If keeping within your budget is important, don’t worry—you can plan a successful party and save money at the same time.

Make Simple Invitations

Small get-togethers require just a phone call or text, but for larger or more formal parties, invitations are in order. The trouble is, buying personalized and mailing invitations can be expensive. If the occasion allows, consider sending out digital invitations. Several websites and social media platforms offer free or low-cost digital invitations. You can design and personalize them online, and collect RSVPs when people respond. If you prefer printed invites or if a keepsake invitation is desired, such as for a special anniversary, you can also take advantage of low-cost websites that let you order printed invitations. Of course, you’ll want to plan ahead to leave extra time for shipping and mailing.

Focus on Free Entertainment

Kids don’t care if you hire an expensive character impersonator or rent an inflatable bouncer—they just want to have fun. For kids, that means being active and playing. If a kids’ party is being held outdoors, you can’t go wrong with classics like sack races or ball tosses. For the indoors, searching games and crafts can be fun.

Just like kids, grown-ups like games, too. Organize a bean-bag throw contest (called cornhole in some areas) and offer inexpensive prizes for other kinds of competitions. Instead of hiring a DJ, hook up some speakers and stream your own music playlist. This can even work at weddings with some planning.

Reuse Old Supplies

Every party seems to end up with surplus supplies like extra paper plates, napkins, streamers, or balloons. With a little creativity, you can repurpose supplies from a previous party and create new decorations. You can make paper flowers from leftover streamers or party napkins. Or, add a new color and braid streamers together for a fresh look.

For kids, leftover paper plates can be folded into baskets to use for party favor bags. You can also use paper plates for kids’ crafts and games. The backs of paper plates make a great canvas for drawing and coloring. Use scissors to cut holes in the plates, and they can be transformed into masks.

Buy in Bulk

Whether you shop at a big-box warehouse retail store or an online shop, buying in bulk can save you money. Food, decorations, and other party supplies can all be purchased in large quantities at discount prices. Frozen party foods like chicken wings, meatballs, and other finger foods are available in large boxes, for instance, which can save you both money and time. For a large party, buying napkins, paper plates, drinking cups, and other serving supplies are also less expensive at bulk shops. Multi-tiered stands can make food such as hors d’oeuvres and desserts look appealing. Toothpicks add detail to your food presentation that will impress people without breaking the bank.

Encourage BYOB

Drinks are expensive, especially beer, wine, and spirits. For more informal parties, it’s perfectly acceptable to request guests to bring their own drinks or contribute to the bar. You may ask directly by putting BYOB on the invitations, but there are also some fun ways to subtly encourage it. For an adult party, consider throwing a wine tasting or beer tasting party. Ask guests to bring their favorite wine or craft beer. Use plastic shot glasses to set up tasting flights and ask guests to rate and vote for their favorite. The winner can win an inexpensive prize, such as a bottle opener or corkscrew, and afterward, everyone shares the leftover beverages.

Make It Appetizers Only

Unless you’re not specifically hosting a dinner party, you may not need to serve a meal or a full buffet. Everyone loves finger foods, and an appetizers-only party can satisfy your guests’ hunger and save you money in the long run. By offering a wide range of appetizers, from vegetables to gluten-free desserts, you can also meet your guests’ varying dietary needs.

For informal parties, a simple browsing table will work, but if you want to ramp it up a notch, serve some more unusual foods and take some time with the presentation. Tapas and small plates are popular trends these days, and the appetizers-only theme is even being used for weddings.

Use Your Backyard

Moving a party outdoors has a number of advantages, and not just on your budget. Most people’s backyards can comfortably accommodate more people than their living rooms, so you can expand the invitation list. Outdoor parties also require less elaborate decorations: just add some lights or a few flowering plants. If rain is a risk, consider renting a tent or canopy. It can be much less expensive than renting a venue. A backyard party doesn’t have to be a kids’ party or barbecue. With the right touches, you can transform your backyard into a more formal venue. Many couples save thousands of dollars by hosting a backyard wedding.

Make It a Potluck

Family parties are often potlucks, and they’re usually a hit. Everyone looks forward to Grandma’s potato salad or Uncle Joe’s hot wings. But potlucks can be fun experiences for other types of parties, too. Start by choosing a theme, such as a specific cuisine or occasion. Part of the entertainment is getting to sample a variety of dishes. You can ask people to indicate what they will bring or assign people certain categories, such as appetizers, side dishes, salad, entrées, and dessert. You might also want to set a size or price range per item so that everyone contributes an equitable amount. Label the dishes and encourage tasting size portions.

A great party doesn’t have to be expensive to be enjoyable. Whatever the occasion of the party, you can save money without forgoing anything needed for people to have a good time. With a little imagination, you can host a memorable event that doesn’t break your budget.

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Thank you for stopping by and checking out our tips on How to Plan a Party on a Budget. Which tip was your favorite? What other tips would you suggest? Be sure to let us know in the comments below! If you enjoyed this post, we’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend or sharing it on Twitter and/or Facebook. Don't want to lose this? Pin it on Pinterest so you can get back to it later!

Have a great day!

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Items You Should Buy with Holiday Gift Cards

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The holidays can be a wonderful time of gift-giving and receiving as a way of showing love and appreciation for the people around you. However, some gifts can be tricky to know what to do with. For example, if you get gifted a lot of gift cards around the holidays, it can be difficult to decide what to buy with those gift cards, so they often end up sitting in your sock drawer for the next year or so. Don’t make that mistake this holiday season. Here are a few great items that you should buy with holiday gift cards this year.

A Nice Restaurant Meal

First off, it can be great to use your gift cards to buy nice restaurant meals. It can get expensive to eat out, especially if you try to stick to a budget. However, it can be very fun to eat at a restaurant so you can enjoy food and an environment that you don’t normally have access to. So, if you have a gift card to a few restaurants, make sure that you choose one of your favorite places to visit. You might even want to save the gift card for a special occasion like a birthday, an anniversary, or a celebration of a life milestone so that you can make those dates extra special.

Electronics

Another great way to spend your gift cards is by buying electronics. Even though electronics are pretty essential in our day and age, they can be expensive and unaffordable. Try to take advantage of the credit on your gift card to buy the electronics that you’ve been needing. For example, if you’ve started a remote job, invest in some great headphones or speakers to facilitate your work. If you enjoy doing virtual art, you could look into getting a tablet to help you to work on your talents. Additionally, there are lots of great technology sales around the holidays, so it is important to take advantage of that gift card while prices are low.

Furniture

If you’re looking for a useful way to spend your gift card, it can be great to buy furniture. No matter what stage of life you are in, you’ll always have a need for some type of furniture. For example, if you’re taking some online classes, you could invest in a great desk or comfy chair for those long hours on the computer. If you’re preparing to have a baby, you could use your gift card to buy a crib or high chair. If you’re moving into a new apartment, your gift card could help you get a new mattress or bed frame. Even though furniture might not always seem like the most exciting gift, it is definitely necessary, which makes it a great option for spending your gift card.

Clothing

One of the most obvious ways to spend your gift card would be to buy clothing. Even if you don’t follow trends and don’t have a huge wardrobe, it can be helpful to buy new clothes from time to time. This will help you to have outfits for every type of weather or every occasion. For example, modest dresses are great for any occasion that requires some confidence and style. A comfy lounge set is great for the colder months when you’re spending time with loved ones indoors. There are tons of great clothing options at many stores.

Home Décor

If you enjoy making your house look nice, you should consider spending your gift card on some home décor. There are lots of stores such as Target, Home Goods, and Ikea that have affordable and beautiful home décor options. When you’re trying to decide what to buy with your gift card, think about the aesthetic that you’re trying to achieve in your home, and try to buy décor that won’t go out of style in a few months, but that will have more of a classy, timeless look.

Kitchen Accessories

One of the essential elements of life is preparing and eating food, so using your gift card to buy some kitchen and cooking accessories is a great option. Even if you don't feel like you have a lot of talent in the kitchen, there are lots of kitchen accessories that make it really easy to prepare delicious food. For example, there are tools like air fryers, microwave steamers, instant pots, and more that can prepare delicious food fairly quickly and that are quite easy to use. Make sure to keep these types of accessories in mind as you’re deciding how to use your gift card.

Experiences

If you’ve received a Visa gift card, or any similar type of cash gift card that isn’t specifically connected to a store, it can be great to use these to invest in experiences. Having material items can be enjoyable for a time, but the memories that you gain from experiences last forever. Think about what types of experiences you and/or your family would love to have, and use your gift card to invest in making those dreams come true. For example, if you’ve been dreaming about taking your young kids to Disneyland, use your gift card to start planning that trip today.

Now that you’ve been able to think about the different ways in which you can use your gift card, don’t let it sit in your sock drawer for the rest of the year. Get out that gift card and use it today! Also, remember that the ideas in this article are only a few of many options. The great thing about receiving a gift card is that it can be used in so many ways to provide you with a gift that you will enjoy.

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Thank you for stopping by and checking out our tips on Items You Should Buy with Holiday Gift Cards. Which tip was your favorite? What other tips would you suggest? Be sure to let us know in the comments below! If you enjoyed this post, we’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend or sharing it on Twitter and/or Facebook. Don't want to lose this? Pin it on Pinterest so you can get back to it later!