Low Cost Summer Party Ideas for your Family

Summer is the biggest time of the year for parties. School is on break, the weather is nice and everyone is in an outgoing mood. Yet throwing a party can be very expensive. If you want to host a party without it costing an arm and a leg, what can you do?

==> Make the Party a Potluck

Instead of being responsible for all the food and drinks yourself, make it a potluck. Have other people chip in to make the experience great.

You can either do a “blind potluck” where everyone just brings whatever they want, or you can do a more organized potluck where you list out everything you need. For example, you might say that you need eight people to bring a real food dish, three to bring desserts and four people to bring snacks.

You can also make the drinks a part of the potluck experience. Have people bring a bottle of wine or a pack of beer to help chip in.

==> Have a Friend Do the Entertainment

Hiring entertainment can be very costly. What most people don’t realize is that within their own pool of friends, there’s often a huge amount of entertainment talent.

Do you know anyone who’s starting a band or plays with their friends? Do you know anyone who used to be trained as a musician then switched careers? What about any wannabe stand-up comedians?

There are often people who’ve DJed for fun and who would love the opportunity to DJ for a real party.

All of these kinds of entertainers can be hired for absolutely no cost, if they’re your friends. 

Just ask nicely, let them know there’s no pressure and that you’d appreciate them even if they think they’re “not that good.”

==> Saving Money on the Location

Having a party at your own house can be expensive. You might get charged for the extra garbage the party generates. You’ll definitely use tons of water, gas and electricity. Furthermore, there are always unexpected expenses with parties – like broken glass or plates.

There are a few ways around this.

First, you could host a no-food just drinks party at your local bar. Let them know you want the room for free; in exchange you’ll bring a lot of people who’ll buy drinks.

You could also host a picnic party, where everyone brings food and drinks to an outdoor park. This makes cleaning up very easy.

Just because you want to host a party doesn’t mean you need to spend a bucket of cash. By getting everyone to pool their resources, you can drastically cut down on your personal costs while still creating an amazing experience for everyone. Best of all? People won’t even be able to tell that it was a low cost party.