There are tons of party ideas out there that are fun and unique ways to celebrate a birthday, but it’s harder to find a theme that truly celebrates the life of the honored guest.

So today I’m passing along a great idea for an adult birthday party! It’s called the “This is Your Life” party and I have stretcher.com to thank!

This Is Your Life
Instead of having an “over the hill” party, I suggest having a “this is your life party.”

Along with the invitation ask your guests to return a questionnaire in which you have asked some variation of the following:

1.     My favorite thing about Fred (use guest of honors name) is ______________.
2.     The funniest thing I ever saw Fred do was when he _________________.
3.     The happiest I ever saw Fred was when he____________________.
4.     The dumbest thing I ever saw Fred do was____________________.
5.     Fred drives me crazy when he _______________.
6.     My most memorable moment with Fred was ____________________.
7.     List five words that describe Fred.

You may to make up your own questions or add to these. You may also want to ask the party guests to share a favorite photo of or story about the guest of honor. The hardest part is deciding how to share this information with guests. You may want to have them put these answers on video, have a slide show, have the party guests read the stories or quips out loud, or invite several special people to tell their stories. If you feel awkward acting as an MC, then ask a good friend or minister to do it for you. Make sure you allow yourself plenty of time for planning.

The best part of a party like this is that everyone can participate – children, grandchildren, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, old friends, new friends and spouses. You can also put the answers, stories, and photos in a scrapbook for the guest of honor to keep.

You will have some laughs and you may even shed a tear or two, because memories are a truly special gift which make getting older worth it.

Happy Thursday, everyone! I just found a great addition to our weekly Theme Thursday posts – airplane party!

I never thought about it before (thanks to the good people at momswhothink.com who did) but an airplane party is a great way to help you little one celebrate his/her big day!

Check it out!

Airplane Party Theme – The Airport:

Use any toy airplanes you already own as table toppers, or group them together to form a centerpiece. If you have a toy airport, you can use that as well.

Make large paper airplanes, and hang them from the ceiling. To make clouds tie together eight white balloons and hanging them from the ceiling as well.

Make a baggage claim sign for the closet or gift table.

Make airport signs that say ‘Passengers only,’ ‘This way to baggage claim’, ‘Customs’, and ‘Crew only.’

Make a banner that says ‘Welcome to (your child’s name) Airport,’ and hang it on the front door.

Airplane Party Theme – In flight food service (chicken or beef?):

Hold silverware together with paper luggage tags.

Make airplane shaped place cards for the table.

Fill baskets with mini bags of treats like peanuts, pretzels and trail mix.

Make airplane shaped sandwiches by using an airplane shaped cookie cutter to cut them out.

Make edible airplanes. Cut a banana in half lengthwise. Place one half; cut side up, on a plate. Spread with peanut butter. Place a whole graham cracker in place for each wing, and use a quarter rectangle for the horizontal part of the tail. Put the other banana half on top. Cut a slit at the tail end of the top half, and put a rudder piece in place to finish the tail. Stick on raisin windows with little dollops of peanut butter.

To make an airplane runway cake, bake a 9” x 13” cake. Frost all but the very top corner of the cake with white frosting. Tint the remaining frosting sky blue, and use it to frost the top corner. Make a runway across the cake using crushed chocolate cookies, or chocolate sprinkles. Use green sugar on either side to make the grass. Put a toy airplane on the runway. Use whipped cream to make clouds on the sky blue portion of the cake. Place another toy airplane on the clouds.

Instead of a cake, you can make cupcakes, and frost them with icing you’ve tinted sky blue. Put a new, clean toy airplane on each.

Throwing an amazing birthday party can be expensive – but it doesn’t have to be!

You can throw a great party without spending a fortune (and let’s be honest, we could all use a little extra cash these days)!

Check out stretcher.com for all the useful advice!

Inexpensive Kid’s Birthday Party: Guest List

Begin by counting the number of kids that are likely to attend. Many of your expenses will be priced ‘per child’ so you’ll need an idea of how many kids will be celebrating with Susie. When you’re counting noses, don’t forget to include ‘paybacks’ (where your child has attended their party). You may need to check your child’s school. Some have rules that say if you invite one girl from your child’s class you must invite all the girls from the class. There may also be neighbors and relatives that you’ll want to invite.

Plan for the highest number that could reasonably attend. That way all your estimates for expenses will be on the high side. You don’t need to be ridiculous, but just guess a little high. If there are three kids that are 50/50, put two in your count. That type of thing.

You’ll probably feel a little pressure to downscale the party. That’s good. It’s far better to simplify now than have the bill come in 25% higher than you planned. If you don’t like the total now you have options you can pursue. If you don’t like the bill later your choices are very limited!

Inexpensive Kid’s Birthday Party: Location

Next you’ll want to start thinking of where to hold the party. Think of places that kids like to go. Are your children interested in bowling, baseball, museums, karate or gymnastics? All these are possible sites for a party. Of course, all of them aren’t frugal. But you won’t know until you pick up the phone and ask.

When you call you’ll want to know what the charge per child is. Some places will have a minimum charge, too. Find out what’s included in the price. Are they including party favors, cake or other food and drink?

Find out if you have the option of bringing in your own food and drink. It’s a pretty sure bet that you can make a birthday cake cheaper than the price you’ll pay if it’s included in the package. In many cases is cheaper to bring the cake even if you have to buy it at the local grocery store.

For many of you the temptation will be to hold the party at your home. In some cases this WILL be the cheapest place to hold the party. But, make sure you compare costs first. Sometimes, when you add up food, drinks, cake, party favors and entertainment you could end up spending more to have it at home.

Inexpensive Kid’s Birthday Party: Entertainment

If you’re having an at home party, live entertainment may not be as expensive as you might think. By asking around you may find a stay-at-home Mom who moonlights as a clown, magician or puppeteer. Many of these part-timers are very affordable and will provide a lot of smiles per dollar spent.

Perfect entertainment for your party may be as close as your friends or family. If your brother-in-law is a fireman find out if they allow public tours. A FREE trip to the firehouse could precede a pizza party at your home and provide a unique theme party for your child.

When you have your party is also important. If you can, plan to have the party during the week after school. Most places that host kids parties are busiest on weekends. Naturally, they charge more then. You’ll get a much better rate if you can schedule your party during the week.

Inexpensive Kid’s Birthday Party: Get Creative

Try to think creatively. Last fall our daughter was heading for her eighth birthday. We didn’t want to try to compete with some of the expensive parties that she had been attending. To further complicate matters, we were remodeling our house, so an at home party wasn’t very practical.

My wife discovered a ceramics studio that gave classes. Better than that, they also held kid’s parties. For a very reasonable amount they hosted the party. Each child had their choice of unpainted ceramic items. They all selected one and painted it at the party. The ceramic became their party favor.

We were allowed to provide our own cake and drinks. The studio had an arrangement at a local pizza place for pizzas at $5 each.

The party was a hit! No one had ever had this type of party before in her crowd. The kids loved it! And the modest cost of the party was a hit with my wife and I!

Don’t let the high cost of kid’s birthday parties get you down. Worse yet, don’t let it turn you into a Scrooge. Sure there are parents who are busy playing ‘can you top this’. But like most things, a frugal mindset can solve the problem. A little planning mixed with a little research and creativity will have you singing “Happy Birthday” without leaving you frowning in the pictures you’ll take at the party!

As you all heard yesterday, a new celebrity has joined the movement for more birthdays — skateboarding legend Tony Hawk!

Well, in honor of Mr. Hawk and his commitment to the movement, today’s Theme Thursday is all about skateboarding!

Thanks to kids-birthday-party-guide.com for the tips!

Invitations:

For your skateboard birthday party invitations, cut out pictures of skateboards or skates and write the party details on the back side. Punch holes in the skates and lace them up with thin red or black strings. For the skateboard, tape on Lifesaver candies for the wheels.

As a variation, get a picture of Tony Hawk and make photocopies for all the guests. Write the skating party details on the backs of the pictures and mail the invitations to the kids.

The wording of your invitations can say: “It’s (your child’s name) Skateboard Birthday Party! Strap on the skates, grab your skateboards, and head for the (your last name) rink for a rolling good time.” Then add all skateboard party details.

Remind the guests to bring their skateboards or rollerblades along with knee and elbow pads, helmets, and other skating equipment.

Decorations:

If you’re at the park, playground, or on the front sidewalk, add a few decorations to give your location a party atmosphere. For example, decorate the pavement with some sidewalk chalk, which will wash away with a hose or the next rain.

Play upbeat skateboard party music in the background. Hang posters of Tony Hawk (or other skateboarders or skaters) around the skating party area. Borrow old skates from the skating rink and set them around. Also borrow vintage skateboards from older neighborhood kids to use as props.

Hang skateboard birthday party balloons and streamers. Decorate your skateboard party table with a theme cloth. Place a skateboard for a centerpiece. Hang personalized “Happy Birthday” banner in the background.

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There are some things that always make a birthday party better: a killer theme, a great activity, generous goody bags, and balloon animals!

Yes, balloon animals are always an instant hit and they aren’t that difficult to assemble! Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can!

Check out the video below to learn how to make a balloon dog. Once you get the dog down, the rest of the animals are a piece of cake