Throw a Themed Kids Birthday Party For Under $200

Birthday parties are just a part of growing up as a kid. And as a parent, they are just a part of being a parent!

Love them or loathe them, each year you have to gear yourself up for another day of kids, gimmicks and baking. Throw in there a themed party and it becomes all sorts of fun.

These days, themed birthday parties can get quite expensive, especially if your child is into one of the “hot flavour of the month” themes. You know the ones – Frozen, Peppa Pig, Unicorns and Fairies, Minions or Paw Patrol!

I thought to myself, I wonder if I can pull together a themed children’s party for under $200. Can it actually be done or are we destined to skip a mortgage repayment just so our kids can have a memorable birthday?

I did some research with the help of a friend who was planning a Paw Patrol themed birthday party for her 5 year old son and wouldn’t you know it, we created a themed party for under $200!

Here’s how we did it.

How to throw a themed kids birthday party for under $200.

Decorations:

This will be one of your biggest expenses unfortunately. But you can’t have a themed party without themed decorations to set the scene. For a Paw Patrol fest, we got paw balloons, Paw Patrol table cover, Paw Patrol face masks, Hanging swirl decorations, A cute banner, Paw Patrol plates, Cups and serviettes. This was a nice little collection that set us back $55.00 from a nifty little online party discount store. It pays to shop around for your party supplies as there are a few around and they can vary in price.

Food:

Most parties feature the obligatory party foods being pies, sausage rolls, fairy bread etc. I recommend sticking to what works and going with this option as well. We did make some special Paw Patrol cookies though and bone shaped biscuit “treats” to keep in with the puppy theme. All up $75 was spent on food to keep the troops happy.

Party Favours:

What’s a party without little party bags to take home. We kept it simple because let’s face it, kids just want to have fun and take home a treat at the end of the day… usually a sweet one! So, we delivered with a party bag of little lollies and a special little Paw Patrol momento being a paw stamp. With the stamps coming in a pack of 6 for $3.99 how can you go wrong! Total spend on the kiddy bags was $20.

Masks:

To add to the fun, we “splurged” on some Paw Patrol face masks so the kiddies could run around playing Paw Patrol. They were a hit and totally broke the bank at $4.99 for a pack of 8!

Cake:

It’s so tempting to contact the local cake maker and get a totally stunning cake baked. The problem is this can really blow the budget. You could spend all your $200 on a cake or even more. My suggestion, head to Google. We Googled Paw Patrol cakes and scrolled through until we found the “easy” one to make. This “Rubble” cake pictured below cost $40 all up with the purchase of cake ingredients, a “Rubble with dozer”, Kit Kat Family block for the fence and a bag of Maltesers for the “Rubble”. We also had some flake to dust on top but didn’t end up using it. We were amazed how easily it came together and the birthday boy thought it was the best ever! Not bad for less than $50!

All up, the Paw Patrol themed birthday party was an outlay of $195. The theme was more than set, kids had a blast and the mortgage got paid. All in all, a win for the themed parties. With all the paraphernalia that is Paw Patrol, there was the risk of blowing the budget quite significantly. But, as with all themed parties, the key is to pick your items carefully and make sure everything has a purpose.

Show us your themed kids birthday parties. Do you splurge or do you have a budget you usually stick to?

Does your son need a pair of new shoes to top off his birthday outfit? Or just because he is the best kid ever?

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