Birthdays are something that should be celebrated…. even if you only have $15 to spend and a few extra swipes to spare. Even if you’re in college, you should still celebrate your birthday the good old-fashion way and have a birthday party. My best friend and I recently had a combined birthday party and here are five inexpensive ways we made up for being broke in college:
1. Invites/Friends
My friend and I began our birthday party planning by making a Facebook event for our celebration and invited all of our close friends. Let’s face it, you’re not 10 anymore and do not need to drop $20+ on fancy invites from Hallmark or Party City. Making an event on Facebook is easy and convenient because you can see when your invites have been seen and who can come and who cannot.
2. Food and Cake
Every good party needs some munchies available. If you’re on that college budget, try buying a bag or two of some tortilla chips and a jar of salsa at your campus convenience store that you can use your meal plan at. Or, if that’s not an option for you, try using a few swipes for food that everyone can share. Besides food, every party must have some type of cake with candles to celebrate the big day. Since I live in a dorm and don’t have an oven to bake a cake in, and I didn’t want to buy one, I went home the weekend before my party and asked my mom to bake me brownies which I then brought back with me and stored in the fridge until the big day. Doing this was easy, convenient and didn’t cost a fortune… And who doesn’t love some home-cooked brownies?
3. Decorations/Background
Since our dorm room is pretty small, my friend and I decided to have our party in our dorm’s common room. The room was very bland consisting of white walls, a TV, table, and a few chairs. Before the event, we looked up some DIY decorations that we could make quickly the day before. If your area is very plain, try making your own inexpensive decorations from some of the pins listed below. My friend and I made the ribbon background along with purchasing the “Happy Birthday” balloons from Urban Outfitters (linked below). These DIY decorations are fun and easy to make and look amazing in the background of photos.
4. Polaroids/Pictures
You’re going to want to remember your big day, no matter what age you’re turning. Polaroid photos, or any photos for that matter, capture the entire night so that you can look back on every picture and remember that moment forever. Be sure to take tons of photos in front of your party background for a night you will never forget. Although a polaroid camera may not be in your budget, a phone camera works just fine as well.
5. Music
No party is lit without music. Getting music at your party will probably be the easiest and most inexpensive thing on this list. All you need is a laptop, or phone and speaker if you have one. If you’re not sure what music to play, there are hundreds of playlists on Pandora, Soundcloud and even YouTube for you to chose from. Music gets the party going and gets people up and dancing and generally having a good time.