How to Plan a Party on a Budget

1. Decide the theme of your party. Maybe it’s a birthday party, or a holiday party, or an I’m-having-a-party-because-I-can party. No matter what the occasion, even if you don’t have one, it’s good to clarify on a theme. However, If you don’t want a theme, then you can skip this step entirely. If you DO want a theme, make sure that you pick something original and interesting.
2. Figure out where the party will happen. If you’re on a tight budget, then your house would be your best bet. If you can stretch the dough a little, try having it at a club or rent out a restaurant. But, for the people who feel better close to home, then good news! You just saved tons of cash!
3. Create your guest list. Since you are on a budget, it would be best not to invite any more than 15 people. Remember, you have to feed and entertain everyone! Avoid inviting people who are too high-maintenance or bossy. They will try to take over the show that YOU worked so hard on, start talking badly about another guest, make you do everything he/she says because “I’m the guest!”, etc. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and don’t invite them.
4. Work out the menu, and go potluck. Seeing that you don’t have that much money to spare, it would be a good idea to ask a couple of trustworthy friends if they could bring some small food items. Ask your friend who loves to bake to make some cookies, and ask your helpful but cooking-challenged friend to pick up some chips and dip. If you play you cards right, you will wind up paying for half or less of the total amount of food.
5. Find a good source of music. You might also try games, movies, or something else for entertainment! You obviously don’t want to go out and buy all the new CDs, so it would be best to maybe blast your iPod on a specific playlist at your party. Even better? Ask a friend who is music-crazy to burn you a CD of all of their favorite songs and spontaneously play them at the party. Make sure that you have different types of music that will appeal to everybody.
6. Send out invitations. If you plan on saving money on a stamp and personally delivering it to them, be discreet about it. The last thing you need is for someone you hate to walk over, look at the invitation, and say, “I’ll be there!” before you can explain yourself.
7. As party time approaches, make and buy decorations. Streamers and posters are fairly easy to make. Visit the dollar store since they have cheap party supplies like balloons, paper cups, and disposable utensils.
8. Party time! Hopefully your guests love the party and can’t tell that it cost you about $20. Heck, YOU probably won’t be able to tell! Let loose and have fun at your awesome party!