4 Ways To Simplify Costs For A Child's Birthday Party At Home

Almost two weeks ago, my husband and I threw a party for my daughter's 3rd birthday with 40+ guests. Plain and simple, here are a few things we did to cut costs:

1. We learned from our lesson. Last year we had her 2nd birthday at an indoor playground. But here's the problem - we had an unpleasant experience with the facility (unclean, poor hosting, etc.) and we didn't do our research to begin with on the playground. We didn't have time to find a great venue this year, so we said, screw it, we're having it in our condo party room.

2. We created our own kid-friendly stations. I booked our service elevator and crammed in toys for a toy station and toddler tables and chairs for a coloring and play doh station.

3. We used what we had. We still had disposable table clothes from when my daughter was a baby (we used them to catch her baby food messes!). So we spread them on a buffet table and coloring/play doh stations. Voila - easy clean-up too!

4. We celebrated with a Costco cake. We got a ballerina sheet cake for $20. It was cute, personalized, tasted delish - it served its purpose!

Compared to last year's hefty bill of about $300, we spent $200 this year, so we saved a good chunk of money! Bottom line: birthday parties don't have to be costly - just remember, what matters most is spending time with good company!

What are your birthday cost-savings tips?

Review: Menchie's (Erin Centre Blvd, Mississauga)

No we didn't order this -
it probably would've added up to $20

So my husband and I decided to splurge on Menchie's a few nights ago. It was sunny out, the tot was behaving well, why not?

My final thought is this: Once in awhile it's okay to go there - just don't make it a habit! Here are my observations:

• You pay by the gram - it's $0.55+tax per gram. I didn't pay attention to how much our order weighed (we got two cups that were a little over halfway full) - but our total was ... over $9. Aiya! Thank goodness we didn't order a separate cup for the two-year-old. If you have a set budget, Menchies might not be for you.

• However ... it's very family-friendly. We saw a few families come in with toddlers and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Maybe it's the bright colours, maybe it's the fun spoons, maybe it's that Menchie's character or that picture of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez at an American Menchie's franchise - my daughter loved it there and behaved very well.

• If you only feel like a plain chocolate for vanilla flavour, don't go to Menchies - go to Costco! If you're going to pay by the gram at Menchies, at least eat a unique flavour. I got a cake batter-red velvet cupcake swirl and, damn, it was good.

So bottom line: If you have a sweet tooth and you need to bring a kid with you, go to Menchie's.  Just don't expect to save money here - be prepared and bring extra cash.

Have you been to Menchie's? What did you think? 

Pampers on sale

I just got back from the Real Canadian Superstore - great, awesome, amazing sale on Pampers! I got a box of 176 (size 4) Baby Dry for $29.97. I also had a $1 coupon, so I actually paid $28.97 ... which means I paid 16 cents per diaper. 

Quick tip you should know:  I've noticed that Costco's increased their prices on Huggies. For size 4, it would cost about 20 or 21 cents per diaper. So if you think Costco is cheaper, that's not always the case.

Baby wipes review

Someone just asked me what I thought about Kirkland baby wipes. Immediately, I thought of my top wipes:

1. Pampers
2. Kirkland
3. Teddy's
4. Huggies

So here are my thoughts: Pampers, I love, love, love because they are super moist. (I dunno, maybe I feel like the wetter they are, the more they clean.) And when I take a Pampers wipe out of a container, it doesn't stick to other wipes. 

Kirkland wipes (available at Costco, if you aren't familiar with the brand) are already packaged for on-the-go moments, so you don't have to worry about putting wipes in your own containers. They aren't as moist as Pampers, but they are pretty durable. Kirkland wipes are a permanent fixture on my kitchen table. They don't take up much room because of their handy packaging.

When it comes to saving a few bucks, if I cannot find Pampers wipes on sale (at about two cents a wipe), then usually Kirkland is my go-to brand.

As for Teddy's, I tried that brand once because I got it for free at a Superstore. (It rang in at the wrong price, yay!) Well, good thing I didn't pay for them because they weren't that moist and felt pretty thin.

And Huggies ... don't get me started. They stick to each other all the time. If I wanted just one wipe, I'd end up getting four – what a flippin' waste.

But hey, these are just my opinions. Everyone has their preferences. Like I said in my last post, go with what works for you. If there's a sale on Pampers wipes and you can't stand using them, don't bother with the deal.