As a first-time Parent, you want the absolute best for your child.

And if you happen to be a first-time parent who’s also on a budget, you want to be smart about what you purchase for your kid.

You tell yourself prior to their birth that you won’t go overboard, you won’t spoil them, you’ll only buy them what you need to.

And yet, after they’re born, you find yourself inundated with clothing they never even wore before they outgrew it, toys collecting dust in a corner, and the latest “absolutely necessary” parent accessory sitting unused.

It’s not your fault; you’ve just fallen victim to parental consumer-itis.

It’s an infectious disease and it culminates in the first year with the one-year-old Birthday party.

The “Special” One-Year-Old Birthday Party

This is where young parents establish their devotion for their child by putting copious amounts of excess consumerism on display.

Of course, none of this is true. How much you spend on your kid is not at all related to how much you love them.

In fact, if you wanted to teach your kid a lesson, show them that you don’t need excess in order to have fun.

If you want to throw your child an awesome first Birthday Party, but don’t want to take a loan from their college savings account to do it, then read on.

1. Limit the Invite List

If you belong to a lot of playgroups or have a lot of friends with kids, you may want to invite everyone. But a one-year-old’s birthday party is a lot different than a tween, because the kid can’t just be dropped off.

By inviting a one-year-old, you’re also inviting the parents, which can quickly add up the costs of how many mouths to feed.

Stick to family invites only so that you can really Limit your expenses.

2. Pick a Casual Time

Having a brunch type party, from 10am-noon, for example, really helps you limit the menu vs having an evening event which might require appetizers, snacks, and dinner.

Food can be one of the biggest expenses when hosting a party, so make it a non-meal time. 10am-12pm or 2pm-4pm work great for this instance.

Child's first birthday coming up? Save money by celebrating simply
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3. Don’t do Pinterest

It’s way too easy to get caught up in all the decorative mumbo jumbo that will take you countless of hours to do (#aintnobodygottimeforthat!), and cost even more in materials you don’t own.

Save your budget and your sanity, just say no to Pinterest! Ask friends and family for old decorations, or head to the dollar store to stock up on simple necessities.

4. Skip the Decorations

Does anybody really notice birthday decorations anyway? Most of the items end up in the trash.

If you must, blow up some balloons yourself and your baby will go wild enough with just that. Streamers are pretty cheap, too.

5. Choose Your Gifts Wisely

Like many parents, we show our love and devotion by buying our precious child everything we can afford.

Force yourself to limit the amount of birthday gifts you buy for your babe, and instead, make yourself stick to this list: something you wear, something you read, something you need, something you want. It really helps to limit the excess!

What did you do, or what do you plan on doing, for your child’s first birthday? Have you been to any crazy one-year-old parties?