To celebrate the release of Toy Story 3 and its record-breaking box office success, our tip for this Tuesday is to throw a Toy Story-themed birthday bash!

We found some great party ideas on BirthdayinaBox.com. Take a look!

Decorating Ideas:

• Hang paper airplanes from the ceiling with fishing line so the planes look like they’re flying.
• Have Toy Story movies playing in the background at a low volume.
• Place a cowboy hat at each place setting.
• Decorate the party table with green plastic army men.
• Use Toy Story action figures as balloon weights. You can give these out as prizes, too!
• Use a Buzz Lightyear or Woody pillowcase as a chair cover for the birthday child.
• Decorate in lime green, blue, white and red for a Buzz Lightyear party or red, gold, cow pattern, and denim for a Woody party.
• Have the birthday child or adults dress as characters from the movie (Buzz, Woody, Jessie, army man, Ken, or Barbie).

Games:

• There’s a Snake in My Boots! (Play freeze dance while playing cowboy music.)
• Use an Etch A Sketch® to play Pictionary
• Have a race with remote control RC cars

Tired of the same old birthday cards you keep seeing at greeting card stores? We certainly were!

Our tip for this Tuesday is to make your own cards instead. They’re a lot more personal (not to mention often a lot less expensive) and we bet that you already have most of the supplies you need at home. Plus, most of them are so easy that you can turn birthday card making into a fun project with your little one.

We found some great ideas on Martha Stewart’s website. Take a look at this gallery of adorable homemade birthday cards:

The Cupcake Card

Digital Snapshot Cards

Flaunt Cards

Wallpaper Cards

Paper Cutout Cards

Yarn Cards

Family-Tree Photo Cards

Pressed Pansy Cards

Floral-Cutout Cards

Potato-Stamped Cards

Find more of Martha’s ideas here.

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!

Let’s face it, it rains a lot during the month of April! If you are throwing a birthday party for your little one this month, it’d be wise to have a few indoor activities ready — like the one I found below from familyfun.go.com! It’s easy and perfect for spring!

Materials:

• Clean 1-liter soda bottle
• Craft knife
• 2 wooden spoons
• small eye screw
• Length of twine for hanging

Instructions:

• Start by drawing a 1/2-inch asterisk on the side of a clean 1-liter soda bottle, about 4 inches from the bottom. Rotate the bottle 90 degrees and draw another asterisk
• 2 inches from the bottom. Draw a 1-inch-wide circle opposite each asterisk, as shown.
• Use a craft knife to slit the asterisk lines and cut out the circles (a parent’s job). Insert a wooden spoon handle first through each hole and then through the opposite asterisk, as shown.
• Remove the bottle cap and twist a small eye screw into the top of it for hanging.
• Finally, fill your feeder with birdseed, recap it, and use a length of twine to hang it from a tree.

You know how the story goes… your son or daughter gets back from their best friend’s birthday party in a state of euphoria (probably riding the last of the sugar high). The best friend’s parents must have decided to go all-out, because they practically re-located the circus to their back yard for the afternoon — complete with ponies, clowns, balloon animals… and a moon bounce. It’s this last one that happens to have your little tyke in a tizzy, and she pleads with you to order one for her party the following month. After weeks of relentless nagging you finally decide to entertain the possibility… now what?

Have you ever wondered about ordering your own moon bounce? Look no further, because today we have a number of tips for renting your own, from Associated Content:

Pros

Bounce Houses are fun: Children LOVE bounce houses! It’s great exercise and they’ll be in there for hours, working off all that pent-up energy. Bouncy castle parties are memorable — your child will remember the bounce house birthday party for his entire life.

Bounce Houses work for both genders: If there will be boys and girls at the birthday party, a bouncy castle will keep everyone happy and entertained. You won’t have to plan separate birthday party activities for boys and girls.

Bounce Houses make parties simple: The bounce house will be your party’s centerpiece. The rental company usually sets it up for you, giving you time to do the rest of the pre-party set up.

Clean up is easy too – just deflate. Often times, the rental company will come to your home and deflate the bounce house for you.

Cons

Bounce houses require constant adult supervision: You need to have at least one adult dedicated to watching the bounce house. If the only adults around are you and your spouse, getting a bounce house might not be a good idea. Check with family members, neighbors, or ask the other parents if they would be willing to volunteer.

Bounce houses are expensive: While it depends on your area, bouncy castle size, and the time of year/time of week for which you’re reserving it, bounce houses generally cost $100-$500 to rent for the day.

Kids can get hurt in the bounce house: Even with the best party planning tactics and adult supervision, kids can still get hurt in a bounce house. Remember, you’re dealing with other people’s children – you won’t know how they’ll behave, especially if you’ve never met the child before.

Click here for more tips on moon bounces