Hey, y'all! My name is Isabella, and I’m a college student learning how to navigate adulthood right alongside you!! Today, I will tell you the best ways to celebrate a birthday on a budget in college.
Birthdays are my Superbowl. Gift-giving is my love language, but sometimes it can be hard to find a gift that makes the receiver feel loved and celebrated, especially being on a budget in college. Here are ALL my tips for a budget birthday celebration for college students and anyone on a budget! I’m exposing myself to my friends, but I don’t even care to keep it a secret: I LOVE Dollar Tree!!!!
Birthday gifts or celebration ideas
- Picnic
- Find a free place to go outside and gather a group of friends of the person you’re celebrating. If you are orchestrating it, you can order a custom Publix cake or split it with others invited. This is pretty affordable, about $35, depending on size. Ask the friends of the birthday girl to each bring something if you want to have a complete picnic or you can just gather with friends and cake!
- If you want to make it a surprise, designate someone to arrive later with the birthday girl. Or, to make it easier, you can tell her she has a birthday surprise, and she needs to get to X place at X time and wear X, but she can’t know anything else about what is happening or who is going.
- A picnic is where Dollar Tree comes in handy. For about $5, you can get plates, tablecloths, napkins, and utensils.
- Decorate their room
- I adore this because it's fun to make it a surprise and doesn’t involve finding a venue or anything too extravagant!!! You can do something as simple as leaving a little gift bag on their bed, or you can make a banner, add some streamers, put some goodies on their bed, and decorate the door.
- Here is an example of how I decorated my roommate's side of the room for her birthday!
- Gift basket
- This is my favorite gift to give because it is so! much! fun! to make
- My usual components
- Basket
- Tissue paper
- A bigger item to take up space
- Their favorite snacks
- Handwritten note
- A handmade item (this makes it meaningful)
- Little things pertaining to the theme
- Ex: For a self-care-themed gift, I would add a candle, face mask, sugar scrub, nail polish, etc.
- Five senses gifts–Taste, Touch, Sight, Smell, Hear
- Taste → Candy, food, or drinks.
- Touch → Blanket, puzzle, or sugar scrub.
- Sight → Book, sunglasses, or play tickets.
- Smell → Perfume/cologne, car air freshener, candle, or flowers.
- Hear → Earbuds, custom music playlist, concert tickets.
Places to shop for decoration supplies
- Dollar tree
- I could write a post all about Dollar Tree. It’s one of my favorite places to shop for little things like this. You can find so many cool things and make so many cool DIYs at Dollar Tree. Anyway, this is going to be your secret weapon for a birthday celebration in college. Also, it has to be a Dollar Tree, not Dollar General.
- Target
- Their birthday stuff is affordable and inexpensive. For birthdays, I have used the Target dollar section once they had out their holiday decor and picked up a few things I thought were cute and on my theme.
- Party City
- If you want something really specific, you can probably find it here. Party City is more expensive, so keep it as a last resort. But for example, if you wanted a pinata, extravagant balloons, or a bunch of assorted blue candy, this is where I would go.
- Amazon
- Again, if you want something particularly specific or items in bulk, I would get those on Amazon.
- Hobby Lobby
- Hobby Lobby is another great affordable option!
How to plan the birthday
- First, pick a theme.
- Whether it is a color, a holiday, an item, or their favorite sports team. It is so much easier to create budget-friendly decorations if you have a theme. For example, my roommate's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, and she is a Kappa Delta, so I went with a green theme!! (picture posted above)
- Dollar Tree has crepe streamer papers (pictured later below) in many colors. They're a great way to add more color and make it fun! You can also stick these above the door to have a fun entrance!
- Second, plan it out.
- Make a list of what you are going to buy and where you’re going to buy it. Make a group chat and invite people if you are having a birthday party. Look up ideas of what you want to paint if you’re going to make your own banner. Basically just plan out your budget and items so that you don tspend more than you had intended or find yourself forgetting anything.
- Third, make a banner or pay someone to.
- I made one for my roommate using supplies I already happened to have because I love crafts and wanted to save the money. But you can get most of these supplies at Dollar Tree, Micheals, or Hobby Lobby.
- Fourth, get the goodies!
- I strongly advise making a list before you go. Let the first thing you buy or pick out be the basket or bag you will put it in so you know how much space you have to fill. Making a specific list before you go will prevent you from over or under buying and making sure you fill the space.
- Fifth, assemble.
- Lastly, assemble your gift or decorations and enjoy! Tip: Ask for your friends class schedule if you want to surprise them by decorating their room
- Dollar Tree Shopping List
- Crepe streamer paper in whatever color you pick for the theme, you won't need more than one unless you’re decorating a large space.
- Tissue paper
- Happy birthday banner
- Blow up letters for age (Ex: “19”)
- Beads
- Favorite snacks & drinks
- Boa
- Anything pertaining to the theme
- Theme ideas: a holiday, a color, self-care, movies, date night, picnic, etc.
With Love,
Isabella XO
