5 Ways To Trim Your Home Holiday Party Budget

We all love hosting holiday parties at our own home, but we don’t always love spending a fortune on them.  Considering the invitations, food, drinks, decorations, and entertainment, the tally adds up quick.  And don’t forget the opportunity cost of spending all your evenings running around doing errands.

However, there are many ways to trim back your budget and still keep the holiday party tradition alive!  Here are five great recommendations from your friends at Flutter FETTI to help keep your budget from getting out of hand:

1.  Send out an e-mail invite

Even five years ago, party invitations were sent by snail mail and there were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.   Today, e-mail dominates our lives and the e-invitation is becoming more acceptable.  It’s not as classy as a hand-made card, but if you need to cut a corner, here’s one that’s much faster, more cost-effective, and still bears all that jazz like time, address, and a cute family photo.  Best of all, you can easily track who’s coming and won’t risk losing that information along the way.

2.  Hit the dollar and big bulk stores first

When buying decorations, food, and drinks, it’s tempting to visit the fancy stores first.  Yet dollar stores and big bulk chains have come along way.  Originally known for their chintzy made-in-China junk, dollar stores now offer some real steals and deals.  As for places like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s, they have crates full of quality items and party supplies that would cost a bucket load elsewhere.  So steer your driving wheel this direction first and watch your payments plummet.

3.  Cut back on unnecessary entertainment

The point of a party is to entertain your guests, right?  As a confetti company, we pride ourselves on entertainment and know exactly where you can trim your budget.  Instead of hiring a pianist or DJ, hook up that surround-sound system and make your own holiday-themed music list. Instead of showing off with a pricey fireworks display, give your guests some 14″ FireCracklers Confetti “Snappers” (recommended for outdoor use) to play with during the night.  If your party includes children, instead of hiring a Santa to surprise them, appoint your neighbor with the grey hair to dress up like one for an hour. You can even get the kids involved in the excitement with fun 14” Confetti Sticks wrapped in a candy cane style.  The tissue inside of the tube is flame retardant and biodegradable too (call us for details)!

4.  Be your own caterer

We know how much work you save by hiring someone else to do the cooking (and cleaning), but we’ve also witnessed the subsequent bill.  To save some money, forgo the caterer in favor of DIY dishes.  There are plenty of easy, inexpensive things to make, from cheese and cracker platters and barbeque chicken sliders to fruit salads and beef turnovers.  Seasonal food like root veggies, apples, green leaf veggies, and other fruits are not only fresh in December, but often cost-effective too.  Consider dishes that you can make (or start making) the day before, your holiday party, as well as dishes that can be heated up in large batches.  As for the cleaning, put your immediate family to work or get your closest friend or neighbor to pitch in and offer delicious leftovers as an incentive.

5.  Skip the liquor

If you limit your alcohol to wine and beer, you will not only save on cost but avoid a wicked hangover too (unless you over-indulge on the other stuff anyway).  It may not always be a crowd-pleasing initiative, but it’ll please your wallet and be a lot easier to manage.  For ladies who like their sweet cocktails mix up a delicious non-alcoholic punch using ingredients like cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and ginger ale.  Put the concoction in a martini glass and no one will complain!

About Flutter FETTI®: Flutter FETTI is an innovator, manufacturer, and worldwide distributor of confetti and streamer products.  Our mission is to bring excitement and joy into every special event in your life.  Contact one of our confettiologists and we’ll make the right product recommendation to add the “WOW!” effect to your at-home holiday party.