Are you looking for tips about how to throw a 50th birthday party on a budget? Fifty or twenty — these tips work for any birthday on a budget!
How To Throw A BIG 50th Birthday Party
{or really any birthday party}
Welcome to Dagmar’s Home!
- Are you looking for tips about how to throw a 50th birthday party on a budget?
- Are you stressed out because you don’t have enough money to plan a beautiful party?
Then you’ve come to the right place!
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I’m super frugal and try to do everything in the most inexpensive way.
Over the years, I’ve planned many birthday parties on a budget, many for under $100.
In this post, I’ll tell you how I was able to create a 50th birthday party for 25 people for just $500.
You can adjust my tips for any birthday party you are planning.
Depending on your party, you can create a celebration maybe for even less money.
How To Throw A BIG Birthday Party on a Small Budget
I will show you how you can pay less for
- the venue
- music
- flowers
- food and birthday cake
- tables and chairs
- tableware
- party decorations
Here we go!
When my husband’s 50th birthday was coming up, I was determined to make this a special day for him, even though we were on a tight budget.
I was able to organize a lovely surprise party with our family and friends he really enjoyed.
How was I able to throw a classy party for 25 people in a beautiful venue for only $500?
- smart budgeting
- some bartering
- a lot of hands-on work
- and some luck and ingenuity
3 Tips for Creating a 50th Birthday Party for Less
Tip 1. Venue, Music, and Flowers for Less
Venue:
Don’t be afraid to barter!
I had my eye on The Lodge room at a local farm, which is a pretty venue with a lovely main room, but I couldn’t swing the rental fee plus the costs of food, etc.
So luckily I mentioned the upcoming party to the owner and she let me have the Lodge for free, in exchange for social media consulting. It was a win/win for the both of us.
Check out your local community center or church and ask if they have a party room you can have for a few hours. I bet you could offer something in return to barter.
Music:
If you are on a budget and don’t have money for a band on DJ, don’t fret!
Having music doesn’t have to cost much nowadays: all you need is an iPhone or iPod and a speaker, and you can stream free music with the Pandora app.
Here is an inexpensive iPhone speaker.
Pandora lets you decide which type of music you prefer to hear for the party, and then you just let it run, or if you have your favorite music downloaded, then just play that.
I personally didn’t want to be distracted by music and wanted our guests to be able to talk to each other, so we didn’t even have music.
Flowers:
One of our friends, a talented florist, made a beautiful floral arrangement as her birthday gift for Don that I used as a centerpiece.
Don’t have a florist friend? One of the best deals for flowers can be found at Trader Joe’s — they offer pretty bouquets for not much money, and you can just place them in a few vases you have, or mason jars or vintage milk glass vases you can find in thrift stores. Done!
Here is another idea: buy beautiful fake flowers at the craft store. You can always find a coupon when you go to the store’s website. Show it to the cashier on your smartphone when you check out for extra savings.
Or shop and have them shipped to you via Amazon. They are inexpensive and pretty, and available in any color you want.
After the party, you can use the fake flowers in your home, or for the next party. So much more affordable than real flowers!
I hope this post makes planning a big party for little money easier for you.
Go here to read Tip 2 and 3, plus the breakdown of my birthday party budget.
How To Throw A BIG 50th Birthday Party
Kim~madeinaday says
Great tips.Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! Hope to see ya next week!
Kim
Jamie says
What great tips! Like I always say, the people are more important than anything else. Don’t put all of your thought on the amount you think you have to spend! :) Thank you for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Jamie, thanks for your comment!
julie says
Being able to do your own food is usually a massive money saver. I’ve been to loads of parties even a couple of weddings where everyone brings a dish and the party caters itself.
For a friends 25 wedding anniversary a group of us spent a morning making and icing cupcakes, we had a fab and very funny morning and she saved a fortune.
That venue looks beautiful, what a great find.
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Julie, thanks for your comment! That sounds like a lot of fun to decorate the cupcakes together – and I’m sure it makes that wedding anniversary so much more memorable.
Lindsay says
Love this idea for a series! great tips! thanks for sharing at Merry Monday!
Angela @ Setting My Intention says
I love the idea of bartering services. I think that’s an awesome idea on utilizing resources. It sounds like you did an awesome job.
Dee says
These are great tips, and I’m thinking they would work for graduations and anniversaries too. Happy Birthday to your husband, and thanks for sharing! :)
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Willie, I don’t rent space, sorry.
donna says
I would like to rent a place where i can bring my own food and dj
VICTORIA says
this is great and spectacular.
thank you for the tips.
i love it
Rebecca says
Dagmar, I read this with particular interest as my husband’s 50th birthday is coming up in January. Thanks for all your great tips. Great post and thank you so much for sharing it with us at Seasonal Celebration Sunday! Happy Thanksgiving! Rebecca x
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Rebecca, I’m glad you liked my post! I’m planning to post one more about how I decorated that big room on a dime.
Azara says
Very nice! I did a post once about the fiasco I caused shopping for my daughter’s first birthday party. My face gets red just thinking about it. Let’s leave it at…no, I cannot plan a nice party for 25 people for $500. So I’m impressed that you pulled it off.
nadia @ mamemima says
Looks great and sounds like you had a lot of fun. I love organizing and designing parties. I always try to do everything myself. Which not always ends up being budget-friendly! ;) For my son’s 1st birthday party, I designed all the paper things (invitations, signs, toppers, banners) and did all the decor with the help of my mom and sister, who also baked all the cupcakes and cake. It was truly a labor of love. You just remind me I have to do a post about his party. I never did!
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Labor of love-work never feels like work, right? Let me know when you writer that post – I’d like to read it.
Kathy Morelli, LPC (@KathyAMorelli) says
Happy Birthday, Don! Looks like fun! I think he is about the same age as my husband was when my son was around 7…! We celebrated Bill’s 60th last year and we had a gr8 time!
Rosey says
That’s awesome (the decorating looks great and the pillows are just the right touch!). Glad your hubby had a nice 50th and I bet he’s happy to have such a thoughtful wife. :)