April 2020 – Bits of Love Creations

8 Birthday Party Ideas on a Budget

I don’t know about any of you, but I had a blast planning and throwing birthday parties when my kids were young. However, the one thing that was always a struggle, especially since I was a SAHM, was money. Why in the world does everything cost so much money?

I began to use my creativity to plan and execute these parties. It became a sort of challenge for me to see how fabulous (for the kids) I could make these parties on as little money as possible. Now – total honesty here, I don’t have many quality pictures of these parties. Sure, I have the standard – birthday kid w/cake and maybe opening some presents, but 15-20 years ago I didn’t know I would want other photos for something like this. So alas, what I do have had to be scanned and most likely out of a birthday scrapbook!

Now not all of these ideas I’m going to share will be a perfect fit for every child. And not all of these ideas will be fit for today’s culture, as my kids are now grown and grew up in a different decade, but feel free to read through these and maybe they will spark your own creativity or maybe you can adapt to today’s culture. This was also before the introduction of Pinterest and Dollar Store Crafts – type of sites.

All I really know is, while all my kids are currently in their early to mid twenties, they will still share stories from some of these birthday parties. And that warms my heart, because at the end of it all… my goal was for them to have a party with friends and loved ones making memories and celebrating their day!

1. Fiesta

Bright, fiesta colors in $1 table clothes, plates, napkins, utensils and cups are easily found at your local dollar store or Walmart, You can even use the $1 table cloths to make decorations. Use your imagination and get a little crafty!

Pinata – We got ours at WalMart and filled it with a huge bag of candy for very little! Luckily we had a tall Shepherd’s Hook in our back yard that we hung it on and just let the kids use a bat to swing at it.

If you do party favors (sometimes we did, sometimes we did not) you can check out sites such as Oriental Trading and Rhode Island Novelty for inexpensive trinkets and fun items to either decorate with or use for party favors.

2. Super Hero

So easy! We did a super hero party for my son and all kids were invited to wear a super hero costume or make and wear one! Even just a simple piece of fabric, bed sheet, or old table cloth can be made into a cape!

Party City has great decorations, favors, plates & napkins; just be sure they fit into your budget. You can always use the dollar store or finds from the Target Dollar Spot or even WalMart to create the look you are going for.

3. Spa Day

My girls always loved a good spa day so it was natural they would choose to have their friends over for sleepover birthday parties to do spa activities.

My mom would come over and help me “treat” each girl to a manicure. The Dollar Store was our “go to” for party favors and all of the beauty essentials.

4. Shopping Mall

This one my youngest still talks about to this day and she is about to turn 21!

She only wanted 5 of her closest friends over for a party and a sleepover so my other 2 kids and I turned the house into a shopping mall.

Each “store” was in a different room in the house. I used the Dollar Store and Oriental Trading to purchase the stock for the “stores”.

I used the computer to make and print out currency for them to use with my daughter’s name on it and each party participant was given money and a shopping bag when they arrived. In the pet shop they could adopt animals, so I also used the computer to print adoption certificates they could have filled out when they chose their animal.

5. Luau

Another bright colored – fun party! Like a fiesta, using brightly colored $1 table clothes, plates, napkins, utensils and cups is easy and inexpensive party decor.

The dollar store almost always has luau-type decorations and favors including leis and grass skirts each summer making it even more budget friendly!

We have a pool so that was an easy entertainment solution, especially for a luau!

6. Bratz

OK so this is totally dating my kids and myself, I mean do they even make Bratz Dolls anymore? Even if they don’t or your young one is into a different, more current cultural icon, this can be adapted to almost anything.

So plain and simple, we chose solid colored decorations (plain colored plates, napkins, etc.). Each party go-er was invited to bring their favorite Bratz doll with them and had a photo op at the end of the party with the birthday girl and their dolls.

I also took a piece of poster board from the dollar store and drew a Bratz doll, colored it in and hung it on the wall for a “pin the lips on the Bratz doll” game! They had a blast and it turned out fairly cute. Easy peasy, super inexpensive fun for the night.

7. Sports

This could not be any easier. A group of kids, a back yard, soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, plenty of playtime and inexpensive decorations from the dollar store and WalMart = party success!

A breaktime with birthday cake just long enough to rest and then back at it for playtime, and the birthday kid as well as party go-ers will all sleep well tonight!

8. Party at the Park

Perhaps one of my favorite venues to hold a kids party other than our house was the park. You can rent a pavilion or picnic area if you would like or want to be sure you have a spot, or you can just take a chance that there is enough space for all the park goers that day. (not gonna lie, we did this quite a few times)

Out of all the times we had a party at the park, most often we would show up early to “set up” and snag a spot fairly close to the park playground with multiple picnic tables. We also would bring our own fold-able banquet table and lawn chairs. Balloons, streamers, etc.

Playground = instant entertainment

Park = means we wouldn’t have to limit the number of friends invited.

That made this an easy and very affordable party every time!

There are many more party ideas out there. Some more affordable, some more creative, but the point is: the kids will remember the memories, not how much money you spent trying to make their parties ‘Pinterest perfect’. It is about being together, celebrating the birthday kid, and adding to those childhood memories they will cherish for years to come.

Have a lovely day!

Fashion Finds – Colorado Ski Trip

Hello everyone! We’re back with another Fashion Finds for you!

My friends and I had the opportunity to go to on a ski trip to Evergreen, Colorado for spring break this year. Of course I needed to make sure I had what I needed for skiing, but I also wanted to make sure I was fashionable too! My mom and I were so excited to go shopping for some accessories to take with me on my trip. I am super thankful that my trip actually went as planned since this was my first time to ski, but also my first time visiting Colorado! By the time our trip ended and we came back, travel plans across the country and the world were being altered due to COVID-19.

We went on the search for a new winter coat, that was long, so I didn’t freeze while skiing. I have a winter coat that I wear everyday, but I didn’t think it would’ve kept me warm enough for skiing, plus its an odd color that isn’t very fashionable lol.

Marshall’s was the place to go, man I love that place. I found a long black coat with a detachable fur hood that is reversible with the other color being white. I was so excited to find this, as I have been looking for a long coat since after Christmas. This was an AMAZING deal. I found this long, reversible coat with a detachable fur hood for just $12, like can you believe it.

While we were at Marshall’s we found a cute hat and mitten combo pack for $12.99! It wasn’t a necessity for the trip but it was definitely a cute addition. The hat and mittens are a cute white with color speckles and the hat has a furry ball on the top! They are Steve Madden, so this was an amazing deal and an adorable fashion accessory as well!

The other necessity was winter boots. I knew my feet would be cold since I do not own insulated fur boots because where we live, it isn’t essential. We looked at a few different stores, but we were successful at Academy Sports + Outdoors since they had a huge boot sale! I found these fur lined, insulated boots for $21.95! They had a huge variety of boots, so my mom even got some duck boot dupes for only $24.99! It was a huge winter sale and there were some AMAZING deals!

That is all I have for this Colorado edition, but I hope this was helpful if you live or are going to a cold climate for some reason! I’m sure you’ll feel and look great it whatever you decide!

Until next time,

Xoxo Mal

What About Me? – Update

How is everyone doing? The state the world is in is very scary and something none of us have ever experienced in our lifetime. We are in unprecedented territory and I wanted to check in and see if any of you are feeling the same way.

The last blog post about me (I wrote with disdain at prompting from my kids), I shared a little about myself and the current journey I am on. I’ve recently taken more time to check in with myself and take care of myself. Go here to get the beginning of the journey.

Checking in with you all now really comes from the unsettled feeling I have with the state we are all in with this COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Our lives have halted, been turned upside down, and I feel are generally just uncomfortable right now. By uncomfortable I mean scared, different, and we all seem to be creating a new normal. Not all of this is bad. The perfect example for me is of course all of my kids are home, grounded if you will. Well, they are all adults so they are not literally grounded, but they know the importance of staying in place to help stop the spread of this horrific virus. While the day in and day out of staying put has us all on edge from time to time, we really are making the best use of our time together and I am extremely thankful.

To be completely honest, with my daily routines being thrown into a tailspin, some days I feel the wheels are completely off the bus with my daily self care routines! I haven’t been wearing makeup (good for the skin!), so I have told myself I do not need to clean my face as often. LIES! I have not been going out of the house for work (my full timejob), or to do much else… therefore, I haven’t gotten up, dressed, done my hair and makeup… you know, typical fails. Why? Why do I do this when I know and have stressed the importance (to myself and everyone else) of maintaining your daily routines with no exceptions? If I’m not careful, I will fall into the same life I was living when the kids were younger.

Going forward it’s business as usual, so to speak. Although I haven’t completely let my routines go, I WILL be getting back to them. For instance, today as I am writing this, I did all of my normal morning self care, self reflection, I did my hair and make-up and got dressed before work. Ok, I didn’t get too crazy, I have joggers on, but the rest of me is business as usual! Lol!

While we are all adjusting to a new temporary normal, keeping up with those small comforts of routines and practices (at least for me) will help with the changes. Once we come out the other side of this pandemic, things most likely will never go back to “normal”, whatever that was like before. But that’s ok, because we can create our new “normal”. We have more time now than ever to reflect on exactly what we want out of life. What we want for our futures. How we want to proceed with our lives when social distancing will no longer be the norm. If there are any positives that come out of this dark time we are currently in, I hope and pray that we can find a way to come together and end the hate that has been growing and spreading in the world. Lofty goals, I know… but if we set our minds to it, we can achieve anything! Even our daily routines 😉

Have a lovely day,

DIY-No Sew Easter Baskets

So every year I think I will find the perfect Easter Baskets, and every year I am not happy with the ones I settle on… I know, super dumb – 1st world problems. My girls and I brainstormed about what we could do this year without going to the store OR spending any money. Megan explains below what we ended up doing. Another crafty bonding – quarantine project with my kids! I love it!

Note: They aren’t perfect, but they are perfect for what we wanted. They were 100% free, using items we had already in the house and just something fun we could do to stay busy and let creativity flow!

Want or need new Easter baskets, but can’t get to the store due to the quarantine? Us, too. So, we decided to try our hand at making some homemade ones. We just used materials we already had lying around the house so we also spent $0!

What will you need? We used some cardboard boxes for the base, cardstock for the walls, and covered them with batting and fabric to make them pretty and customized for each person. In addition to this, we used packing tape, scissors, a bowl, wire hangers, and lots of hot glue so we didn’t have to do any sewing.

First, we cut circles of cardboard using our bowl to get the size we wanted for the bottom of the baskets. Next, we glued fabric to the bottom of the cardboard, covered the top with batting, and then covered the top with fabric.

For the wall, we cut cardstock in half “like a hot dog bun” (or long-ways) and taped enough pieces together to wrap all the way around our base. After getting the right length, we glued strips of batting to what would be the inside of the basket wall and then covered the wall with the fabric we chose for that specific basket. We then carefully glued the wall to the base and folded and overlapped the fabric at the seam for a clean line.

Lastly, we cut and used half of a wire hanger for the handle (of course you can use as much or as little as you would like in order to get the length you want). We covered the wire with fabric by basically folding and gluing the fabric around the wire until it looked like a roll. For some of our baskets we decided to get fancy and roll two more pieces of fabric without wire and “braided” them around the handle, gluing as we went, to make the handle look loosely braided.

To finish off the look, we glued the ends of the handle to the inside wall of the basket and covered them with squares of fabric to match the wall. (If you chose a patterned fabric for the wall then it’s a little more difficult to line up the design perfectly, but is super satisfying when you get it to look right!)

We hope you’ve been creating and making memories too during this quarantine time! We always say it’s the little things that make the big memories!

Have a lovely day!

1. Fiesta

2. Super Hero

3. Spa Day

4. Shopping Mall

5. Luau

6. Bratz

7. Sports

8. Party at the Park

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Note: They aren’t perfect, but they are perfect for what we wanted. They were 100% free, using items we had already in the house and just something fun we could do to stay busy and let creativity flow!

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