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When I found out I was having a second son, I knew my life was going to consist of construction trucks, dinosaurs, dirt, and balls! And I love it!!!! My son’s birthday was this past week and I had so much fun planning his party. We had a small friend’s party on his birthday and then a family party the following weekend. Party planning is SO much fun for me..especially birthdays for my kids. Every hour of planning, making decorations and food is worth it when you see their face light up the moment they see everything ❤
I do always try to keep the cost budget friendly because as much as I would love to buy ALL of the cute Easy items or everything theme based, it is one day and I can’t justify spending too much money on decorations! So, I make a lot of my decorations using my Silhouette Cameo (which is worth the money 5x over if you love crafting!), and then find some other cheap decorations to go with the theme.
For this party, I did buy a set of construction signs. I was going to make ALL of them and then found this set for such a great price!! Not worth stressing myself over making them for this price. And, I have two boys so I’m sure they’ll be used again for another party…SCORE! Was so impressed with the quality of these signs. They’re thicker than cardstock so they don’t rip easily and are printed on both sides so you can hang them up! I made the traffic signal lights with just cardstock and glue. One black rectangle with three circle (one of each color: red, green, yellow). Glue circles on top of rectangle and done! My husband had a roll of the ‘CAUTION’ tape so that was a fun addition for no cost. If you do need a roll, this one is a great price! I decorated the inside of our front door so we could also use it for a fun photo background! I made the “Happy Birthday” sign with my Cameo and cardstock/vinyl and then found this sign for only $5 afterwards….oh well.
To keep costs down, I always buy solid color plates, napkins, cups, and plastic silverware that goes with the color theme. Usually the Dollar Tree has all of those essentials but if not, Walmart is cheap too and has a better variety of colors! You’ll pay at least double if you want to buy all these items with the actual themes (i.e. construction plates, construction cups) on them and I look at it as they are just being eaten on and then thrown in the garbage. Not worth the money. I would rather put that money into decorations that can be used over. I did buy the construction truck napkins because it’s a nice cheap decoration if you want to “set” each place at the table with one napkin!
The centerpiece was a simple “Speed Limit” sign I made on my Silhouette Cameo and then taped it onto a picture frame so it could stand up. We had the dump truck and I made a “construction cone” out of orange cardstock. Pretty simple…kind of just did my own thing by wrapping a piece of cardstock around until it looked like a cone shape! Then cut a square out and hot glued the top cone onto the bottom square. Wasn’t the greatest looking to be honest…my OCD wanted to do it over multiple times, but I’m learning to let some things go! It did it’s job and added the perfect touch to the table. Then I cut out yellow rectangles to tape onto the black tablecloth to make it look like a road. I used my boy’s big dump truck and made a “Thanks” sign to tape onto it, then filled it with the party favors. And of course had to buy a construction shirt for my son to match the theme!
The most fun part of the whole planning was the cake and cupcakes!! He wanted vanilla for his birthday with friends so I found these adorable cupcake picks months ago and COULD NOT wait to use them! Then for his family party, I HAD to do a chocolate construction cake that I’ve seen all over Pinterest! Such an adorable idea and I did a very basic one with my own twist. Chocolate cake mix, chocolate frosting, crushed Oreos, and a $1 Kit Kat! Also, bought Whoppers to add in a pile for “rocks” but forgot until I was already done! We already had the mini CAT construction trucks so no cost there! If you don’t have them, they’re around $5-6 at either Target or Walmart and so worth it to buy if you have boys! We use them for our car mat, sensory boxes, and now party decor!!
I did already have the cardstock and vinyl for my Cameo as well as the trucks and “Caution” tape so I didn’t include those in my cost. However, cardstock is super cheap (like $2 a pack on sale at craft stores) and I always try to think of ways to incorporate it into my decorations! All said and done I spent under $20 on all the essential decorations (includes signs, napkins, cupcake picks, tablecloth, paper plates, plastic silverware)!! I’ll take it!!! And my son was the happiest little guy you’ve ever seen when he woke up to it on his birthday..so worth it for this mama!
You can save money on any theme party so easily….just buy the cheap items in basic colors for the disposable items (cups, plates, tablecloths) and find a couple of great decorations that will help tie the whole theme together. The best way I do this is by planning ahead so I’m able to look around and find sales as they come. Finally, my tip I always use for saving in every area of life… find a way to use what you already have!
Thanks for reading! XO, Steph
Life with a Latte 