As a single working mom of 3 kids, I was used to throwing fun budget birthday bashes. But I was stumped when my soon-to-be-5 year old requested a party at one of those make-a-bear places. I found the cheapest option to be about $15-$20 per child for just a bear and a top - and that didn't include food or a cake so it definitely exceeded my budget for about 15 kids. I stretched my creative mind and came up with a decorate-your-own-bear party called "A Beary Special Friend" that cost me $7 per child - and that included the bears + mini outfits, the cake, and enough food for everyone.

The Invite. A simple one pager created on my computer using teddy bear and balloons clip art and printed on my color printer. I had invitation-size envelopes on hand, but if you don't want to spend the money, you can create a flyer, fold it and affix a sticker if they are hand-out invites. Letter-sized envelopes can be purchased at the 99¢ Store if they need to be mailed.

Story Hour. As kids arrived they hung out and colored pictures of clip art teddy bears I printed on my computer. Once everyone was present I assembled them on the floor next to the fireplace to hear the story "A Beary Special Friend". Basically I wrote a story and designed it using more teddy bear clip art and big font so that it could be read by my 10 year old via storytelling style. I assembled everything in a binder decorated with a "book" cover. The story was about a teddy bear living in Bear Town and was visited by kids in the summer. One particular bear was sad at seeing his summer friends go so his mom threw him a birthday party where he could invite his friends back. The story ended by asking kids if they would like to meet a "beary special friend", and of course the answer was a resounding "Yes!"

Meeting a Beary Special Friend. The kids were then taken to another room where they were greeted by bears artfully arranged on the table, along with the baskets, themed clothing for their bear & a ballon bouquet centerpiece. First they picked a colorful basket to hold their bear. Then they got to pick a bear. From there they chose from various clothing and accessories packaged in clear storage bags - they had their choice of fairy bear, princess bear, police bear, fireman bear, detective bear, or baby bear. Once everything was chosen, they picked a spot at the table and began to dress their bears. You should've seen and heard the excitement! Five year olds have a wonderful imagination and they came up with some great names and adventures for their new furry friend!

Feeding the Masses. Food was simple - pigs in a blanket, macaroni & cheese and chicken nuggets - all requested by the birthday girl. The adults feasted on homemade sourdough bread, chicken fettuccine and a simple salad. I made punch from bargain packet drink mix placed in my fancy punch bowl with fresh sliced apples floating on the top. I also had coffee and tea available for the adults.

The Birthday [Cup]Cake. I've used this recipe for all 3 of my kids, but it came especially handy since my 5 y/o was diagnosed with food allergies. This can be used for both cakes and cupcakes, but when throwing a party where many kids are invited I found cupcakes to be the easiest since it speeds up the serving process to 20+ guests. I used store-bought frosting bought on sale for 79¢ at Grocery Outlet and decorated the cupcakes using a box of teddy bear graham snacks and a package of gummy bears bought at the 99¢ Store

I then ‘drew" the number 5 using some of the cupcakes placed on a cookie sheet with more teddy bear graham snacks scattered artfully around. The rest of the cupcakes were placed on a 3-tier serving piece and placed next to the cookie sheet. She loved it. The kids loved it because they sang "Happy Birthday" and were given their cupcakes without having to go through the agony of waiting for a piece to be cut and served to them.

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

6 tbsp powdered baking cocoa (not hot cocoa mix)

2 tsp soda

1 cup oil (you can substitute 1 cup melted margarine/butter)

2 tsp vinegar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups water

Sift dry ingredients in a bowl. Add oil, vinegar, vanilla and water. Mix well. Pour into cupcake lined pans half or three quarters full.. Bake at 350 degrees for about 24 minutes. Cool 1-2 minutes in pan, then remove and cool completely on counter or cookie rack. Frost and decorate. Yields about 1 ½ - 2 dozen cupcakes or 2 single layer round cakes.

Games and Party Favors. Normally I have many activities, but with the "A Beary Special Friend" theme, the bears, baskets and outfits served as the décor, the game, the prize and party favors so it was great for my budget! I also placed the leftover teddy bear graham snacks and gummy bears in colorful bowls placed throughout the table and surrounding areas. Everyone snacked on them throughout the party.

The Bottom Line.

$17 The Bears: 15 bears + tax at my local Dollar Store. The bears were about 14" long and came in various colors.

$17 Bear Baskets: 15 colorful plastic basket bins with handles + tax. These could later be used to store small toys, crayons, cars or hair accessories when they outgrow the bear.

$14 Bear Clothes/Accessories + tax. I was able to find police and fireman accessories, fairy wings and wands, tiaras, magnifying glasses, mini note pads, colorful pens, baby t-shirts, baby blankets, hair accessories & clear storage food bags to package each theme in the toy, party and baby sections of my local Dollar and 99¢ stores. Many of these items made multiple themes for 2+ bears so I was able to keep costs down.

$50 Food: store brand hot dogs, biscuit dough, cheese slices, macaroni pasta, bulk grated cheddar cheese, a bag of frozen pre-cooked chicken nuggets, fettuccine pasta, a couple of jars of alfredo sauce, 3.5 lbs of chicken breast, 4 packets of drink mix, 2 apples, 2 heads of lettuce, 4 carrots shredded for the salad, 1 zucchini, 2 bottles of store brand dressing. I already had condiments, and the flour/yeast for my homemade sourdough bread purchased previously in bulk.

$3 Birthday [Cup]Cake: box of teddy bear graham snacks, bag of gummy bears, frosting. I already had the other ingredients in my pantry that I always keep handy since I like to bake.

$0 The Invite: I had the computer paper and envelopes on-hand.

$4 Decorations: A bag of balloons, simple white paper plates, 1 pkg of colorful paper napkins + tax. I had previously purchased a bulk box of plastic forks & leftovers from 1 big package of white napkins + reused balloon sticks from a ballon bouquet I received as a gift.

$106 Total for the entire party (bears, food, cake). That works out to be $7.00 per child, lower if you factor in about 7 adults because this cost also covered enough food and cake for everyone.

Costs may vary depending on your menu, what you find at your local discount stores, and what you already have on-hand. Even if you doubled my costs above, the per-child cost would still come up cheaper than the $15-$20 bear-and-top-only option.

Most importantly, my 5 year old LOVED her bear party, the kids had a blast, and the adults were truly impressed, all of whom shared the idea with others. Enjoy your next budget birthday party bash!