What was your 1st bday budget?

neya28 · January 2009

I'm a planner so I've already started thinking about it. What was your budget for 1st bday party? I can't cut the list to any less than 30 people (DH has a huge family) & I'm getting a little nervous about the price of this thing.

jason&robin · January 2009

I kept it really simple. Both my mom and mil brought appetizers and I got a cake. We got a few balloons and that's about it. We all had a great time!

rlthomas7 · January 2009

Ours is pretty simple too - just the grandparents and his godmother. I'm doing cold cuts, turkey meatballs and rolls to make sandwiches, chips, pretzels, some sort of side salad and cake and ice cream. Should be less than $100.00, and the cake alone is $40 - I'm a cake snob.

neya28 · January 2009

We have a tiny little condo so I'm afraid we're gonna have to go to a restaurant. My family is pretty small too but DH's is huge (about 20 people we can't not invite). Then there are our close friends with babies the same age as (give or take a few months) as DS. My bff is planning hers now and she keeps telling me it can't be done for less than $800.

Max'smom · January 2009

$800 seems like a lot to me. We went simple and at our house. We had 20ish guests. I maybe spend $200. If your place is small can you look at hosting at a family members house? I you have the money to spend I'd say go for it. But I would say you don't have to spend that much.

jessicada76 · January 2009

I think your friend is a NUT!...lol. $800! Maybe if you have a birthday party like Ryan and Trista had for their little boy!...lol. We did ours for $200 and we had 40 people there! We had a bbq - burgers, dogs, mac and cheese, baked beans, veggie tray, fruit tray, cupcakes for guest and Paige had a cake to smash. We also had an ice cream bar. It was lots of fun! I agree find a church that you could rent for cheap if not free or a family members house. Don't do a restaurant IMO! We had it at my Mom's but we also had it outside!

itsmyturn2 · January 2009

So I have spent way more than I thought I would but I also bought a few things I know I can use again for birthdays and just in general. This is what I spent so far:

Reusable Stuff - $400

New Dishes - $200

Folding Chairs - $80

Etsy Birthday Banner - $50

Cake Stands & Dishes - $30

Table Cloths - $40

Onetime Use Stuff - $255

Balloons - $30

Goody Bags - $50

Sandwiches - $125

Drinks - $25

Misc Food - $25

Eeeks... that was more than I thought! But I guess the point is - you could cut out all the stuff in the first section!

We are expecting about 20 people.

neya28 · January 2009

jessicada76:
I think your friend is a NUT!...lol. $800! Maybe if you have a birthday party like Ryan and Trista had for their little boy!...lol. We did ours for $200 and we had 40 people there! We had a bbq - burgers, dogs, mac and cheese, baked beans, veggie tray, fruit tray, cupcakes for guest and Paige had a cake to smash. We also had an ice cream bar. It was lots of fun! I agree find a church that you could rent for cheap if not free or a family members house. Don't do a restaurant IMO! We had it at my Mom's but we also had it outside!

We're in NY - everything is insanely expensive and we have no space to do it at home (my place wont fit more than 8 people at once lol). She picked a pretty cheap restnt and they're booking it for $40/per person.

schnappycat · January 2009

I didn't go in with a budget and think I ended up spending about $500, including food, cake ($75), new clothes for DS, decorations, flowers, a few dishes, favors, etc. We had it at home and there were 8 adults (supposed to be 11--3 cancelled last minute) and 3 kids including DS.

ai&Jas · January 2009

We are in Chicago. Our DD's birthday is next week and we are having it at a restaurant. I would have prefered to have it at home (cosier and cheaper) but we are still renovating our house so we cant have it at home. Food alone will cost $700 (including drinks and desserts) but we mainly have 45 adults and only 6 kids coming. Not priced in decorations but since its mainly adults we will probably put up some ballons and get party hats for the kids.

Its funny but I would never spend that much money on my own birthday or DH for that matter!!!

John's Mom · January 2009

We made a grocery list in early January (my son's bday is in mid-march); each week, when I go to the grocery store I get 3-5 items from the b'day grocery list so that when his birthday party comes I am not dropping 200 bucks in one visit to the grocery store, on top of our weekly groceries. I would say our budget will be around 200 once it is all said and done.

JolieMommy · January 2009

let me preface thsi by saying we are not the biggest spender by any means but when it came to DD 1st bday i knew we would go all out

the guest list is insanely huge - already 70 people are a "yes" - we thought the more the merrier for the celebration!

food alone will be $500

Decorations/balloons $100

Cake $70

Misc. $100

So about $700-800. We could have opted to have something smaller and simpler but birthdays were always BIG deals in my family and going all out and can't help but not to do the same for DD.

jessmess0105 · January 2009

I did DD's 1 st birthday for around $350.00 and about 30 guests. I own my own catering business so I did the food myself. It was a tea theme. We had peanut butter and jelly tea sandwiches, turkey and cheese tea sandwiches (for the kids), fresh fruit display, beggar's purses (appetizer), spinach stuffed pyllo triangles, crab stuffed mushroom caps, petite beef tenderloin bagel sandwiches, vegetable crudites with homemade herb dip, cheese and cracker tray, and a chocolate fountain with dipping treats for dessert. My mom does wedding cakes for the business so she did the cutest 3-tier cake. I also had favors for the kids and mimosas for the adults! We had a lot of food but it didn't cost a lot if you take the time to do it yourself. The only thing is that we already had a lot of cute serving pieces that I borrowed from the business.

Bottom line, it can be as inexpensive or as expensive as you want it to be. Just do what you are comfortable with.

Calliopi · January 2009

We are expecting about 20 adults and 8 kids. It's in the middle afternoon so we are just serving cheese, fruit, cake and candy. The food will probably be about $100 including cake, I spent $50 on decorations and have another $50 set aside for things I've forgotten. Total-$200

mrs.aaguilar · January 2009

We really didn't have a budget. We probably spent atleast $800. Her cake and cupcakes alone was $200.00 (we actually only paid $100.00 and cousin took care of the rest). That all included food for about 30-35, favors, balloons, pinata, bouncer, a personalized banner, her bday outfit, decorations, and bday pictures.

angluvsammon · January 2009

We spent about $500. We had about 35 adult guests and 10 babies/kids. It included renting out a community center, food, decorations, favors, outfit for DS and his b-day gifts. Have fun!

BNLgirl07 · January 2009

We spent probably about $400. We had about 50 people total (adults and kids). This included renting a hall, food, decorations, cake, clown, and goodie bags for the kids.

HawaiiBrideGrm · January 2009

It def depends upon the guest list. We spent prob $300 for everything... we fed 20 adults plus 10 kids, had a pool party (DD born in August). The cake alone was $130 (was really fancy for her 1st bday... after this, they will be homemade). Don't get too crazy, they don't remember it anyway. GL!

JillAly · January 2009

I'm also in NYC and have a really small apt so I had to go to a restaurant. However, rather than do the $800 thing- which is very easy to do- I tried to keep it less. I had it at a pizza place and just had pizza, salad and sodas. I made 2 cakes (smash cake & regular cake) and had about 20 people. It cost $250 in total. The music people that are hired cost about $300 so I had a friend bring his guitar and play a few songs for the 3 babies present- they didn't know the difference and it was free!

Here are my cakes- I loved them!!

femmeftle9 · January 2009

Hmm. $100 on food, $50 for cake (the smash cake was free), $90 on candy (color-coordinated jelly bellys and M&Ms for the party favors), $50 on DD's outfit, $25 for decorations, $40 (I think!) on invitations & postage. So that comes to: $355.

Di&Roddy · January 2009

I started planning in October, but her birthday was in January. I had a party at home. It was a winter wonderland. I was out there at the after christmas sales getting all the snowflake stuff I could find. I think I spent $20 on decorations and paper products. I got great deals at the Card Factory Outlet. It was awesome. My MIL made Hayden's Winter Wonderland Tutu, so that didn't cost me a thing. Most of my money was spent on food and cake. I think the whole thing cost me less then $200 done. Oh, and that includes her gift. We got her an Elmo and Zoe My First Purse. He carries it everywhere...lol! It's so funny, and I think it cost me $10 at TRU.

jodynjames2005 · January 2009

All together, we spent about $1300 on the party, their birthday outfits, and their gifts. We had about 40 people at their party, which was an afternoon tea service at a local tea room. DH also has a huge family, so we had an invite list of 50 people only with family and like two friends. We can't fit that many people in the house, so we had no real choice but to go with a restaurant.

I loved the girls' party and it was really a wonderful day for us, and they had fun, too! I don't regret the money we spent on it at all. But, I wouldn't go into debt or something for it. If you can afford it, go for it!

JDB3358 · January 2009

I am super frugle but typically dont sacrifice too much, I just plan early and look for great deals. Plus I did the Winter Onederland theme and was able to get some great decorations really cheap. Here's where our money went with 33 people:

Food and drinks (not including cake) $80 I had 2 different chili bars, hotdogs, chicken salad sandwiches, a chip and dip bar, hot cocoa bar, ice cream bar, and punch station

Plates, napkins, silverware, cups $20 tops at the $ store

Decorations including 2 balloon bouquets $40 (most decorations came from $ store or after-Christmas clearance)

2-tiered cake (enough to feed 45-60 people) w/ smash cake $65

Goody bags and games for 8 kids $10 I got the bags and candy on Christmas clearance at Target, and let the kids make their own snowglobes out of old babyfood jars.

Outfit for DD $30

So all total, we spent a little over $200 for 33 people.

crystalpopcorn · January 2009

We didn't really have a budget, but this is what we have spent so far:

Cake - $60 (The cake is shaped like a fire truck. ?This also includes a "smash cake" for DS---does that help to justify it? lol)

Decorations/balloons/plates/napkins/cups/silverware - $60

Helium tank rental - $30

Favors - $15 (we are having four kids. ?the oldest is 3)

?Food / drinks (including alcohol) -- I will estimate around $100, but we have not purchased yet.

?

teg · January 2009

we didn't have a strict budget, but kept things pretty simple. we had maybe 20 people over to our house. spent about $150 on food (heavy appetizers, cupcakes, drinks), $30 on decor/plates, $30 on favors...

we saved money by skipping the character decorations (WAY more expensive than higher quality plain stuff, like plates, etc.) and not getting DS big gifts from us (DH and I both picked gifts out, and spent under $10 total). DS has pretty simple interests right now, plus it was right before the holidays and we knew he was getting stuff for Christmas and Hanukkah. it can be as simple or as elaborate as yu want it to be--people won't be picky--they just want to watch your baby smash some cake and play with wrapping paper!

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