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When I found out how much it a birthday party at Michael's cost, I was seriously surprised! Remember when extravagant birthday parties were all of the rage? Folks would spend thousands of dollars to give their child a party that they were bound to forget. I'm so glad those days are over. It's not like I was ever going to give Ayva one of those outrageous parties, but at least I don't have to worry about her feeling like I'm denying her because she didn't have a $20,000 extravaganza for her 1st birthday.

This year, we've gone to several preschool birthday parties, and families are getting back to the whole simple birthday parties that the kids will enjoy concept. Our first Northern California birthday party was at a park, and the parents arranged with the local fire department for the children to get a chance to look inside of a fire truck. Afterwards they ate hotdogs and played at the playground. Ayva had a ball! We wanted to do something equally as enjoyable for Ayva's 4th birthday. Because we live in a small place right now, we knew we'd have to find a space outside of the home, which sometimes runs the risk of getting expensive.

While shopping at one of our favorite stores, Michael's, though, we discovered that they hosted very affordable birthday parties! They provided a space, a store associate/craft instructor, and a fantastic room for us to host the party in. The entire party for 15 children only costs us about $105. The room rental fee was only $50, and then we purchased the supplies for the art project, decorative birdhouses, at the store. We were able to bring our own food and cake, and had an awesome, preschool friendly party on a Friday morning for 2 hours. The parents loved having a place to take their children on our day off from school, and the children loved painting and chatting with their classmates.

If you're looking for an alternative to expensive birthday parties, I'd definitely recommend that you check Michael's out!