How To Throw a Kids Christmas Party On a Budget

With the holiday season on the horizon, you may have mentally started preparing for your family get togethers and parties. I hope you enjoy this guest post on throwing a kids' Christmas party on a budget.

Do you want to cut down on your Christmas spending this year? There are lots of ways to make Christmas totally magical without breaking the bank, and we have tonnes of ideas that are low cost or completely free, because at FreebiesWorld we believe the best things in life are free.

We’ve covered everything including entertainment, invitations and food so read on to get some ideas and inspiration.

Invitations
It’s great to get children involved in making the invitations. Allowing them to add a personal touch will make them extra special so head to your local craft store to pick up some inexpensive supplies and create something amazing together! 

Here are a few tips:

• Make stockings from felt and stitch the initial letter of the child’s name on the front. Fill them with a handful of sweets and a piece of paper with all the party details on it.
• Make each invitation completely unique – just take some card, ribbon and stickers and let the kids go to town on each one.  Print out photos from last year’s Christmas party or nativity play on the computer. Write the details of the party next to the photo or cut it out and stick it on the front of a homemade card.
• E-invitations are efficient, completely free and require no posting, so you’ll save money on stamps or petrol if you were planning on delivering them by car.

Decorations
Forget spending a fortune on expensive shop-bought decorations! Get crafty with the kids and make your own. Pop some Christmas tunes on, make a hot chocolate and enjoy transforming your home into a cosy grotto.

• You can never go wrong with paper chains and they look really effective when hung up around a room. Get the kids to make pretty patterns on sheets of paper first and then simply cut them into strips and use sticky tape to attach them together.
• Make a flying reindeer window display! You can buy window stickers very cheaply online or you could make your own with white paper and spray glue. It will help set the scene for your party.
• Window film will give your windows a frosty winter look without the mess and fuss of spraying them with fake snow. You can pick this up online or in craft shops for a small cost.
• Make your own edible decorations with homemade cookies. Hang them with some red and green ribbon and place them around the home and on the tree.

Music
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a few carols and favourite songs. Here are a few ideas to have fun with the party music:

• Ask each child to name their favourite Christmas song before the party. You can then make a bespoke playlist of tunes that every child will love.
• Ask each parent if they have an instrument (real or homemade) to bring to the party and create a Christmas band. Pop a carol on or a pop song and get them to play along. This will be very noisy but lots of fun.
• Play musical chairs with festive songs. You can give out Christmas prizes such as Santa hats and reindeer ears.

Drinks
You can be really inventive with kids’ Christmas drinks. We’ve thought of some great ideas that are sure to go down a treat with children and parents.

• Ice Cream Sodas are really popular at a party, especially if they are served in an extra tall glass with a straw and a spoon. Simply put a scoop or two of ice cream in the bottom of the glass, and pour fizzy drink over the top. The fizz expands really quickly, so pour it slowly to avoid an overflow.
• Mulled apple juice is great for kids and parents alike. Just simmer the apple juice with strips of orange peel, cinnamon stick and cloves for about 5-10 mins until all the flavours have infused. Sweeten with sugar or honey and serve in mugs. Delicious!
• Make a fruit punch with pineapple juice, orange juice, frozen limeade and lemonade concentrate, ginger ale and orange, lemon and lime sherbet. It will look great served in a punch bowl and the sherbet will create a delicious foamy top.

Here’s the recipe:
1 can (46 ounces) pineapple juice, chilled
1 can (46 ounces) orange juice, chilled
1 can (12 ounces) frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 litres of chilled ginger ale
1 pint each of orange, lemon and lime sherbet
Method: In a large punch bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Stir in ginger ale. Add scoops of sherbet. Serve immediately.

Food

• Chocolate snowball truffles are delicious and great for parties. Simply pour 200ml of double cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Chop 200 grams of dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Pour over the boiling cream, then stir until the chocolate and cream are well blended and smooth. Cool, then set aside in the fridge until the mixture is solid, about 2 hrs. Then pour some desiccated coconut into a bowl, and roll teaspoon-sized balls of the mixture in it. Chill them in the fridge and serve at party time. 
• Make a batch of plain cookies in different shapes such as Christmas trees or Santas before the party. Leave some icing kits on the table so each child can decorate their cookie how they like. You could make this into a competition if you like and give a prize to the best one.
• Popcorn is always popular and making your own is so cheap and easy. Pop a few corn kernels in a covered pan with some oil, allow to cool and top with caramel, honey or chocolate. Savoury flavours are also great for older kids. 

Hopefully you've discovered some great and easy ideas to try this Christmas. Be creative, be inventive and most of all have lots of fun. Happy Christmas from the team at FreebiesWorld.co.uk!

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