I’m all about throwing a birthday party on a budget (and one of my all-time most popular posts is my kids’ Paw Patrol-themed birthday party). I like to keep things pretty simple, and I DIY what I can. So here’s how I created a fun DIY superhero birthday party on a budget! Psst…I only spent $61 total on the party (not including food)!
DIY Superhero Birthday Party – Building Backdrop
I created a few buildings as the backdrop for the table. They were so easy to create, and it they cost $1 total!
I collected a few different size boxes. A 12-pack soda box is the perfect “skyscraper” height.
I bought a few rolls of solid wrapping paper from the Dollar Tree, although I ended up sticking with the dark blue paper. I simply taped each box shut and wrapped it like a present.
Then I added small yellow sticky notes (with an additional piece of double-sided tape on the back) in a grid pattern like windows. Depending upon the width of the box, the sticky notes can be placed vertically or horizontally. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
Since I already had the sticky notes and double-sided tape in my desk drawer, my only expense was a $1 roll of wrapping paper for this project!
DIY Superhero Birthday Party – Other Table Decorations
A solid red tablecloth from Dollar Tree covered the table. I taped some superhero logos along the edge of the table. They’re free printables from craftionary.net. As you can see, the main attraction is the breakfast food including breakfast tacos, fruit, and breakfast breads.
I bought superhero napkins from Oriental Trading. All other plates and napkins are in coordinating solid colors from Dollar Tree. Even the utensil caddy below is from Dollar Tree, and it’s perfect for toting to parties.
Dollar Tree balloons rounded out the display. Have you noticed a trend here? It’s hard to beat a helium-filled mylar balloon for $1!
DIY Superhero Birthday Party – Superhero Outfits
My son already had this Superman shirt. It’s such a cute shirt with a cape that attaches at the shoulders. Target no longer carries them, but here’s a similar one on Amazon.
I found my daughter’s Superwoman outfit at the local children’s resale shop with the Halloween costumes. Here’s a cute and similar Supergirl costume on Amazon. They really felt like superheros with their outfits and masks!
DIY Superhero Birthday Party – Superhero Mask Favors
I purchased foam superhero mask kits from Oriental Trading for the party favors. Creating masks with the included foam stickers would be a great party activity! I just pre-assembled them, since I thought it might be tricky for 3 & 5 year olds to put them together in a park, especially if it was windy. I put all of the masks in a basket (which I already had at home) for kids to choose from.
There are three superhero mask designs, and they’re so cute! We still have some going strong in our house months later.
DIY Superhero Birthday Party – Donation Option
We offered guests the option to donate to a local charity in lieu of gifts for our kids. We collected new socks and underwear with great success! Our guests were so generous, and it was really special watching our kids drop them all of the donations off at the charity afterward. I highly recommend doing this for at least a couple of parties!
DIY Superhero Birthday Party – Cupcake Toppers
There are several sites out there with free printable cupcake toppers. But I thought that for $5, it was hard to beat 50 pre-assembled toppers from Oriental Trading. They make plain store-bought cupcakes so cute and colorful!
DIY Superhero Birthday Party – Line-by-Line Budget
Non-Food Party Budget:
- 3 packs of superhero napkins – $6
- Superhero cupcake toppers – $5
- 4 packs of superhero masks for favors – $30
- Blue wrapping paper – $1
- 6 helium-filled mylar balloons – $5
- Red tablecloth – $1
- Solid paper plates and extra napkins – $8
- Superwoman outfit – $5
- TOTAL – $61!
My kids still talk about their superhero birthday party in the park and are none the wiser that I did it on a budget!
What’s your favorite way to make a kids’ birthday party more affordable?