Money-Saving Party Ideas

We all love a good party, but none of us want to go broke from it. Unfortunately, planning a party not only takes a considerable amount of mental effort, but it also has a vacuum effect on your wallet. Fortunately, with a few clever saving money ideas, you can throw a great get together without having to count your pennies.

Invitations - instead of sending paper invitations, email out the invites. These days you can even do a stylish invite, save it as an image, and send it off to your entire guest list with one quick click.

"We're out of Ice" - How often have you heard that dreaded phrase.  It's almost immediately followed by an awkward silence and eyes shifting left to right to see who's going to get stuck making the next ice run.  Running out of ice is definitely a party buster. 

But there's no point in wasting time, gas, paper and plastic by going to the store to purchase ice for your party.  Rather, a sleek compact portable ice maker will quickly plunk down cube upon cube to keep drinks nice and cool. Additionally, with grocery store ice, you not only have to worry about storing it, but will have to keep making store runs whenever the ice runs low.

Don't by "pre" - When shopping for your menu, stay away from foods that are pre cut and pre cleaned, as these are big money wasters. Instead, plan out your week before the event and try to hit the local produce guy or the farmers market. This way you get fresh produce at a fraction of the cost.

Additionally, try filling your menu with starchy but cheap stuffers such as pasta, potatoes, rice and breads.  These items are not only inexpensive, look great on the table, and fill up guests quickly. And when all else fails, you can always make it a pot-luck. This is an idea that works great around the holidays or birthdays; instead of having guests bring gifts, ask them to bring a dish.

Decorations - the best decorations are the kind you make yourself. A bit of paper and scissors can go a lot way to start with. Paper cut outs, paper lanterns, and paper pictures all make lovely decorations.  For centerpieces, skip the expensive flowers and go with fruit instead.  Fruit is not only cheaper, but can become part of the meal and is sure to last a lot longer than over-priced flowers.

Activities - One of the worst things that can happen at any party is that dreaded silence, where no one really has anything to say anymore, and everyone's just standing around in an aloof "don't know what to do" manner. One great tip is to get a piece of paper and get everyone to sit around a table (or tables depending on how many guests you have), and have pens, markers and crayons available. 

If you even just leave those items out you'll see people come together and start doodling, which encourages conversation and at the end of which you have a great piece of art and a nice little memory of your evening.  Best of all, this is a really inexpensive but clever party idea that'll sure to be a hit among both young and old, and both men and women.

Temperature Control - If your party is during hot summer months, one key element to remember is how you're going to keep guests cool.  Sure you can switch on your AC, but with constant indoor outdoor traffic, your cooling will soon be compromised. If you're going to have people coming in and out of your house throughout your party, consider getting a fan, such as the Air King, which is powerful yet quiet.

Get Started With a Portable Ice Maker