Amazingly Inexpensive Birthday Party Ideas for Kids
Are you looking for inexpensive birthday party ideas so that you can save money while having a great time? Unfortunately, money doesn’t fall from trees, and parties can be very expensive. We are here to help you have an affordable event with our 20+ years of party experience. There are several ways for you to have a great birthday celebration without your wallet taking a blow. Save money, have fun, and follow our guide for all the best inexpensive birthday party ideas.
Inexpensive Birthday Party Ideas for Your Event
How to Throw a Cheap Party
The total cost of your party will be greatly influenced by the number of attendees present. The more people you invite, the more expensive it will be. Make a guestlist to determine the number of people attending your event. Your list will not only be valuable in determining how big your event will be; it will also allow you to keep track of who you’ve sent invitations to and who is there once people arrive. Create a budget to get an idea of how much your party will cost after you've decided how many guests you'd like to invite. Include food, beverages, decorations, staff, rentals, and anything else you need to buy for your event when comparing costs to your budget. Once costs have been estimated, decide what aspects are most important for your party and plan accordingly based on what you can afford.
Save Money with a Fundraiser
Generally, the larger the crowd, the more expensive it will be to accommodate everyone. What if there was somehow a way to throw a big party without it costing a lot of money? There is a way, and you can do this by throwing a fundraiser event. Fundraisers are a great opportunity to gather people together in support of a charitable cause. To attract more people to come to your fundraiser, choose a charity that you and your community are passionate about helping. Charge guests an admission fee upon entry that contributes towards setup costs and the cause of your choice. Fundraisers bring everyone in the community together for an inexpensive event. To learn more about throwing a fundraiser party, check out our fundraising guide with great advice on how to throw your own fundraiser movie event.
Planning an Inexpensive Birthday Party
Choose a Theme
Every party needs a theme, whether it's for a birthday, school celebration, church gathering, neighborhood event, or any other occasion. The theme of your party should be fitting for the audience and something that guests would enjoy being immersed in. When deciding on the best theme, the time of year and audience preferences should be highlighted. For example, having a carnival with candy apples, fair games, colorful balloons, face paintings, and an evening showing of "It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" at a children’s party would be a great choice during the fall. For the most captivating experience, coordinate all aspects of your party with the overall theme. Shop at your local dollar store to find cheap decorations and party supplies. If you plan on catering food, buy cheap utensils that match the theme of the party. Your party can be both affordable and have an amazing theme.
Pick a Location
In order for your guests to have a good time, the comfort of everyone at your party should be of the utmost importance. Make sure the location of your party is suitable for the expected crowd size, along with any additional equipment. Proper seating is important to have so that guests are not fatigued from standing for too long. If renting chairs or tables is too expensive, tell guests to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets to sit on. Encouraging guests to bring their own seating will save you both money and time. If you want to have your event in a public setting such as a park, school, or any property that is not your own, be sure to ask for permission to hold your party there beforehand. Remember to abide by local noise ordinances and purchase movie licensing if you plan on having an outdoor movie event.
Do I need movie licensing?
For almost any outdoor film screening held in a public area, a movie license is required. Movie licensing is not required when holding an event in an intimate setting on private property; this includes places such as your backyard or home. Depending on the film, obtaining a license may be quite expensive. An alternative solution to avoid paying for licensing is to host a movie party in a private setting. Smaller events typically cost less than larger ones, in large part because they don't require a license most of the time. Beware, a sizable fine could be imposed for failing to obtain a license when it is necessary.
Send Invitations
Once you’ve completed the planning for your birthday party, it's time to send out invitations. Throw your birthday party on a Friday or Saturday if you want the most guests to arrive. The start of the weekend is a great time to throw parties due to people generally being free from work or school. After choosing the best day and time, send your invitations digitally to save money. Printing and mailing letters to each of your guests will cost more than simply sending them an email, text message, or social media post. Within your invitation, include an RSVP notice for guests to confirm if they can arrive at your party or not. RSVP notices will help you plan accordingly for the expected crowd size. Visit our party invite page for downloadable invitations or contact us for custom designs.
Prepare the Area
Prepare the area before guests arrive after you’ve chosen the best place to hold your event. Sprinklers and nearby lights coming from lamp posts should be turned off if your birthday party's at night and outdoors. If you’re renting a projector screen, the area should be as dark as possible so that the screen is most visible. At your location, confirm that trash cans and restrooms are available. Both are essential to have. Placing several trash cans where guests can easily spot them will minimize the after-party cleanup. Having clean and open restrooms with a proper amount of soap, toilet paper, and paper towels is vital so that guests don’t have to leave the party to go to the restroom.
What if I need to reschedule my party due to weather?
If you’ve booked an event renting our excellent audiovisual equipment, then it is important to know that we offer free weather-related rescheduling on the morning of the party day. High winds (above 15 mph), rain, snow, or any sign of hazardous weather that makes it unsafe to set up our equipment will require a reschedule or cancellation for the safety of you and your guests. We suggest having an indoor location as a backup in case the weather is bad and your party must be held on the scheduled day. It's never fun for us to have to cancel a party due to bad weather, so we'll do our best to work with our customers to make sure the fun can continue on another day. Contact your local FunFlicks® office if you want to reschedule your party due to weather concerns.
Cheap Birthday Party Activities
If you’ve booked an event renting our excellent audiovisual equipment, then it is important to know that we offer free weather-related rescheduling on the morning of the party day. High winds (above 15 mph), rain, snow, or any sign of hazardous weather that makes it unsafe to set up our equipment will require a reschedule or cancellation for the safety of you and your guests. We suggest having an indoor location as a backup in case the weather is bad and your party must be held on the scheduled day. It's never fun for us to have to cancel a party due to bad weather, so we'll do our best to work with our customers to make sure the fun can continue on another day. Contact your local FunFlicks® office if you want to reschedule your party due to weather concerns.
Silent Disco
Dance the night away with a silent disco! We offer affordable wireless headset rentals in select locations across the nation. If your local noise ordinances require quiet at a certain hour, then a silent disco is the perfect choice. Our event technicians will bring the equipment and play any music you’d like to listen to at your party.
Karaoke
Test your vocal skills with a live karaoke night. We have microphones for singing and high-definition speakers for listening. If you’d like to view sing-along lyrics, we can display those on any of our screens. Such an activity is perfect for your birthday party celebration at your home, bar, church, or place of work.
Live Sports Watch Party
Get your game face on for a live sports watch party. Encourage guests to arrive in their gameday apparel and bring on the rivalry for such an event. Live sporting events are inexpensive to show on our screens due to movie licensing not being required to view them in public.
Video Game Tournament
A video game tournament is an amazing birthday party activity to compete in against your guests. As long as your console is HDMI-compatible, then we can display your gameplay footage on the big screen. Such an activity is inexpensive in that movie licensing is not required for public display.
Event Rentals for Your Inexpensive Birthday Party
FunFlicks® Inflatable Movie Screen Rentals
FunFlicks® inflatable movie screens are professional quality at an affordable price. There's a size for everyone, whether you're throwing a massive film festival with thousands in attendance or a small birthday with family at your house. To make sure everything runs smoothly, a local FunFlicks® event technician will arrive at your location on time, set up the screen, oversee the technology, and pack it all away at the end of the screening. Booming high-definition sound, crystal-clear laser projection, and a larger-than-life display are all included when you book an event with us.
Backyard 16'
12'x7' Display
100 Guests
20 Cars
Premiere 21'
16'x9' Display
250 Guests
50 Cars
Blockbuster 26'
20'x12' Display
500 Guests
75 Cars
Elite 32'
26'x15' Display
750 Guests
100 Cars
Epic 40'
30'x17' Display
1500 Guests
150 Cars
Xtreme 50'
40'x22' Display
3000 Guests
250 Cars
FunFlicks® LED Screen Rentals
FunFlicks LED screens are perfect for day or night display in almost any environment. Utilizing electroluminescent technology, our LED screens generate light effectively at any time of day. Each panel is rated IP65, meaning they are both rain and dustproof. Day or night, rain or shine, you get to decide when the magic happens. All of our mobile LED trailers have onboard generators for portable power. Therefore, no power supply is needed. Similar to our inflatable screens, our fleet of LED screens comes in a variety of dimensions for a variety of crowd sizes. Local event technicians across the country are available to bring our LED trailers anywhere for you to enjoy video games, live sports, movies, advertisements, or almost everything else!
8'x5' LED Trailer
75 Guests
15 Cars
12'x7' LED Trailer
100 Guests
20 Cars
15'x8' LED Trailer
250 Guests
50 Cars
17'x10' LED Trailer
500 Guests
75 Cars
23'x13' LED Trailer
750 Guests
100 Cars
FunFlicks customers get 10% Off Movie Licensing through Movie Night Ministries!
Movie Night Ministries is a family-oriented organization whose ultimate goal is to provide excellent, newly released movies directly to communities throughout the United States.
