If you have children, it seems to happen nearly every year as your child’s birthday approaches — the requests for an amazing birthday party. Birthday parties are expensive, and if you have a tight household budget, birthday parties may seem impossible to pull off.  When you consider venue, food, goody bags, cake, and presents, it’s easy to see how kids’ birthday parties could break the budget.

We’ve gathered some tips that will help reduce the cost and help you save on kids’ birthday parties.  Have a party that you and your children will remember for the right reasons – and not because you’re still paying off the credit card bill months after the party ends.

How to Save on Kids’ Birthday Parties:

• #1 tip: Set a budget based on what you can reasonably afford and then stick to it!
• Hold the party at home instead of renting a venue
• Schedule the party in the afternoon, around 2:00 pm. Note on the invitations that cake and ice cream will be served. This way you won’t have to feed everyone lunch and you’ll save on food expenses.
• Decide how many guests your budget can reasonably accommodate and communicate that number to your kids.  Remember that some schools require children to invite the entire class of kids if they pass out invitations at school and inviting the whole class will make your costs skyrocket. If your budget is tight, be careful with your guest list.
• Save on paper invitations by emailing them.  Evite is a great free option that will even track your RSVP responses.
• Save on party decorations by setting a theme and only buying a few items specifically for that theme. Example: buy a few themed balloons and some streamers or a themed centerpiece, but save on the rest by buying plates, cups, napkins, and other decorations in matching color to save.
• Skip the party supply store – your local dollar store is a fantastic place to buy decorations.
• Bake the cake yourself. A homemade cake mix plus frosting costs a fraction of the price of a bakery-bought cake.
• Plan simple games in your backyard or living room. Classic games like musical chairs, pin the candle on the birthday cake, and limbo never go out of style with kids — and you can offer inexpensive prizes without spending a lot by shopping at dollar stores.
• To save more, skip the expensive goodie bags.
• If you really want to offer goodies bags, use plain brown bags that you and your child decorate with stickers, stamps and markers. Buy candy in bulk or buy other fun discount items to stuff them with.

Saving on kids’ birthday parties is easy if you use a little creativity. Your child won’t miss the fancy decorations or store-bought goody bags or bakery cakes. They’ll remember the time you spent, playing games with friends, and digging into that delicious homemade cake.

What are your best ideas to help save on kids’ birthday parties? We’d love hear them in the comments!

This article was syndicated and originally appeared on the CESI Debt Solutions website.