Like many girls her age, Bee is obsessed with Hannah Montana, and she requested a Hannah Montana-themed birthday party. The first step – invitations.
I rarely buy invitations for my kids’ birthday parties, because my scrapbooking hobby means that I always have plenty of card-making supplies on hand. Last year, I made Barbie “12 Dancing Princesses” invitations, and yesterday, I made these simple Hannah Montana invitations in Microsoft Picture It.
I couldn’t see buying a pack of 8 store-bought invitations, when I only have two kids to invite! All of the party specifics are inside, and we decorated the envelopes with Hannah Montana stickers. These invitations are printed on 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock, and when folded, they fit in standard greeting card envelopes, which can be purchased by the box at Wal-Mart.
For party favors this year, I’ve been prowling the clearance aisles at Wal-Mart and Walgreens, and I’ve come up with some great favors, without going over my $5 per kid limit.
Hannah Montana book of 318 stickers: .50 (Walgreen’s clearance)
Hannah Montana notebook: .75 (Walgreen’s clearance)
Hannah Montana stretchy book cover: .50 (Staples clearance)
Hannah Montana headbands, package of 3: $1.00 (Dollar Tree)
Crayola markers: .70 (Wal-Mart clearance)
Fun-Dip: .59 (Dollar Tree)
Marshmallow Pumpkin: .39 with coupon at Walgreens (I always include at least one Halloween favor, since Bee’s birthday is only 2 days before).
Total cost: $4.43
I didn’t buy standard favors, because as you know, I object to cheap, plastic crap, and also because many Hannah Montana party favors involve make-up, which I don’t think is appropriate for first grade girls. I did buy Hannah Montana cups, plates and napkins though, as I have no decorating expense this year. Bee wants to have her party at Happy Joe’s for the free sundae and birthday horn, followed by a sleepover at our house. I’m going to wrap the girls’ favors in sparkly, purple paper, so they have something to open while Bee opens her presents.
I’m planning to make this Pop Star Guitar cake from Family Fun:
It looks complicated, but it’s actually quite simple. I was worried that I would have to bake a zillion cakes, but it’s actually just a 9×13 sheet cake, cut in a very creative way, and pieced back together.
I usually take birthday cupcakes for Bee’s class, but this year there are children with allergies, so treats can only be items from the approved snack list. I was upset to learn from Bee that some parents disregard this rule. Last week, one boy brought Little Debbie Fall Party Cakes, but when I pointed out that they aren’t on the approved list, Bee said, “Oh well, we have other snacks in the classroom for the allergic kids.”
I just don’t think that’s fair, because it means that some kids are excluded, and I imagine that kids with allergies already feel excluded enough. We purchased Halloween fruit snacks (approved), Halloween pencils (8 for $1 at Walgreens), small boxes of Halloween stickers (20 boxes for $3.99) and Halloween treat bags ($1.99), to make birthday goody bags for Bee’s class.
Because the focus is off food, all the kids can have the same thing, and no one will feel left out. The cost is .74 per kid – far more than that of homemade cupcakes – but I didn’t actually have to pay for any of this stuff, because I still had a $21 rebate credit on my Walgreens gift card from way back in April. I hadn’t used it because this pregnancy has been kicking my butt, and I haven’t felt up to shopping.
Also, it’s my opinion that a little kid’s feelings are far more important than money.
