Five budget-friendly children's birthday party ideas

We all want to give our child or children the best life possible, full of happy memories. And even though it may not always be possible to splash out the way we want, there's plenty of ways we can make a birthday special, even on a budget.

How do you throw a kids birthday party on a budget?

We will suggest some inexpensive birthday party ideas you can plan to keep the birthday person and their friends entertained on the special day, but before we get into that, there are some ways to cut the costs of a birthday even more. These include:

• Hosting the party at your house.
• Making the decorations (this is something your child can be involved in).
• Keeping the guest list small.
• Opting for finger foods and snacks rather than complete meals that likely won't get eaten.
• Baking the birthday cake yourself (Pinterest will be your friend here).

Five low-cost children’s birthday party activities

The big question is, how do you keep a handful of kids entertained without breaking the bank? Well, here are some inexpensive birthday party ideas you can use to make their day without having to spend too much at all:

1. Game tournaments

This could be garden games like sack and egg and spoon races if you have the garden space, or you can load up your games console and have them battle it out virtually. Keep a scoreboard and have a small prize for the ultimate winner.
Depending on how long you want the part to last, the tournament can span a short or long amount of time. The best part? It will barely cost you a penny.

2. Get crafty

Pens, pencils, felt-tips, paint and paper are all you really need to keep your party guests entertained. You can throw in some sponges for painting or let them finger paint.

Alternative options include getting your child (the birthday person) and their friends to paint rocks or mugs etc., something they can either gift to the guest of honour or take home and keep for themselves.

3. Create a disco

Take on the role of DJ and put on a disco for the children to enjoy. You can even take requests to ensure everybody gets to hear their favourite songs. It shouldn't cost a penny if you already have a Spotify, Amazon Music or iTunes subscription, unless you want to invest in a glitter ball or some glow sticks, that is.

4. Have a karaoke party

This is an activity that requires minimal supervision. All you have to do is set up your Lucky Voice kids karaoke machine, load up the children's category of your subscription and grab a handful of mics, and you've got yourself one heck of a party (if we do say so ourselves).

5. Decorate cupcakes

While baking the birthday cake, why not whip up some cupcakes for the kids to decorate during the party? You can buy some decorations like icing pens, edible glitter and hundreds and thousands that won't cost too much but will ensure at least half an hour of fun.

These are all low-cost activities but are sure to keep a birthday party in full swing and make for some excellent memories, which is the whole point, really.