Simply Thrifty

Party Planning: You don’t have to go all out to go all out

by Deborah Ng on August 11th, 2007

Tomorrow is my mother’s retirement party. My five brothers and sisters and I wanted to do something special, but without spending a fortune. My mom isn’t the type of person who would let us go overboard, anyway. Here’s how we did it.

We set a budget

We agreed on a certain amount to be spent per family. Since there are six of us, we can do a lot when chipping in the same amount.

We found an inexpensive, yet pleasant location

We’re having Mom’s party at the picnic pavilion at a state park. It’s easy to get to, has a pleasant setting and only costs $55 to rent for the day.

We’re doing as much as we can ourselves

We’re making all the food and some of the beverages. That which we can’t make was already purchased in bulk when it was on sale. We made up games and came up with some great prizes – many things we already had on hand like candles, chocolates and other niceties that can go into a gift bag.

Music is courtesy my iPod. We downloaded lots of fun party tunes and thanks to my Shuffle and my niece’s speakers, we’re ready to rock & roll.

Now I know some people would prefer a catered affair in an elegant location, but we’re not them. My family are simple people who prefer the setting provided by Mother Nature to lots of crystal and linen. There are many different ways to celebrate, not all of them have to cost a fortune.

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POSTED IN: Easy Entertainment, Eco Simplicity, Simple Pleasures, Simpler Thinking