Moms Talk: What are Some Great Birthday Party Themes that Won't Break the Bank?

Elmhurst Patch invites you to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Elmhurst.

Each week in Moms Talk, moms in the community will take your questions, share solutions and come up with new questions by answering in the comments section below.

Today's question: What are some great suggestions for theme parties for elementary school kids that won't break the bank?

Moms Council members include Elmhurst residents Carol Pavlik, Leah Gleason, Kristin Morrow—and new additions, Sandi Sullivan and Mimi Black. They have some great ideas, but please share yours in the comments below.

Leah Gleason: I actually just had this conversation with a fellow mom. It turns out her two children–a girl (8) and a boy (10)–asked if they could have a party together! So the mom is booking a gymnastics place and each child gets to invite half the total number of kids. It works for Mom, and the kids are happy.

Sandi Sullivan: I was recently very inspired by some ideas for a spring party theme that included pink lemonade, a bunny ears craft (craft foam, markers, pipe cleaner), and dyeing eggs.  These ideas are clearly more related to Easter; and if that were an issue, the theme could be expanded to include a make-your-own flowerpot dessert (crumbled chocolate cookies in a small pot and a flower cookie on a stick); simple origami birds craft; make-your-own-umbrella craft; or a pin-the-tail-on-the-sheep/bunny/duck game. Give the kids some props, like rain ponchos, sunglasses, umbrellas, beach hats, gloves, scarves, etc. and have them pair up and present their own weather reports.  This theme gets everyone, including the grown ups, in the spirit of spring—and, for what's ahead, SUMMER! 

Mimi Black: A unique idea for a budget-friendly theme party might be to capitalize on the number of the child's age. For example, if your child’s turning 8, host a Crazy Eights party.  Activities could include making eight-layer sandwiches and parfaits, painting figurines or tie-dyeing T-shirts using eight colors, hula-hooping for at least eight swivels (the kids might discover that two hula-hoops together make an 8 symbol), eight-pin bowling, etc.  Your child might enjoy helping you think up ideas for number-related games, enhancing their enjoyment of the event.