Have fun party planning with these fun and creative Preschool Birthday Party Ideas!
Preschool Birthday Party Ideas
Got a preschooler… or know someone that does? I received the following question from frugal friend Jessica in Ohio…
“I was wondering if you had any good ideas for fun and thrifty birthday parties? My daughter’s 3rd birthday is at the end of March, and we are trying to come up with something that doesn’t cost too much money… but that is still fun and entertaining for the children. Thank you for any tips you may have!”
Do you have any thrifty or creative Preschool Birthday Party Ideas for little ones?
Or any fun party games, decoration ideas, or ways to save $$ on the food?
Leave a comment & share!
Have fun checking out these 46 Creative Preschool Birthday Party Ideas in the comments below…
More Creative Party Ideas
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olayinka aderonke says
Im encouraged. I have a low income salary and I still have to plan my daughter’s 3 birthday. I will try the snacks/cake/dessert plan. get a bouncing castle and then invite few friends . maybe 5 friends.
Jen says
For my daughters 3rd b-day we had a costume party. We asked all the kids to come in costume and then I bought a bunch of animal face masks, silly hats and tiaras from the dollar aisle at Target. The kids had a blast dressing up and posing for silly pictures. We set up a “runway” so they could flaunt their creations. For food, I served my daughters favorites (which also happen to be pretty cheap). I made PB&J sandwiched and then cut them into fun shapes using cookie cutters to make them special. I also made good old Kraft mac & cheese and served them in little decorative cups.
Jen says
For my daughter’s upcoming 4th b-day party, I’ve purchased a $20 automatic bubble maker and plan to have them all outside to chase bubbles and burn off their cake-induced sugar highs.
Heather says
For my stepsons 4th day, instead of pin the tail on the donkey, I am going to blow up a huge pic of his face and put it on posterboard. Then draw a bunch of funny face mouth peices and play “Pin the face on Jesse”!! Did it once for a 28yr old, was hilarious!
Heidi says
Plus… be sure to check out all of the great tips from your frugal friends on Facebook ~ for more fun birthday party ideas:
http://www.facebook.com/thefrugalgirls/posts/195749910447649
nicole says
If you are near chuckie Cheese they allow “walk in parties” so grab the CEC token coupons out of the paper to buy tokens for the kiddos and bring a cake/plates/cups/favors for your guests and it turns out to be a really inexpensive party. Walk in parties are not limited to kids. We had 50 kids on a Monday afternoon and had the place almost to ourselves!! Ended up paying about $120 for all the tokens (with coupons), cake, drinks, plates, favors and whatever else we may have had. Now, just think…if you didn’t have to entertain 50 kids…this could be SUPER inexpensive.
Rainie says
My oldest daughter’s birthday is in February. For her 3rd bd party I had an indoor beach party & as our guests were leaving a blizzard was just beginning outside (not in the plan). It was very cheap! A bag of sandbox sand under the kitchen table, a wading pool full of warm water, beach balls, and hot dogs & cake on beach towels in the living room. The kids all wore their swim suits & I had the thermostat set higher so nobody got chilled. We had a lot of good cheap fun.
Heather says
I agree with Maggie and Erika above- at 3, the big party is for the adults rather than the kids. 3 year olds don’t care about how much you spend and whether there is a character theme or any theme at all. Celebrate the birthday, but don’t feel guilty about not spending a lot of money on something he/she will never remember. All they really want to do is play, and would be thrilled to play with the family for two hours even more than they would be to see superman or cinderella.
Ashli says
My daughter’s 3rd birthday is this summer and I’m already planning in my head! She loves all things tea and princess, so I’m doing an Alice in Wonderland theme party and inviting just a couple of her little friends to keep it small and not overwhelming. My plan is to do large tissue paper flowers for decorations (google Martha Stewart tissue paper flowers for directions) and add simple little sandwiches cut tiny, some fruit, mini cupcakes, and juice “tea.” I’m finding things now for the party, like Easter gloves in the dollar bin at Target that can easily serve as favors. I don’t plan to spend more than about $20 which is very doable, throw in some pedestals, tablecloths, and dishes that I already have and we should have a very cute party for a very tiny price!
Emily says
So the idea of a pinata is always enticing, but in practice it never seems to turn out how you would like. It’s either completely anti-climactic because it never really breaks open like it’s supposed to (especially with the pull string kind) or it’s total mayhem. Plus, all a pinata is is glorified trash, right? So I just take whatever I would stuff one with and then sprinkle it all over my yard. Then I send the kids out to hunt for the treats. Sort of like an egg hunt without the plastic eggs. 🙂
Also, I’ve found the little ones definitely don’t care about games/activities. They’re just excited to be playing with someone else’s toys. lol Usually our “activity” at our boys’ parties is blowing bubbles or playing with pinwheels outside after cake and presents – can’t seem to go wrong with that!
Michelle says
We just celebrated our daughters 4th birthday with a Hello Kitty theme. Instead of buying invites and thank yous I found some H.K. coloring pages online for free and printed them off and had her color them. We aslo printed off extras to use as decorations around the house and cut out Hello kitty’s face to put on the favor bags. (which where white lunch sack bags, hello kitty face and ribbon pink bow of course) Instead of a store bought dessert, I ordered some h.k. cupcake rings online and made cupcakes complete with the pink sprinkles. Dessert and a few games made it a very inexpensive, fun party under $50.00 One of my secrets is to use some of the same things over and over such as a pink table cloth and pink paper lanterns…..that way you only buy once or twice and use year after year. Hope this helps 🙂
Mari-Leigh says
Instead of cake, a friend decided to make sugar cookies for her daughter’s second birthday. At the party, all the kids got to decorate their own cookie with icing and sprinkles. It was fun and she saved on having to buy the cake.
krupa says
Whenever I baked sugar cookies with my little niece I always bought white frosting and let her go crazy with the neon food coloring. I would put enough to frost two cookies into a solo cup or the small clear disposable cups so she could make several different colors
nancy says
Both of my sons have birthdays within 7 days of each other in the same month. We chose one year to have an “Oho State” party since we live in Columbus and are huge fans. We used Brutus the Buckeye plush and other themed Ohio State items we had around the house. We found cheap paper items at the Dollar Tree to match the colors and had our guests dress in their OSU gear or scarlett and gray. It was awesome. We always have a party every game and it worked to where there was a game that day and watched it afterwards and ate tailgate food!
Shauna says
When my son tuned 3 last year we had the party at home. And the big expense was we bought a bouncy house at Toys R Us on sale. It was less than $150 and thats what the kids played on. And NOW, we have it all the time for parties and whenever. I also went to Walmart and searched the craft section for clearance items. Turns out they had some foam door hangers and all the items needed to make them on clearance. And then instead of party favor bags, they took home the craft they they made. We had so much leftover craft stuff, that my son uses it from time to time to make more stuff…
Helen says
Best parties ever for our 3yr olds were inflatable swimming pools INDOORS with a Little Tykes slide placed over the side so the kids climbed the slide outside and slid into the pool. The pool was filled with balloons (not helium obviously). The kids LOVED it and the parents indulged in a shrimp ring and mimosas or coffee for a Saturday morning brunch-style buffet. The slide and pool were the big gifts and we had homemade cupcakes and individual ice cream cups for all. We tacked up beach towels for decorations and sent home dollar store sand pail/shovel sets as the favor. Six years later and they still talk about it. The slide was a handmedown originally purchased at a garage sale so our overall party cost was under $50.
Charlie Taylor says
Almost every year since my son could walk we have had a hay hunt party. I make the food simple, take and bake pizza or hot dogs, carrots and apple slices. Juice or juice boxes. We get a bail of straw and hit things in the straw, usually bought from the dollar store. Bubbles, crayons, erasers, stickers, whatever is age appropriate. Just give the children a sack and set them free. They love finding things and showing you what they get. Afterwards it is fun to throw, jump and play in the straw too. Makes for a very inexpensive and fun party.
Heather says
Sounds fun – but don’t people have trouble with allergies? My family wouldn’t be able to last 5 minutes digging around in a bale of hay (or straw). I wonder if there is a way to do something similar without the hay. Any ideas?
Charlie Taylor says
Never had a problem with the straw. We don’t have allergies so it never even occurred to me. You may be able to save or get packing peanuts although it would take a lot.
Jennifer says
My sons headstart did something like this but in sand. It’s not too much fun to clean up but if you have a wet/dry shop vac it’s much easier!
Lynda says
You can also do the same thing in sawdust. If it’s hot outside, use ice cubes in a swimming pool, and have the kids grab things with their toes. They love it!
Jess says
Popped popcorn! We did this at a family reunion and the kids loved it! We layed a tarp down and mixed in little toys and candies for the kids to dig for.
kathycarenza says
mulch from Home depot maybe? easter grass type rafia? put it in a box with a hole cut in the top. Shredded paper or newspaper?
Kim Baker says
We got the plastic small pools and filled it full of potting soil and buried those little farm animals and gave each child a plastic spoon and cup and the first one to dig up the most or a certain animal won! This farm party was for my little granddaughters 2 and 3 yr. old party.
Susan says
Love this idea! Especially for birthdays that occur in the fall (goes along with hayrides, etc)! Thanks!
krupa says
There is a state park near me that actually has a little mini zoo attached to it. Part of it is also a petting zoo. Its completely free and there are mini picnic areas.
I think there is a week in April that national parks are free. There are some amazing national and state parks around me. Even when they aren’t free, you just have to pay for parking. They all always have plenty of picnicing areas
Karen says
I am a 3 year old preschool teacher and trust me, simple is best. Three year olds get overwhelmed very easy. Simple games, simple food and keep the guest list small. The Dollar Store is a great place for birthday supplies (skip the birthday hats, they just break) and if you feel forced to do a goodie bag, give them something simple like a hat, a ball, a little bag of tatoos, things that are cheap and easy to pick up. Children like the IDEA of a party, you don’t have to break the bank to make them happy.
Paula says
I agree with you 100%! (I also teach 3 year olds)
MomofTwo says
When DD turned 3, she picked out 3 friends to invite over for a bounce house party (we own a Little Tikes one.) We made a cheese pizza from Papa Murphy’s, had baby carrots & a watermelon slices. And her “cake” was a big chocolate chip cookie. We had another small party just for family.
This year for her birthday we were able to secure a birthday party package from Half Off Deals http://www.halfoffdeals.com for $50 at a local zoo that had a value fo $175. All kids will get admission and we get to use the birthday tent (with all the decorations already there, so no need to buy any) and we get a personal show with 4 animals. Very cool! I’ll get a cake & juice boxes to bring in.
Last year for DD’s birthday I had won the McD’s/Shrek House Party from Houseparty.com and was able to buy everyone food and give them happy meal prizes. I did make other food and the cake and bought more prizes for the goodie bags, but this one was covered mostly through that house party. It was awesome!
For DS’s birthday, we got out our Little Tikes bounce house and let the kids jump in that. And we ate frozen pizza & spaghetti & fruit salad. I made up goodie bags with items I got on clearance in the Target Dollar Spot section.
I always keep my eyes open for goodie bag favors on clearance.
Maggie Welling says
I don’t think one is really needed. BUT if you must, go the old-school route. Cupcakes that you make. Pin the tail on the donkey, a craft. Then party’s over. 3 year olds attention span is not that long, a short party – just dessert and a game or two!
Nothing fancy is always fun!
Good luck and happy birthday!
erica says
I totally agree. Our daughter’s 3rd birthday party was just the family, cake, gifts and enjoying the time together.
Shanna says
Same here! I figure once they get to school age and can have longer social interactions w/o tantrums, then they need bigger parties, before that they don’t really care either way! lol! But some of these ideas are great for either older kids (ie: the firestation idea is SO cool, and I’m going to see if I can do it for my son’s 5th bday!!) and some of the money saving ideas are great for ALL ages! (Adults included! 😉 )
Emily says
Pick up party supplies at a dollar store, versus Target or Party City. Can’t beat the price and you can find decent stuff!
Leslie says
We had a cookie decorating party for my daughter. I baked the cookies ahead and mixed up some simple icing the kids could brush on with a pastry brush ( I bought the inexpensive mini paint brushes at the hardware store) and put various sprinkles on the table. I also bought a bunch of play dough out on our coffee table (that is protected with a glass cover) for them to play with. That way there were two distinct play areas for the kids. The cookies doubles as the party giveaway. I burned a CD of my daughters favorite songs as an added give away. Food was just inexpensive $5 pizzas and a home made cake. It was a blast and one of the Moms and at least one kid said it was the best party they had been to.
Michelle Steele says
For all of my sons’ birthday’s, instead of buying all of the decorations in the specific theme, we just bought the cake in that theme and the rest of the decorations were in the colors of the theme. Like tractors, we have a tractor cake and yellow and black decorations, etc.
Stephanie H says
Do you have a theme or anything? Where are you located?
Mickie says
For our kids birthday parties we usually stick to family. My kids are 3, 2, and 10 months. My daughter and son have their party this weekend. I make the cake and do not serve a meal. We do snacks and cake. I put on the invite, Please join us for snacks and cake. I ask my MIL and Mom to bring a snack to pass too. Then for decorations I get a table cloth and birthday banner. I get some cheap flowers for the girls as well. Usually daisy’s or carnations. We do just plain plates, cups and stuff. This weekend is Mickey and Minnie themed. I am doing a mickey cake and minnie cake then take the kids Mickey and Minnie stuff to decorate the house. For favors this year I am making cake pops (cheap and easy). I have done cut out cookies in the past as favors and this has gone over very well instead of kids going home with more junk that they really do not need. Good luck with your planning. BTW the party with food, cake and drinks (beer included) will not cost me more than $50.00!
Becky says
Just celebrated my daughters 3rd birthday this past week. We did a party on Friday afternoon. We invited 4 friends and their mommas and had lunch. I served a frugal/inexpensive/kid friendly lunch of: pigs in a blanket, veggie chips, fruit, mac n cheese and of course cake. We got all of our decorations, prizes, party supplies at the dollar store or in the dollar bins from target. It helped to have it during the day…just girls and their moms kept things simple for me and I didn’t have to worry about feeding an army. She was just thrilled to get to play with her friends.
Tracy says
Skip the expensive store-bought cake! Cupcakes are easier for little ones to hold and you can make your own for about $2. Really cute idea is to bake them in ice cream cones. You don’t need plates or pan liners. For favors, a lot of cartoon websites have free printables and even coloring books. Check nickjr or sprout for your daughters favorite character. Some even have invitations and party ideas. DLTK.com has free customizable invites of characters too! You can also make your own pinata. Time consuming, but much cheaper than buying one. I like to have the parties at home. If all else fails, a dvd or just playing together is enough at this age!
melissa says
for my son’s 3rd birthday we went on a free tour to a fire station. We then went to our house for pizza and cake. We sent a couple of pizza’s to the fireman to have lunch as well as made a $50 donation to the station. The party favors were really nice (hard plastic) fire hats that I found online for $1 each and had a friend personalize them for free. The entire party cost me less than $110 for 45 people
Melissa says
When my middle daughter turned three, she wanted an octopus party. Since the weather was nice, I found a fun, new park, brought along balls, chalk and sand toys. I got balloons and and cut out tentacles from construction paper and made octopus cupcakes and had juice boxes. I probably spent $25 and the kids had a blast. Oh! And I also did it during the week, during the day, so it was a fun mommy/birthday playdate.
[email protected] says
If you can get away with it, avoid character themes. If you go with a more general theme like say, “Ocean”, “Farm”, “Construction site” and “Camp Out” like we’ve done so far, you can use just plain colored plates and napkins which are much, much cheaper than paying for Disney or Nick Jr. stuff. Plus, you can use toys and decorations you might already have around the house. Also, if you can’t afford a full meal, I don’t see anything wrong with having the party and a non-meal time and just saying “snacks and dessert will be served” on the invite.
Heather says
Maybe try letting them fingerpaint their own party favors? And Target always has some kind of party supplies for 75% off and the end of their aisles.
Danielle says
We always have a cookout and ask everyone to bring a covered dish to share. We have also done a baked potato bar which was a huge hit and not too expensive.
Why not do a scavenger hunt. Have them go to a tree, car that’s a certain color, a chair, etc. If the weather is yucky you can always do it indoors. And kids love cheap little toys that you can get from Oriental Trading or a party store.
Angie says
One year we did a scavenger hunt where we left clues of where to go next left the next clue of where to go next to find the next clue. Eventually (after touring the whole yard & 1/2 the house they found a “treasure box” w/a bag for each child inside. This was the party favor. For the treasure box I just painted a cardboard box gold w/spray paint. The goodie bags were brown paper sandwich bags w/a juice box & bag of snacks. This even works for older kids. They really enjoyed it.
Melissa says
For my son’s 3rd birthday we took a free tour of a fireststation. We gave a 50 dollar donation and then went back to our house for pizza and cake (we also sent a couple of pizzas over to feed the fireman). We gave super nice fire hats as the party favor which cost me $1 online. The entire party cost me less than 100 bucks!!!
Maggie Welling says
That is an AWESOME idea!!!
Jenny says
Have the party at the park! If the weather permits of course. The entertainment is already there (aka the playground) and it’s free. You may need to reserve a covered pavillion or picnic tables ahead of time. Also, have the party mid-morning or mid-afternoon, that way you don’t have to feed the guests a meal. That will save money, just buy snacks and cake. Don’t hire any fancy entertainment, 3 year olds just love to play with their friends. You can always play simple games like the hokey pokey and limbo if you want too.
Good luck!
Carla says
For my son’s third, we took a tour of our local firehouse. They show the kids around all the work and living areas, let them climb on the truck and try on the suits and talk to them about fire safety. And it’s free!
Shanna says
That’s an awesome idea! =)
Sherri says
I think I might do this for my son’s 3rd bday this year! Great idea!
courtney says
I thought of this too, but don’t know what to do after??? did you serve food?