Children’s Disco Birthday Party

For the Dinosaur’s 5th birthday we decided to throw him a birthday party. He’s never had one before because he was either too young or there was a global pandemic raging! Due to his cancer diagnosis, we couldn’t take the easy route and have a soft play party where they arrange everything except for the cake so we decided to have a fancy dress disco birthday party for him.

We decided to invite the whole class to give us the opportunity to get to know some of the parents and carers as well as to show them an alternative birthday party idea in the hopes that the Dinosaur won’t be excluded when they have birthday parties for their children.

Here’s how I threw a children’s disco birthday party for the Dinosaur’s 5th birthday.

Invitations

To save me writing out 30 or so invitations and having to stress about not knowing all the children’s names (he’d only been at school for a couple of weeks when we held his party), I designed a simple invitation on Canva. The design had a photo of the Dinosaur and his name (his name isn’t really Dinosaur) as well as all the information that the parents would need. I then downloaded the design to my phone as a photo and then went on Freeprints and ordered enough copies of it so that one could be given to each child in the class plus a few spares. All in all, the invitations cost £6.89.

Venue

I wanted a venue that was easy to get to, had plenty of parking, was accessible (as the Dinosaur is registered disabled and I knew there would be younger siblings coming in prams) and had a space large enough for the DJ, seating area and dance area.

I booked our local community centre which is a former school building. We had the party in the space that used to be the school hall so it was roomy enough for what I wanted but not large enough that we would feel lost within it.

I spent £120 on the hall but got £50 of that back the same day once they had checked that we hadn’t damaged anything and had left it clean and tidy. Total spend £60.

Entertainment

As the theme was fancy dress disco I decided to book a DJ to perform at the birthday party. I didn’t want the stress and hassle of doing the music myself and trying to get a decent level of sound so this was a simple decision. As the Unicorn has been at school for a few years, she’s been to a number of school discos. The DJ who does the school disco is always a hit with children of all ages and he does party games, dance competitions and other entertainment all included in the price so I decided to book High Voltage Roadshow.

This was a great decision as he kept everyone happy and entertained from the moment they arrived to the moment they left. Not only did he do the usual party games including prizes. medals and certificates (pass the parcel, musical bumps and musical chairs), but he also did party dances like the conga and hokey cokey as well as acting as a compere.

The DJ cost £120 for a 2-hour party which included a wrapped pass the parcel, prizes, medals and certificates.

Decorations

To decorate the party, I wanted to try and make things as cost-effective and eco-friendly as possible. This meant I wanted to avoid using things like balloons and other decorations that would end up straight in the bin after the party. I tried to use items that we already had or that had been given to us to use. Where I did purchase additional items, I made sure that these could either be reused by us or could be recycled.

The paper pom-poms were given to us and had been used at 2 different parties already before they came into my possession. The table arch was something that I already owned. The cupcake stand was rescued from my godson’s christening about 10 years ago. The Roarsome Party sign and birthday cake topper are going into my birthday decoration box to be brought out again next year. The cake candelabra is something that I already had so it gets reused each birthday.

In addition to the things pictured. I also bought some paper streamers and paper honeycomb decorations that will be reused until they break and then they will be recycled.

In total, I spent £12.69 on decorations and everything that I purchased has gone into my decorations box so that they can be reused for other birthdays.

Food

To cut down on costs, I did all the food myself. I made sure to check for dietary requirements ahead of time and the only dietary need was one child was dairy free. So that she felt included, I made sure that she had exactly the same range of foods to choose from as all the other children.

For the food, I went to Tesco so that I could get the Clubcard points on my purchase which I can then put towards treats for the family at a later date. I opted to go for classic party foods:

• cheese pizza
• ham sandwiches
• cheese sandwiches
• sausage rolls
• crisps
• cocktail sausages
• vegetable sticks (carrot, pepper & cucumber)(
• fruit platter (mango, grapes & blueberries)
• sweets
• party rings (it’s not a party without party rings)
• orange squash
• apple & blackcurrant squash

To cut down on waste here, I opted not to use tablecloths and instead of disposable plates and platters, I hired a party kit from Forest Friendly. The party kit contained 6 large trays, 2 jugs with ice sticks, 36 plates, 36 bowls, 36 cups and 36 sets of cutlery. The kit actually worked out 50% cheaper than buying disposables.

In total, I spent £ 77.28 on food and another £15 on the hire of the party kit (it’s £25 to book but you get £10 back if the kit is returned clean, dry and complete).

Goody Bags

Every good children’s party needs a goody bag and this disco party was no exception! As I was trying to be as eco-friendly as possible, I didn’t want to fill the goody bags with plastic tat that would break and end up in the bin within 24 hours. I had always intended on using paper bags and spotted some gorgeous dinosaur ones while I was out and about buying the things to go in them. Each goody bag was filled with:

• a colouring or activity book
• a sheet of stickers
• a bouncy ball
• colouring pencils
• a small bubble wand
• a bath bomb

I was particularly pleased with the cost of the bath bombs, I bought a Christmas tree shaped jar that was filled with 32 bath bombs for just £9.99. I took all the bath bombs out, kept the spare ones for my children and kept the jar to use at Christmas. I also sent each guest home with either a slice of cake or a cupcake which I wrapped in foil.

In total, I spent £42.90 on goody bags.

Total Spend

My total spend for the Dinosaur’s fancy dress disco 5th birthday party was £334.76