My daughter's 4th Birthday Party, a "Crafty Pool Party" on a very tight budget.

 

So today was the big day–Maggie’s Crafty Pool Party. Amazingly enough, it went off without a hitch, (which is no small feat when dealing with 4 and 5 year olds), and we had a really fun day. All the planning definitely paid off, the decorations were a hit, and I even came in $50 under budget!

We decorated the doors with colorful signs for the party.
Using tissue paper I made these bright door hangings.
Easy DIY Party hats are super simple to make.
I used my best sugar cookies recipe for these polka dot cookies.
Birthday party decorations with cupcakes, party hats and treats.
Clear paint containers work great for holding candy and treats.
Homemade banners and pompoms look colorful and cheery above the birthday table.
For the craft projects each child had their own apron and supplies at their work station.
We covered the party table with paper so our crafty pool partiers could really get creative.
Clear paint cans worked perfectly to hold supplies, stickers and paint brushes for the projects.
The crafty birthday party table was set up next to the pool.
We used ribbons to decorate the special chair for the birthday girl.
A paper banner in bright colors was easy to make.
Water bottles look refreshing and fun with DIY labels.
Pool parties are fun for all!
The kids had a blast playing in the pool at this crafty birthday pool party.
Kids decorated frames with beachy accessories to go with the crafty birthday pool party theme.
The face painting was definitely the surprise hit of the party. I pulled out my
Klutz face painting book at the last minute and rediscovered why it is one of the best things I have ever bought on Amazon.com!
Treats and face painting made this beach party extra fun.
Face painting made this craft birthday pool party such a blast.
The DIY pinata was a hit at the crafty pool party.
All the kids lined up to take a swing at the pinata.
The pinata was full of fun prizes and candy.
The crafty pool birthday party was a huge success.
The menu was simple & kid-friendly–homemade mac & cheese, mini-hotdog crescent rolls, & grapes, sprinkled with a generous helping of sugar via cookies, cupcakes, & candy! (Sorry moms!)
The birthday girl had a blast and loved the colorful, crafty party.
 My big splurge was paying a babysitter to watch the younger siblings during the party, but even that was a pretty good deal because she brought a friend and we got two babysitters for the price of one. It was really nice not to have to worry about Annie during the party, especially since we took the baby fence down by the pool. Overall, I don’t think I would change a thing. Of course, maybe I should’ve spent my extra $50 on paying someone to clean my house afterwards!
Super colorful DIY party invitations.
Here is the breakdown of what I spent:
Invitations-$0 (handmade using scrap materials around the house)
Cake-$0 (had all ingredients in my pantry)
Food-$23.95
Candy & Favors: $21.54 (mostly to fill pinata)
Ribbons:  $6.95
Scrapbook Paper: $10.00 (used for most of the crafts)
Tissue Paper: $9.09
Table Runners: $5.03
Clear plastic paint buckets: $18.18 (for 8 buckets)
Aprons: $4.00
Pinata: $1.25
Picture Frame Craft: $15.00
Tray (for water): $3.47
Babysitter: $35 for 4 1/2 hours.
Total Spent: $149.47 (Budget: $200.00)
It was a lot of work but it was so much fun! I can’t wait until my next bash!

Ruth Soukup

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