Throwing an Olivia the Pig Birthday Party (On a Budget!)

Wonder how to throw an Olivia the Pig birthday bash on a budget? Here’s a guest post from Iris with all kinds of tips below. I also  love the free Olivia printables from NickJr.com that make hosting and decorating a breeze.

Some time after my daughter Skylar turned one, she began demanding to watch Olivia on Nick Jr. She could barely say it, but every night when it was time for her nighttime bottle, she would say “Oleeva, Oleeva!” I don’t even remember when we first watched the cartoon, but somehow, in my little girl’s mind, she knew that she wanted to watch Olivia. And it soon became an obsession. She didn’t watch that much TV, but if the TV was on, it could only be Olivia on the screen. The strange part was, I too became obsessed with this cute little pig and found the cartoon quite entertaining. Thus, I began planning Skylar’s Olivia the Pig birthday party.

Being a stay-at-home-mom, whenever I start party planning, the first thing on my mind is keeping the party budget low. Fortunately I am pretty good at finding deals and being creative when it comes to stretching the dollar. Here are some of my tips for keeping a party budget low:

1. Plan ahead!

I usually start planning a party several months in advance (sometimes a year in advance!), and it gives me plenty of time to find items for a party at a discounted rate. For example, I knew that I wanted to have a really eye-catching dessert table at the party, and that the colors would be red, white, and black (Olivia’s favorite color is red, so I knew there would be plenty of red!). Since Skylar’s birthday is in January, I knew that I would have the Christmas holiday to find a lot of red treats for the party. When Christmas came and went, I found myself at Target, Walgreens, and other stores searching the after-holiday clearance racks for discounted candies. Sure enough, I found tubs of Peppermint Malt Balls and Red Jelly Candies for 75% off! Of course I made sure to check the expiration date, and most candies take a year to expire. So take advantage of after-holiday sales! Just because the packaging looks like it’s suited for a specific holiday, don’t forget that you can take the candies out of the package and dress them up in a nice candy jar with a personalized label and matching ribbon.

2. Use resources that are readily available and willing to work for free.

Yes, that includes your very handy husband! My husband was kind enough to partake in several DIY projects, including building a frame for a dessert table backdrop. He simply used 2×2 lumber to build a wooden frame, and then it was up to me to find the perfect fabric to wrap around the frame to match the party color scheme (more on that later). Also, another free resource is you! Other than the birthday cake, I baked all of the treats for Skylar’s party. Thankfully, there are lots of great websites now with fun party recipes that were a great help to me! And don’t think you have to make treats from scratch. Whenever I make cupcakes, I always use a box cake mix to help speed things up.

3. Always keep an eye out for a good deal.

It was getting close to Skylar’s party and I did not have the fabric for the dessert table backdrop yet. We were actually shopping for picture frames in Ikea, when I happened to pass the fabric section, and just my luck, there was red and white striped fabric on clearance for $2 a yard! And always think outside the box. You don’t have to go to a fabric store to find fabric, I’ve purchased shower curtains and tablecloths from the clearance section to use as fabric for some of my party projects.

In the end, Skylar’s party was a huge success. Everybody loved the dessert table and all of the food and decorations. But honestly, the best memory was watching my little 2-year-old have the time of her life. Skylar is usually shy and more reserved, but the day of her party, she was smiling from ear to ear and being super friendly to everyone. It’s as if she knew she was the hostess of this very special party. That’s my girl!

Iris is a mom of two beautiful children and enjoys baking and creating amazing party ideas. She also writes for My Baby Clothes Boutique. Dress your little one for those sweet birthday day parties in their beautiful baby headbands, baby clothes and tutus.