Finance

It seems with each year that passes, the cost of throwing a birthday party for a child grows more and more. However if you are willing to do some things yourself to cut costs, you can have a great party for a reasonable, affordable price.

First, lets talk about the guest list. Keep the number of other kids your child invites small if you are on a tight budget. The more guests that are there, the more it will cost for food, party favors, etc. I have found the best number for a young child’s birthday party is about 6-8 guests.

The easiest way to save a big chunk of money is to have a birthday party at your home, or at a park where it doesn’t cost to rent. Most places, even restaurants charge per child plus room rental fees that can add up very quickly. Plan some games and activities to keep the kids occupied and entertained. Have all the children make an inexpensive craft to take home with them, this can double as their favor for the party and help keep costs down as well as giving them something to do during the party.

Another big money item is a store bought cake. They are popular because you can find some many different characters and themes but they can become very expensive, especially depending on the number of kids you invite. Try making a cake and decorating it yourself at home. Do a search on the Internet to find different themes and patterns to make it special. If the decorating intimidates you, try something different than a traditional cake. Cupcakes are a great alternative, and each child gets one to themselves.

Have a mid afternoon party, instead of lunch or dinnertime. It can be expensive to feed a bunch of kids a full meal. Just offer a few healthy snacks instead. Set out a tray of vegetables and dip, cut up some fruit and put out a couple bowls of pretzels on the table. Most kids don’t want to sit down and eat at a birthday party, they would rather be playing with their friends and having fun.

Keep the party at about a two hour maximum. This way you don’t have to come up with tons of stuff to do to fill the time. Two hours is long enough for everyone to do an activity, play a couple games, eat and watch the birthday girl or boy open presents. Anything over two hours is getting a little long.

I hope these tips have helped with planning an inexpensive birthday. Its not about how much money you spend on your child’s birthday party, its about the effort you put into making it special!

The recession stinks. But, one of the good things that can come out of all those budget cuts is a chance for your children to get more home cooking. Not only is dinner time around the table a great time for bonding with children, but cooking at home means that you have more control over your children’s nutrition. Childhood obesity is a major problem in the United States and making dinners and lunches at home is a great way to monitor the health of your child. But, it is also important to cook things that kids will actually eat. Luckily, those two things can go hand in hand. By making small substitutions in your cooking methods, you can significantly increase the nutritional value of your meals.

Not all fat is created equal.
Grains and rice.
Cut down on sugar.
Low fat dairy
Portion size

Now that you are armed with some good tools on how to cook for your family, check out some of these online cooking videos to find out what to cook. Introducing your children to new foods is a great way to set up healthy eating habits. Try throwing in a new recipe every week or so. Children often don’t like things just because they’re new. Don’t be afraid to introduce something a couple of times and always put everything on their plate even if they say they don’t want it. They may change their minds when they see everyone else chowing down. And, with my kids, withholding desert, or saving the meal until the next time they complain that they are hungry is a great way to get them over their initial stubborn streak.

This isn’t necessarily a substitution, but it is still an important change. I went to a nutritionist a few years ago to help me lose weight and change my eating habits. When we sat down and talked about appropriate portion size, I was shocked to discover how much of our daily recommended calories my children and I were eating in a single meal. Check out this article at Meals Matter for some tips on appropriate serving sizes. They compare a serving of fruits and vegetables to a woman’s fist, a serving of cheese to six dice, etc. This has helped me out a lot.. I used to love string cheese as a child, but those fun little tubes are chock-full of unnecessary fat and milk sugar. Switching to a lower fat options when you buy cheese, milk and yogurt is a good way to cut down on the amount of fat that your kids ingest. Only one of my kids noticed the switch in his string cheese. But, I let him know that I had been cooking with it for months without him even noticing and he quickly got used to it. Most parents know that candy and soda are made with unnecessary amounts of high-fructose corn syrup which is full of empty calories. Not to mention it makes kids sugar-crazy. But must juices have just as much, if not more, sugar than soda. Make it a habit of checking the sugar content of the apple and orange juice that you buy for your family (and cut down on juice boxes that are not only full of sugar, but dyes and chemicals as well). More natural juices with no added sugar is better for your family. Or, invest in a juicer. Not only will you save money on bottled juice, but you can ensure that your children are getting all the nutrients that fresh juice can provide.Pasta and rice are easy to cook, and kids love them. But white rice and pasta is made from refined grains. Refined means that all of the nutritional parts have been taken off, and all you’re left with is starch and sugar. Try switching over to brown rice and pasta. They contain fiber, vitamin B and other nutrients. They aid in digestion and, unlike their white counterparts, they don’t cause the high spikes in blood sugar that cause you to feel like you’re hungry when you’re not. Your kids may protest in the beginning because it looks different. But putting your foot down now will establish good eating habits that they will take with them for the rest of their lives.I grew up eating things cooked with butter but I quickly learned that there are much better, and equally tasty, options out there that are better for my family. Olive oil is now my standard choice for cooking. Used in limited amounts, it is a good source of unsaturated fat that works well with cooking. Sesame oil, sunflower oil and other plant oils also make great cooking options and can add flavor to your meals. But just because its healthier doesn’t mean that you can go crazy. Too much of any type of fat is a no-no.