Easy Tween Girl Birthday Party Theme.
Why is it that every time my kids have a birthday I get so emotional???? Please tell me I’m not alone in this! It is so fun to watch my kids grow into amazing people, but oh how my heart hurts to see just how fast time passes and how quickly my babes grow! We celebrated my daughters 10th birthday last week with a Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party! I definitely shed a tear or two, but I mostly enjoyed celebrating her sweet life!
The rule at our house is that I will throw my kids a birthday party with their friends every other year. This year happened to be the year for my daughters party. It took us a few days to come up with a theme that felt a little more “grown up” for her.
We finally decided that a Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party would be the perfect tween girl birthday party theme.
Like all of my parties I try to plan simple, fun and FRUGAL. I want it to be a special day for my kids and all of the party goers….but I also want it to be the least amount of stress possible for me! (that’s just how I roll!)
Disclosure: “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”
The Invitations
I spent $2 on the invitations.
I found the cutest invites at the Dollar Tree! Seriously, how cute are these?!?! They were perfect in every way, cute enough to keep my daughter excited and cheap enough to keep me satisfied!
I highly recommend checking the The Dollar Tree when you are looking for budget friendly birthday invites.
The Decorations
I spent $0 on the decorations.
By using items I already had at home I was able to spend $0 (yes, zero!) on decorations for our Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party! This made me so happy!
With the help of the birthday girl we chose the colors turquoise, pink and white. I scrounged through my stockpile of streamers and balloons to find some in her requested colors.
We ended up hanging a few streamers and balloons around the house, and made some tissue paper pom poms for a fun statement over the dining room table.
It turned out beautiful! I was so happy the way the colors all went together.
The Table
I spent $5 on the table supplies.
Because the party was centered around eating breakfast, I wanted to make the table cute and inviting. I found the plates, utensils, cups, napkins, and table cloth all at Walmart for $.97 each. The colors matched our theme colors perfectly!
The centerpieces were put together using items I had at home and I love how they turned out! I simply filled a mason jar with fruit loop cereal and put a flower inside. So easy! So cute! The girls loved munching on the cereal while they were waiting for the food to be ready. An appetizer and a decorations!
The Food
I spent $10 on food.
Most of the ingredients I needed for the party I already had at my home. But, I did spend some money on buying a few extra fun toppings.
Unfortunately, I completely spaced taking pictures of the food I prepared, whoops mom brain!
I cooked up a huge batch of pancakes and set up a pancake bar for everyone to pick and choose their own toppings. We had Nutella, strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream, maple syrup, raspberry syrup, and sprinkles (it was a birthday after all 😉 ).
I overestimated the amount of food these girls would eat. We ended up with a lot of leftovers! So, when you are buying food for your Pajamas and Pancakes birthday party remember they might get distracted and not eat a lot.
The Activities
I spent $40 on the games/crafts.
The activities were my biggest budget item, and I honestly spent more than I usually do. But, a few of these activities doubled as the “goody bag.” And they were all so much fun!
Once everyone was finished eating their pancakes we started playing the games.
Silent Football:
First, we played Silent Football. The girls had so much fun playing this game! They didn’t want to stop!
The Cereal Game:
The Cereal Game was so much fun to play, and perfect for a breakfast themed party! It was based off of the popular White Elephant Game.
How it works: I bought 9 mini cereal boxes (1 for each girl) and made 9 slips of paper each with a number on it (1-9).
The girls sat in a circle and each picked a number. Whichever number they drew was the order of when they would be able to choose a cereal.
The girl who drew #1 was able to choose from all of the cereals first. Then the girl who drew #2 had the option to choose from the cereal that was left in the middle or steal the cereal box from the first girl.
Play continues in the same way until all the girls have each had a turn to steal or choose from the middle. If a cereal is stolen from you, you will receive a turn to steal from another person or choose from the middle.
A cereal can only be stolen twice until it is “dead,” meaning it can not be stolen again.
This game was a huge hit! The girls loved having a mini cereal box to take home with them.
The Craft
Next came the craft! Each of the girls were given one white pillow case. They then used fabric markers to color and decorate their pillow case.
Honestly, before the party I wasn’t sure how long they would want to sit still and color, but they surprised me! They sat quietly for a good 20 minutes decorating their pillow cases, chatting and giggling. It was so fun to see each of the girls put their own personality on their pillow case.
I also had one extra pillow case for the birthday girl. Each of the girls signed their name and wrote a little note to my daughter to help her remember this special day.
They loved this craft! This activity was the biggest expense of the party, but I decided it was well worth the money. I found the cheapest pillowcases were in bulk on Amazon.
The Results
I spent $57 on this party.
The Pajamas and Pancakes Birthday Party ended up being a huge hit! I loved seeing all the girls show up in their darling PJs and have a “mini sleepover”!
Now, I get to enjoy my sweet girl at age ten…..and keep hoping someone invents a special potion that will make kids stop growing! Anyone??? Anyone???
Related Articles:
LEGO Birthday Party for Under $20
Kids Birthday Party on a Budget
Pin To Save For Later:
Thank you for taking time to post this! These ideas are so wonderful. We are on a budget and I love your idea of the cereal game and pillow cases. Thank you so much, my daughter and I just read these and are so excited!
I am so glad you enjoyed the ideas! I hope your daughter has a wonderful birthday!