A Fabulous Party on a Limited Budget… Impossible?
So, you want to host a great party, but you have limited
funds. Can it be done? The answer is ABSOLUTELY!!!
There are numerous ways that you can cut costs when
planning a shower. Perhaps the easiest way is to split the
hostess duties among several friends. Homemade food, favors,
and invitations are another way to make things less
expensive. The time of day you have the shower may also
influence the cost. A mid-afternoon party with cake, punch,
and light snacks is much less expensive than a dinner or a
spa afternoon. Having the party at a restaurant may be less
expensive if the guests all know each other and are willing
to pay for their own meals. This may be somewhat awkward,
though, so it definitely is a plan that will only fit
certain situations.
Handmade invitations are a very easy way to cut corners.
With a computer, a printer, and cardstock or specialty
paper, you can make invitations that will look practically
professional. Or you can choose to make a crafty invitation
that perfectly complements your theme. Another option for
invitations is to email invitations. Sites like sendomatic
allow you to send invitations and maps, track responses, and
even send weather reports for the big day for less than $15
dollars for 100 invitations. Sending email invitations saves
on the purchase of invitations, as well as the postage.
Food for a shower can be very simple. If you have an early
afternoon party that falls after lunch but before dinner,
you can serve cake, punch, mints, nuts, and perhaps a fruit
tray very inexpensively. The presentation is often more
important than the actual food that is served. Use nice
bowls and silver for a formal atmosphere. If you do not have
crystal or silver, you can usually get plastic that looks
like crystal and silver and will still look nice. Finger
sandwiches also add an elegant touch and are inexpensive and
easy to prepare. If you want a more casual feel to the
shower, a vegetable platter and chips and dips are always
welcome. Or get everyone in on the act and ask each person
attending to bring a snack. You might want to have a sign up
sheet, though, so that you don't end up with 5 bags of
chips.
Believe it or not, even if you don't consider yourself a
baker, there are several alternatives to expensive bakery
cakes. Cupcakes are very easy, and sugar or plastic
decorations in baby themes are fairly easy to find. You can
also use frosting to "glue" small plastic baby decorations
to the tops of Little Debbie snack cakes. These are
precious, and they look like you spent a lot of time.
Another option is to skip the traditional decorated cake,
altogether, and go for individual cheesecakes (easy to make
in muffin tins) or a delicious chocolate cake (make sure
that the mom-to-be isn't avoiding chocolate first). Cookies
can make a great sweet treat also, and there are some really
cute cookie cutters readily available. Finally, if you think
you can make and frost a rectangular cake but are concerned
about trying to do fancy decorations, you can find edible
cake art images online. These are easy to apply to the top
of the cake, and they are the same images used by bakeries.
Many of the games and activities for a baby shower are free.
There are printouts available online if you want to play
games like bingo. While party favors are a nice touch for a
shower, they certainly are not necessary. A personal thank
you, in person or written, is all that is necessary to thank
the guests for attending.
Throwing a baby shower is a wonderfully generous thing to
do. It does not, however, have to break the bank. Remember,
the most important thing when hosting a shower is to create
wonderful memories for your friend. Years from now she will
remember the laughter and the thoughtfulness of her friends
more than she will remember fancy favors or expensive cakes.
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