Its a Party!!

Woo Hoo.. What better way to celebrate a new look than to have a party??? Its a blog party and they are giving away a SERIOUS list of prizes...I would love to have 7, 15, 19 or any of the other prizes...I just never win ANYTHING! So head on over to 5 minutes for mom.com and join in...you dont have to be a blogger, you can just discover some great new blogs to read and win some cool prizes in the process!

So when you are having a real life party...how do you save money?

While virtual parties are so much fun, real life parties can be expensive and stressful. Having large amounts of company, finding decorations, party favors and planning food can all be difficult on a budget. But there are a few ways in which you can save some of your hard earned cash....

Your first thought in party planning should be "what do I already have?" By putting an new twist on things that you already have, you can save tons of money. For instance, All those little trinkets that they have for various holidays arent always holiday specific. I have seen Strawberry shortcake for valentines day for example. They go on half price...or 75 percent off is better and you snatch them up. What about all the superbowl party stuff that is on mega clearance after the big game? Do you have a sports fan in your house? By reusing these items you can cut a huge chunk of money and add some more time to your busy life

Next, look at decorations. Can you think of some that are easily made? We went to a party for my daughter that was a mermaid theme. The creative mom used blue saran wrap on the windows and large pictures cut out to make a great focal point in their kitchen...for pennies!

For food and cakes you want to match up to your store sales as much as you can. The internet is your friend on this one. You can google and find thousands of appetizers or meal ideas to match up with what ever main ingredient you have on hand. Make what you can from scratch as well. Cakes can be done this same way. When we had my son's army party I googled and found a very simple but very cool looking tank to make out of cake and oreos ....Yummy!

Finally, make a list and stick to it. This will help eliminate your stress of having the party itself. Make a list of what you would like to accomplish and divide it out over a period of weeks. By not leaving everything to the last minute you will save yourself time and money!