Every aspect of our lives has been curtailed by this stagnant economy – including birthdays. How can you keep the special day just that? By some savvy saving and brainy budgeting. You can still throw the perfect B-day and give the best gift simply by being smart about it. You can look like you’re giving a lavish do even though you’re saving big time.

1. Dollar store digging. Look around your local dollar store and you can find a ton of stuff for birthday parties for adults or children. There are Mylar balloons , along with centerpieces you can make. Dollar stores have plenty of paper plates, cups and utensils in matching colors that you can buy up for big celebrations. Also they also sell roasting pans which are perfect for cold and hot dishes along with sternos. You can get some excellent buys on good quality gift wrap, party bags and bows too. Don’t forget that dollar stores have extensive selections on kid’s toys which make excellent favors and prizes.
2.  Home made is the best made! Why spend thirty bucks on a birthday cake when you can make one yourself for a lot less? Besides you’ll have more control of the way it looks and tastes. The same applies to party food too. You can easily make fancy part food such as shrimp kabobs or steaks for half the price of a dinner out. Another fun idea for fall and winter birthdays is making your own pizza or chili. This with a cake and a few bottles of wine or beer is better than any restaurant celebration. It allows you to have good food and good times while relaxing.
3. Pot lucky. Have guest bring some of the party food. Besides everyone loves contributing their best dish anyway. Let your gathering be the place to shine. Just remember to keep track of who is bring what. You don’t want to wind up with too many potato salads or chocolate chip cookies. If two people are set on bringing the same dish , then suggest someone have a slight variation. If someone wants to bake the cake suggest another flavor or cupcakes to avoid too much of the same thing.
4. Sweet sales. Take advantage of all the sales the stores have and shop , shop shop. You can get some great buys right now on toys and electronics. Even major departments stores are offering 60 to 75 per cent off on designer goods. This is a great time to fulfill someone’s birthday wish for a Coach bag or a Calvin Klein shirt. Also check online too for some major sales on make up and perfume. Some cosmetic companies, like e.l.f. or Sephora. offer no shipping fees or twofers on perfume or certain cosmetic lines. Take advantage of these. Consider discount giants Target and K-mart along with Wal Mart for some their bargains on clothing and home decor as well. An even neater gift is a twenty five dollar gift certificate from one of these stores. The recipient can buy anything from pajamass to CDs to food.
5. Coupon fun. If you’re flat broke, the consider making a book of coupons listing your services. This is a thoughtful gift and may mean more than a cheap candle or box of candy. You can give the birthday boy or girl coupons for dog walking, house cleaning, laundry or garden chores. For more creative services, think about cooking a homemade meal, house painting or baby sitting. If you ‘re a manicurist, mechanic or hair dresser you can throw in a few coupons for these services. A good thing about a coupon book is you can make it as thick or thin as you want. You can offer maybe three gardening sessions or one cooking and two babysitting ones.
6. A wild time. Think about having a hike or a canoe ride for the big day. Planning a great outdoors celebration is a lot easier and cheaper than having a restaurant affair. Besides you can not only enjoy good conversation but soak in all of your local natural beauty. Seeing herons or deer is a better gift than jewelry you don‘t need or some ridiculous gewgaw that‘ll catch dust in your living room. Another fun idea is a beach picnic where everyone chips in for parking and sandwiches. Bring a Frisbee or a volley ball for added fun. Some beaches throughout the US will let parties stay until six or seven in the evening. Plan for an all day outing
7. Group fun. If a bunch of you , whether, family or friends , have birthdays all within the same month, you may want to think about combing them to have one big party. You could then decide amongst yourselves where the party is going to be held, who’s responsible for drinks, party food, and cake. You can also chip in fifteen or twenty bucks each and then use that to buy everything you need. Having a group birthday also eliminates having to set aside two or three nights for celebrating. It’s done in one fell swoop.

 Don’t fret when it’s birthday time. You can create a memorable, fun one even during all these rough economic times. It just takes some saving savvy to have a low cost celebration. Party on – and save while you’re doing it!