Birthday party costs?

What do you budget for your child's party? (and how many guests do you invite?)

Isabella's is coming up and I'm not sure how much money to set aside for it.

So far I'm thinking of inviting 3 - 5 children - the ones she plays with the most.

Kahtrell's bday is this sunday. I'm just having his cousins over (4)..and it'll cost me around $20!...am making sweets myself and only need a few extra ingredients...and have shopped around for great deals on chips, strawberries, birthday cake, lollies.

we did a chipmunks one for about 8-10 of her friends....and a bbq dinner...all up cost about $500 or so....but that is upper end...we could have done an at home one a lot cheaper...

she had a princess plydate party recently with 5 little friends over and i bought a few treats (princess books and colouring in books with pens etc) and food for them and that cost me about $100.

We did ours at McDonalds, a total of 8 kids and it cost $89.00 all up. I thought that was reasonable. Plus I didn't have to clean up the carnage afterwards.

Azza do you want to have it at home or rather at a venue.

At that age I would really not go into too much entertainment. She is turning 3 right? Bake a cake. I got a pooh bear cake tin as well as a doll cake tin and quite a few websites I can link you too with a whole birthday cake book with cakes you can make out of square and circle cakes. That is where I spent almost most of the money but you will already have most of those things at home.

Then some chips or popcorn. For that amount of kiddies one pack is fine. Some really diluted juice or even get a pack of those individual juices for the kiddies and make them each a party pack with all their food already in it.

Some fruit cut up. Like strawberry, melon apple and orange. Fairy bread, one of those premade pizzas some cheerios with tamato sauce. All of this should come to under $50.

Then for the adults I will make a crustless mini quich or sausuge rolls and some muffins or cupcakes and tea coffee and cooldrink. That will be a max of like 30. Or if you want to go more grand some grapes, cheese and crackers and add another like 20 max. So you should be able to have a real nice party for a $100 without the cake.

Or you can try lollipops for the venue and they do some great deals and you dont have to worry about entertaining them. Then you need to remember paperplates and all that nonsense.

This year was our cheapest party with 10 kids a few babies about 20 adults and it was at lollipops for $255 but that included absolutely everything and I was only allowed to bring in the cake. There was still loads of food left over and that included the cafe tab I had open for the adults to go get drinks. (although I had to practically force them to do it.)

I LOVE planning parties! I just threw DH a big party saturday just gone - cost me $600!...but thats an adult party - booze etc ...

My kids parties have varied in price over the years..

Bays last 1 was his 5th and it cost us $500 including his presents.

I generally spent aprox $200...im into the theme thang so i get all the matching bits and bobs which can add up when Zed child wants a popular theme like ben 10!