One Spooky First Birthday: How I Threw My Son's First Birthday Party on a Budget (Without It Looking Cheap!)

 

So, we just had my little guy’s first birthday party, and I have to say, it turned out better than I could’ve imagined — especially since I did it all on a budget. You know how it is; you want everything to look amazing without spending a small fortune for something they won't remember. (I mean in all honesty, the parties are really for us and the memories, right moms?!) But I’m here to tell you it’s totally possible!

Let me walk you through everything I did to keep costs low while still making it feel like a Pinterest-worthy celebration.

1. Pick a Theme and Stick to It

I decided on a simple “One Spooky Dude” theme, with cute ghost decorations and Halloween colors since his actual birthday is October 28th. Choosing a theme helped keep everything cohesive, and it also meant I could focus on just a few key decor elements. Plus, a lot of the stuff I needed could be DIY’d!

2. Dollar Store Finds for the Win

I cannot rave enough about the dollar store. Ask anyone in my family - "What's Kelly's favorite store?" and without hesitation they'll say Dollar Tree. I got all my ghost themed party supplies like plates, napkins, and even some décor pieces there. And no one could tell! I usually go to the Dollar Tree in Brodheadsville by Shop Rite. They're always fully stocked so I don't have to run to 8 different ones to find what I need.

3. DIY Decor That Looks Pro

Speaking of DIY, I made a lot of the décor myself. Pinterest was my best friend here. A little hot glue and paint saved the day.

4. Bake the Cake Yourself (or Have Family Help!)

Now, I’m no baker, although I did work in a bakery throughout high school and college.. but I made the cupcakes for the party. I used a simple boxed cake mix and dressed it up with some frosting and candy eyes. For the birthday boy, my sister always makes her nieces and nephews their first smash cake. So that was a huge stress relieved. If you have a family member who loves baking, this is a great way to save money and still have yummy treats!

5. Keep the Guest List Small

One of the best ways to cut costs is to keep the guest list intimate. We only invited close family. Granted our family is HUGE and everyone has kids so the small guest list really isn't that small, but at least this way, I didn’t need to spend a ton on food or party favors, and it kept the party stress-free.

6. Party Favors for Less

For the little ones who came, I made little goodie bags with items from, you guessed it, Dollar Tree. I admit I tend to go a bit overboard with the goodie bags/favors, but hey, you're only a kid once! I got paper Halloween gift bags and filled them with these adorable ghost cups, a Halloween book, little toys, a pumpkin decorating kit, and candy. A lot of the items came in packs so it was cheaper than you think.

7. Photos Are Key

Since it was such a big day, I wanted to capture all the special moments. And for my family, taking pictures is a non-negotiable. I put my sister in charge of getting some shots of the decoration and setup before the kids destroyed it. And I try to get cute family pictures before everyone gets all messy and cranky. No professional photographer or equipment, just our iPhones, which in my opinion take just as good, if not better photos. 

The Apothecary Shop Candy Bar

The amount of compliments I got on this piece was insane! And it literally took me about 20 minutes to create. Here's what you need:

• (9) Crafter's Square Rectangular Wooden Crate with Handles
• Black paint
• (2) Crafter's Square Craft Wood Planks, 2x18 in.
• (2 packs) Halloween Decorative Plastic Cauldrons
• Any of the Halloween Signs they have at Dollar Tree
• Hot Glue
• Candy of Choice

• Paint the crates & wooden planks black and let dry.
• Hot glue crates together. (2 rows of 3 crates + 1 row of 3 crates on top of another row)
• Hot glue the sign to the wooden planks, then glue the planks to the back of the crates.
• Hot glue your cauldrons on the crates.
• Add candy.

The Ghost Boys

Every time I walked through my living room I lowkey thought these were my kids! This cost me $2.50 per ghost boy and a few gray hairs trying to keep my kids from disassembling them to play with. 

Here's what you need:

(2) Decorative Hanging Ghosts (or 1 per however many you want to make)
(2) Pool Noodles (or 1 per however many you want to make)

Little cauldron or pumpkin for them to hold as a trick-or-treat bucket (optional)

• Bend the pool noodle and stick each side in a pant leg
• Add your shoes
• Take the Styrofoam head out of the hanging ghost & use a tooth pic to secure it to the top of the noodle (this is the ghost's head)
• Arrange the wire arms into any position you want.
• Throw the ghost sheet that came with the hanging ghost over the top (I turned my around so the face was on the back where no one could see)
• Hang a little trick-or-treat bucket on one of the wire arms

Lollipop Ghosts

My guests were afraid to take these because they thought they were décor! These took a little time to make, but multitasking while watching Netflix helped.

Here's what you need:

Tootsie Pops (I used 4 bags for the amount of guests I had)
A box of coffee filters

Black ribbon (1 spool should be fine - you don't need a lot)

Black marker or Sharpie

• Place the Tootsie Pop in the center of the coffee filter and wrap around.
• Use a small piece of the black ribbon to secure
• Draw on a pair of eyes

Spooky Sensory Bin

This is what the kids LOVED the most and all it took was dumping things into a storage bin!

Here's what you need:

A storage bin (I used a smaller one because the kids were younger)

White rice (mine took 4 bags)

Assorted Halloween trinkets, toys, and sensory items 

• Dump everything into the bin and you're done!
• You can dye the rice if you want to be a bit extra (but I didn't want to take that chance with the kids)

Other Decorations & Goodies

I also have to give credit to Temu for the on-theme birthday shirts for the birthday boy and his brother. I do have a Cricut, but for literally $3/shirt that I know would get dirty, I saved myself the time and headache.

I also got all my large mylar balloons from Temu as well. That big skeleton was less than $3 and doesn't require helium!

What's a Halloween party with decorating pumpkins?! For a mess-free activity, I got styrafoam pumpkins, stickers, and stamp markers (okay, almost mess-free) from Dollar Tree. The kids were really excited to show us their creative pumpkins.

Come on, how cute were the little ghost cupcakes?! Boxed white cake mix, regular vanilla buttercream frosting, and some candy eyes (I got a jar of them at Big Lots for $2.)

And for some other sweet treats, I hit up Aldi and got the most outrageous Apple Cider soft cookies (on the left), iced cookies, and a pumpkin danish log (right.) Sooooo good! Highly recommend.

At the end of the day, my son’s first birthday wasn’t about how much money I spent, but about the memories we made. I was so proud of how everything turned out without breaking the bank — and it was a reminder that you don’t need to spend a ton to create a beautiful, meaningful celebration.

So if you’re planning your little one’s big day and feeling the pressure to make it “perfect,” just remember: you got this, mama! With a little creativity, a few DIYs, and some help from family, you can make it magical without the stress (or the hefty price tag!).

Good luck, and let me know if you try any of these ideas! I’d love to hear how your party turns out.