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I love planning birthdays and sharing my birthday party ideas. I don’t bake for my children’s parties. I find the pressure of it at the last minute to be too much. I love buying inexpensive things though and am happy to share five of my favorite cheap yet completely chic birthday party dessert ideas with you today! And if you’re looking for more ideas, check out this post with birthday cake ideas boys will LOVE!
FIVE cheap kids birthday party dessert ideas
1. Plain cake from your local grocery store—$18 or under
Ask the baker to forego all of the fluffy flowers etc… and keep it completely white and completely smooth. Add a DIY or inexpensive cake topper of some sort and your cake is chic. No one will guess it’s a cheap cake from the grocery store. Check out Bodhi’s cake from his little man first birthday party, his modern stripes cow second birthday party and his dinosaur third birthday party.
2. Cookies (preferably OREO or Trader Joe’s Jo-Jo’s)—$5 or under
Stack them up and they look chic for under $5. This one is my favorite little trick. You could do this with Chocolate chip cookies or almost any cookie for different look that is still entirely stylish.
3. Plain cupcakes with white frosting—$10 or under for 24
First, kids love anything. Second, the white with white frosting options are WAY less messy for the kids, the kids parents and your own home. My favorite ones are the 24-pack options from Target for $7.99. You can’t beat it. Again, add sprinkles, store-bought toppers like these or make your own.
4. Donuts stacked sky-high—$10 or under for 12-24
You can buy fancy schmancy ones for sure, or you can just pick up glazed donuts at your local grocery store at 12 for $4.99. Stack them up and call it a day! Donuts are always a winner and the grocery store options are super tasty!
5. Animal crackers—$6 or less for 24 mini cups
I love putting animal crackers or cookies in cute little cups. It’s so easy and inexpensive. Kids love them. You can find the cups for $2.99 at Home Goods fairly often or just use cupcake liners.
Awww, looking back on all of these parties (and desserts) makes me SO excited to put together Ezra’s birthday party. And now I want a donut. Which is your favorite? Do you agree that chic can be cheap at kids parties?
Cow party photos by Melissa Oholendt Photography. Little man cake photo by Canary Grey Photography. All others by Live the Fancy Life.
Thanks for the great tips!!! You just saved me a lot of money on a cake! I’ll be cancelling my expensive cake and just going for the plain white one. :)
So glad to hear it! I highly recommend this. It will look great!
I love seeing all these affordable ideas in one place! So pretty!
Thank you! It’s so much fun to look through old parties!