Club Guide: A day at the mall ...

The Party Guru SAYS

Planning Early Can Save You Money

Always pay attention to the special interests of your child. In our house, birthday party themes are planned well in advance, this early planning allows me to take great advantage of clearance sales, special prices and discontinued items. Pay close attention to end caps and clearance sales when in department and toy stores; a great deal of money can be saved just making a quick check the toy clearance isles during a shopping trip. It is taking the time, often just an additional few minutes to look for sales that can make all the difference in your budget. So many people tell me that they don't have the time, but when you consider all the money that you can save, how could you not make the time.

Part Guru Tip 2

Shop after Holiday Sales for Basics

After Holiday Sales in grocery and department stores can save you a considerable amount of money. There are always incredible sales in grocery stores after the holiday has passed and often times the money you save can be in the hundreds of dollars. As a party planner, I am always looking for good sales that I can pass on to my customer. Last Halloween, I was able to purchase over $500 worth of Halloween decorations for $35. I happened to be in a grocery store that wanted to sell all of their Halloween decorations as quickly as possible; they offered a sale of $5 for a bag of decorations, whatever you fit in the bag, you paid $5 for the whole thing. I was able to buy hundreds of napkins, silverware, tablecloths, candles, decorations, etc. The colors were in black and orange but that is not a problem. Many party themes, in addition to Halloween, use these colors so I will have more than enough opportunity to utalize all the items that I purchased.

Party Guru Tip 3

When Planning Games, Remember Your Age Group

It is important when planning a party to focus on the ages of the invitees. What may seem like an extremely simple game to an adult could prove to be quite complicated to a small child. Remember that the simple, repetative games are often the most popular for kids because they are familiar with the routine and experience a high success rate. The party games should focus on enjoyment for the entire group and not only on providing competition for one or two winners.