The Birthday Closet

Ok, you don't really have to have a whole closet, but the best way to save both time and money when it comes to birthday parties is your own personal birthday party stash. It's my opinion of course that the bigger the space the better but you can use anything from a small cardboard box up to a whole room. In case you're curious, my birthday party stash is indeed in a big hall closet...but it's currently sharing space with boxes of cds, my halloween stash, my easter stash, my Christmas stash (and tree) and my gift bag stash.

Alright, so lets say you've found your space, what do you put in it?


Leftovers -

Don't throw out those three leftover red cups, half roll of blue streamers, or whatever you may have from your last party. You may just be able to use them again. Even specific things may be reused. You may think what could I possibly do with just two Strawberry Shortcake cups? Well, depending on the design you might be able to glue another character over top of the one that's already on it. And then there's alwasy the possibility of a theme striking more then once. We have had two Thomas the Train parties and I'm currently planning our 2nd Super Mario party. On the occasion that you truly can't reparty some supplies you'll have them for regular home use. My kiddos think its a pretty big deal when for whatever reason we have to schedule their party much later then their actual birthday and they end up getting a themed mini party just for family at home before their party.


Trash/Junk/Recyclables -

Egg cartons, water bottles, margarine tubs, shoe boxes, cereal boxes ...just about any kind of containers you can think of all have the potential to become birthday party games, crafts, or favors. A favorite of mine are Crystal Light containers. I like to keep any container that just looks interesting or a container that I know I will end up with at least a dozen of (like yogurt containers). How much you keep really just depends on how much free space you have. I don't tend to keep things that I know will be in abundant supply except when there is a birthday coming up in the next couple of months. If you find yourself looking for something specific, put the word out. Call your friends and family or send out an email "Please save your Crystal Light containers for me".


Craft Supplies -

I actually have a seperate space for most of my craft supplies but I like to keep a couple extra gluesticks with my birthday supplies. Also if I get new supplies becasue I'm running low or just find a really good deal I put my old supply in with the birthday stash.


Store discards -

This is one I have recently become crazy about. Many stores throw their boxes out. Now I know boxes aren't that exciting but you'd be surprised.
Let me just tell you what made me start seeking out store boxes. My middle son has a birthday coming up in which games will be played, coins will be earned, and then finally coins will be spent...in a candy store.

The store will be in a shed that we have outside. The only question was how to display the candy. I didn't want to buy a lot of containers and yes I could just use empty sour cream, cottage cheese, and such containers but I'd want to paint them all. I had a lot of clear glass containers but I definitely didn't want a bunch of glass out there. I came up with a few ideas but none that I really liked.

Then I was at Target one night and one of the workers was emptying out display boxes for wii and Nintendo DS games. Each box was red, said either wii or Nintendo DS and was divided into sections. Did I mention that this is a Mario Party themed party? I asked the man if I could possibly have one of them and he said I could have them all, I was saving him a trip to the trash.

Those boxes are what set me off. Now every time I go to a store I keep my eyes open for interesting containers. I recently aquired an empty light globe toy container at Walmart. That combined with an empty insert from Pop Rocks Easter eggs at Dollar General, some construction paper, paint, tape,thumb tacks and glue (all of which I already had in my birthday stash) became this game - Bob-omb's Away.




Garage Sale Goods –
Keep an eye out at garage sales and thrift stores. You may find anything from someone else’s leftover party decorations to the perfect containers for a game, craft supplies,or little toys that match your theme. Fast food toys are in abundance at many garage sales and can make for great favors or even cake decorations.
My most recent find was this stack of 30 little plastic cups for 10 cents -




It is a good idea to keep a list with you of all birthday party supplies you are currently looking for as well as games you have in mind. You may not realize until you see a stack of chopsticks for a quarter that they would be perfect for a game you want to do. You may even see something that inspires a totally new game. I had no intention of playing fishing for pumpkins at a party until I spied a ziploc bag full of pumpkin magnets for a dime and remembered the little magnetic fishing pole we had in one of our board games.


Just one last thing, your birthday closet is a great starting point but don’t limit yourself. When you’re looking for game inspiration take a walk through your house. Open up those cupboards that you rarely ever look in. That set of toy golf clubs in the playroom can inspire a whole putt putt course. That old crockpot you have could be filled with a great witch’s brew game. That old sheet would make a great backdrop for cowboy photos. Just take a good look around and who knows what you’ll find!