I can’t believe he’s 3 now! Insert waterworks here!! I really wanted to give him a special party this year since he is about to graduate into a big brother. Hence the balloon arch that was expensive and time consuming but more than worth it!
I want to share with you what I did to give him a special day. And don’t forget, I have a free printable Party Planning Checklist and Budget, which you can get by providing your email.
I managed to have this party under budget. I had a lot of people there, but still went WAY overboard on the food and drinks, I could have probably cut that back because we ate taco meat and chicken meat in every meal last week. Leftovers for days!!!
I was able to save some money on decorations because I already have a Cricut and had all of the supplies on hand to make the banner and some of the other decor items I wanted.
Budget
I used my Party Planning Checklist and Budget and here’s how it turned out:
Balloon Arch
I do not have my own tutorial on the balloon arch. I did adapt what I learned from another blogger I follow over at www.hellojunebug.com You can find her there and check out the tutorial on her instagram page! Mine did not turn out quite like hers, but I had a blast making it and learned a lot about how I would do it if I ever try it again. Colors I chose matched the theme of Spiderman: Red, white, blue, clear. The 36 inch spiderman balloon was ordered from walmart.com for $15, but I did have to inflate it myself. Party city had it with free inflation for about $20.
Taco Bar
Sorry, no pics of the taco bar, I was so busy last minute cooking and literally the MINUTE I finished, the guests were arriving and I was ready to entertain.
I made it super simple:
Crockpot shredded chicken (8 thawed chicken breasts, 1 jar salsa, 4 tbsp taco seasoning, cook on high for 4 hours and shred)
Ground beef
Hard Taco shells
Tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded Lettuce
Diced Tomatoes
Salsa
Sour Cream
Black beans (in crock pot)
Refried beans
Spanish Rich
Guacamole (Homemade by my lovely husband)
Other Decor
Banner (my favorite!!) I love to make banners and I use my cricut and free fonts. There were some $5-$10 options at party stores as well, but I so love the personal touch and have fun making them. I’ve made about 6 banners in my year and a half with my cricut!
Party Favors
I found a picture of one that I loved and recreated it on my cricut. I filled it with the following items:
– Slime or Bubbles (yes I’m the mom that sent home slime with kids)
– Color-your-own hero masks
– Superhero silicone bracelets
– Small candy
People can go crazy spending money on party favors, and I budgeted $5 per bag, but came in under budget. There are lots of other ideas that you can do for a lot less money: free coloring pages, free printable crosswords or other activities, oriental trading company (grab bag of party favors), etc. Keep in mind, though, is this something that you would keep if your child got it as a party favor. If not, maybe just skip the favors altogether-definitely not a necessity.
My favorite part of the party was just watching my son enjoy himself and open gifts and get spoiled! I am so glad to make memories and I hope Vito will look back at pictures one day and see how loved he was by everyone.
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