8 Ways to reduce the cost of a party

With spring here and summer on our doorstep, you may be considering throwing a party, be it a wedding, birthday, kid’s party etc. But when you start considering the costs of catering, venue, décor and invitations, you may have second thoughts. To help you along and to ensure you’re still able to throw the party of your dreams without breaking the bank, we offer a few tips for you.

Here are some of the ways you can save on party costs:

DIY décor:

Instead of buying expensive décor items at the store, why not consider making them yourself? Here you have the added advantage of tailor making them to your taste and also potentially saving a bunch of money.

Venue fee:

This is usually where the headaches begin, as venue fee hire is notoriously expensive. But if your house is suitable, why not consider having the party there? This can be made even easier by calling in favours from neighbours, family and friends to help you get the house party-ready.

Catering:

 Catering is known to be one of the biggest costs involved. Here, once again, if you are able to make the food yourself and have the capacity, it is definitely worth considering.

It is also worthwhile considering having a breakfast party, as breakfast foods tend to be cheaper than if you were to be throwing a lunch or dinner party. 

Cake: 

One of the big highlights of any party tends to be cake. For this reason, it is typically something that people tend to spend quite a bit of money on. In the spirit of saving money, and doing things yourself, if you have the skill of baking well, why not try your hand at making your own cake for the party.

Scale back on flowers: 

Depending on the type of party, flowers could be on your agenda. But these days no matter the type of flower it seems to always leave quite a dent in your budget. This is why you are advised to simply not go overboard on flowers. If you find that you can’t without them, have one or two main arrangements then introduce interesting candles or pot plants into the mix.

Invitations: 

Receiving an invitation is a nice touch, but it needn’t be something you spend big on. Hand-making and personalising something is sometimes the nicest gesture. Otherwise, a digital invitation is also quite popular these days, and will cost you next to nothing.

What to wear: 

When it specifically comes to weddings or big birthday parties, the expectation is usually to purchase something new and smart. While this can usually be quite an expensive endeavour, the suggestion is to consider hiring an outfit.

There are quite a number of both dress and suit hiring stores nationwide, and this typically costs less than if you were to buy a new outfit.

Another suggestion is to have an outfit made. Here, however, you are advised to carefully do your homework on the fabric prices and labour price of the dress or suitmaker in calculating if it will indeed be cheaper to make than to buy.

Party favours: 

It is always a nice idea to leave your guests with a lovely takeaway to remember the event. The temptation here is sometimes to get extravagant, but the simpler the better. Instead of purchasing something, why not make something edible instead?

The suggestion here is to make a batch of homemade biscuits or fudge, bag them, tag them and put a pretty ribbon around it.

A party is meant to be a celebration where people can let down their hair and enjoy themselves, you included. Keep it simple and you’ll not only reduce costs but also alleviate any undue stress.