People who downplay how much stuff really costs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Costco half sheet cake is $20. $20 at Aldi for drinks and snacks.$25ish to make your own slime (also the party favor). Dollar store for plates/forks/cups, pool noodles, hula hoops, and other misc stuff to make a massive obstacle course, or treasure hunt (around $35).

You can easily have a party for under $100, if you plan it well, have space, and a lot of creativity.

What venue? If it’s a backyard, ok. If not, there’s an extra cost. Plus, what are the treasures folks will be hunting for? Were they free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just had our 3 year old's party for about $100 -- I didn't tally it up at the time so I don't have exact figures but: 4 large pizzas, watermelon, homemade cupcakes, a pack of paper plates and a roll of paper towels. We had it at a playground so no $ for "activities," and we definitely didn't buy party favors for the other 3 year olds. Everyone had fun, it was simple.

Obviously, if you're gonna rent a bounce house or feed the kids something fancy, it can get more expensive. I don't think my 3 year old knows the difference.

No utensils? Napkins? Tip for the pizza delivery person? Rental fee for the playground (which is usually legally required)?

Utensils? For pizza, watermelon, and cupcakes? No.

Napkins? I mentioned paper towels.

Delivery? We picked up the pizza on the way to the playground.

Playground rental fee? Lol, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These people usually just don't have to watch their pennies and don't really know.

+1

[Anonymous]

DH comes from a working class family and is embarrassed by how much money we make (200k so not exorbitant by DCUM standards, but a lot to the rest of the US) and he's embarrassed by how much our house costs. He downplays how much everything costs to his family and hometown friends because he's trying to be more relatable to them.

[Anonymous]

Any other examples op? The birthday party for $100 has been discussed as feasible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These cake ‘n plate parties won’t cut it for five year olds.

Why not? We have never done anything else. Then we send the kids off to Nerf battle or whatever, BYO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A Costco half sheet cake is $20. $20 at Aldi for drinks and snacks.$25ish to make your own slime (also the party favor). Dollar store for plates/forks/cups, pool noodles, hula hoops, and other misc stuff to make a massive obstacle course, or treasure hunt (around $35).

You can easily have a party for under $100, if you plan it well, have space, and a lot of creativity.

What venue? If it’s a backyard, ok. If not, there’s an extra cost. Plus, what are the treasures folks will be hunting for? Were they free?

Parks are free... Treasure can be coins (chocolate coins in a plastic bag to keep the bugs away), rescuing a stuffed animal, finding a criminal (DH volunteered to hide), etc. The kids had a blast trying to find DH. $35 for the dollar store definitely has enough room for treasure.

[Anonymous]

I'm also a crafter/DIYer, and have a lot of supplies at home. If I were to make a bench, or anything really I would just say the cost of the new raw materials, and not what I already have in the house. So if I spent $50 on materials for a bench, and then used other stuff from home, I would absolutely say I built a bench for $50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These people usually just don't have to watch their pennies and don't really know.

+1

I’ll add to that that they are usually a wife who is uninvolved in her family’s finances. She’s not doing the budgeting, her husband is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These cake ‘n plate parties won’t cut it for five year olds.

Why not? We have never done anything else. Then we send the kids off to Nerf battle or whatever, BYO.

Yup--IME five-year-olds really just want some cake and to play with their friends.