budget ideas for a "spa" birthday

[ohanaMAMA]

My Dd9 wants a "spa day" birthday party with a "french theme" HA! how ummmm imaginative!

We are saving for our WDW vacation this fall and I dont want to spend a mint on a birthday party.

So far I have invitations..blank notecards and Eiffel tower stickers and cupcake picks that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I plan to call it the "ohhh la-la spa" and beyond that? Im stumped.

Yall got any budget minded ideas for me? There will be between 10 and 20 girls aged 8-10 at the party. I need food ideas and party favors as well as activities to do.

 

[momofsamandeden]

My sister who is a Beuticontrol rep has done kid spas. Does not cost anything and they have all the "spa" gear to make it super special. I would do foods like fruit salad and little sandwiches so the girls feel like princesses since that is the goal. If you have a Sephora near you or look online you can sometimes get bulk lipgloss samples and such for cheap to do favor bags.

 

[eliza61]

How about home made manicures? buy a couple of bottles of nail polish in all shades, some thing to soak cuticles in and viola!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I did "spa birthday parties" for both my girls. I can't say it was cheap but there were a few things that didn't cost a whole lot of money.

I bought a lot of those "facial" packets they have at the end of the counters in stores like Target and KMart. We used cup up cucumbers for the girls eyes. I bough cheap platic "foot baths" at the Dollar store to have the girls soak their feet. I bought a lot of the nail products at the dollar store.

I bought a lot of white hand towels at Big Lots. I roled them up, tied them with a organza ribbon bow and put in little manicure sets - that was there goody bag to take home.

We served tea sandwiches, mini pizzas and mini hot dogs, veg and dip, cheese and crackers, cut up fruit, punch (used a fountain) and cake. I also ordered labels for water bottles that said "Kaylie's (insert name) Spa Birthday Party" and the date. I also did chocolate covered strawberries from Edible Arrangements but you could do the strawberries yourself to save money.

My oldest daughter and two of her friends did the girls manicures, pedicures and facials. They had a ball and still talk about it.

 

[NVDisMom]

We did a spa party for my 10yo dd over the summer. We did pedis, manis, and mini facials. Her big sister (12) invited the same number of friends and acted as the aestheticians (sp?) for the littler girls. We had large plastic tubs for soaking feet and small plastic tubs for the hands. I went online and found homemade recipes for foot soak, hand soak, and facial goop (lol) keeping in mind mild is best. The foot soak was made with lavender oil, ground oatmeal, and baking soda I think. For the hands we just used the lavender oil. Both mixed with very warm water. The facial mixture was plain yogurt and honey with cucumbers for the eyes. We set up three stations with white towels and split the girls into three groups. So, nine kids at three stations would be three kids per station. We rotated them through. As they arrived there was sparkling apple cider served in disposable champagne flutes and a fruit platter. They were given a small bag to gather supplies as they rotated through our spa. At the pedi station they chose their polish color, nail file and orange stick and took them to the mani station too (in reverse if they did mani first). The pedi station also gave them toe seperators. At the mani station they also got a small page of nail gems or stickers of their choice, you could also do trial size hand lotion here if you found a good deal, we hand two pump bottles of lotion for the manis and pedis. At the facial station they got an elastic head band to keep their hair off their face and the foam brush used to apply the yogurt goop (rinsed of coarse). At each station we also gave them the recipes printed from the computer that they could add to their bags and make at home. We kept refilling their flutes with cider and passed out small tea sandwiches and cookies throughout the process. After everyone was done we had cake and ice cream and opened gifts. Then the big girls disappeared to give each other the spa treatments too. It was actually pretty cheap (dollar store and wally world were great for small sized, cheap mani items). Our theme was black and white with turquiose. The invites, plates, napkins were all black and white scroll design (Target) and we had turquiose tissue paper lining all of the trays and baskets of food and spa supplies. Very high end look with low cost. BUT, it was quite a bit of work for us two moms and the big girls. If you don't have an older sister with fun loving friends you might consider splitting the party participants into two groups that work on each other and maybe do only mani and pedi stations. Honestly I think this one of our most successful preteen parties. They got to feel special, pampered and grown up. The moms raved the next time I saw them too!

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

Hit the Dollar Spot at Target or Dollar Tree for scented lotions , shower gels and nail stuff for a goody bag. You could make a sugar scrub for a craft, super easy and their mom's may like it too. My DD went to one and they soaked their feet in a bucket of warm water with marbels on the bottom. I agree paint the nails, but on a face mask and make a craft.

For food Chocolate Banana Crepes, or Crossiant Sandwiches and fruit.
A spa smoothie bar may be nice.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chocolate-banana-filled-crepes-recipe/index.html
http://www.bathandbodyrecipes.com/bath-body-recipe-37/brown-sugar-body-scrub-recipe.html

 

[tzolkin]

My DD11 just had a "spa" party. It was a sleepover and we only had 4 guests plus DD.

We made all of the items with basic ingredients and the girls all had a great time. You can make the items in advance or let the girls mix them up themselves. We did 4 treatments-- maize exfoliant, oat & honey mask, sugar scrub, and lavender foot soak. I split the girls into two groups so they could switch off, but we were all in the same room. One group did faces and one did feet first.


The party was pretty cheap. I just bought cheap plastic bins for the foot soak at the dollar store (and I can re-use them around the house) and I bought a pack of cute washcloths, several pairs of fuzzy socks, and headbands. That's what they took home instead of goody bags.

We did chocolate fondue for dessert and they really enjoyed that, but it wouldn't work with more than a few people.


Here are the recipies for the spa treatments I posted on an old thread:

Maize Exfoliant
1/2 c cornmeal
1/4 c milk
2tsp baking soda
1Tbsp olive oil
5 drops tea tree oil (optional)
--- Mix all ingredients together and rub gently in a circular motion over skin on face and neck or arms and legs. Rinse with warm water.

Soothing Oat & Honey Facial Mask
1 c plain yogurt (I used vanilla-- they only had huge plain ones)
1/2 c oatmeal
2Tbsp honey
--- Combine all ingredients and apply to freshly washed and dried skin. Leave on for 15 mins then rinse with warm water.

Lavender Foot Soak
1/2 c Epsom salt
4-5 drops lavender (or any) essential oil (can omit this for no scent)
--- Combine well and store in airtight container. Use by mixing into a tub of warm water. Soak feet for 15 minutes.

Smoothing Sugar Scrub
1c white sugar
1c olive oil
3-4 drops essential oil (lavender, rose, etc-- can omit this for no scent)
--- Mix all ingredients and set aside. Rinse skin and apply scrub, polishing gently in a circular motion. Use on feet, arms, legs, elbows or anywhere you want smooth, glowing skin. Rinse with warm water and blot dry.

 

[crisi]

With twenty girls, I'd skip the "spa" part of the party - that's a lot of mess - except maybe an easy to wash off mask (egg whites are cheap and wipe right off with a wash cloth, add cucumber slices for the eyes). Doing the nails for twenty girls would be a huge hassle. Or foot soaking twenty girls. But you can have them all prep their faces and "relax."

But I'd do a spa craft party. Have them make bathsalts and a sugar scrub that they can take home and use.

 

[fakereadhed]

I've been to moms night out spa parties where we all did foot soaks at the same time. That would be a great time for the birthday girl to open gifts or to play a game where everyone would be seated.

Are there any nighborhood teenage girls to help with nailpolish? Extra hands would help with 10-20 girls.

 

[Bastiansmom]

Something fun and simple...
Beat a whole egg and then use a cotton ball to cover your entire face with the egg. Make sure to keep a serious, calm face while you are doing this. Wait for the egg to dry and then... SMILE! When you smile you will get to see where your wrinkles are going to be when you get older.
I used to love doing this at sleepovers when I was a preteen/ teen.

 

[AntePrincess]

Twenty girls for a spa party? Will you have that much time? It certainly won't be clean or cheap. I might do it for five girls at a sleepover myself, but I'd rather (for a similar cost) offer to take her and a best friend to a real, traditional spa nearby.

If her heart is SET on a spa party, I'd ask the girls to come in clothes appropriate for yoga, with a towel. I'd use up some time with a yoga workout video from the library, break for mineral water and treats, move on to some basic spa treatments which I'd have the girls do in "trains," ie sitting in a circle or a line with one girl doing another's treatment while someone else is doing hers. I'd do backrubs, scalp massages, do a sugar scrub on hands (just sugar and oil with a dash of something that smells nice). Then for facials I'd have them steam their faces over mugs of tea and follow up with a dash of witch hazel.

There's nothing French about any of that, but French and what we think of as a spa don't really mix. Personally, I'd have a French party instead for myself!

 

[ohanaMAMA]

holy wow! 20? I meant between 10 and 12 girls.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

A cute game is to blind fold a girl and give her a big spoon and a bowl full of cotton balls. She has to dump the cotton balls out and the pick up as many as she can using the spoon in a minute. It's harder then it sounds and it's fun for the other girls to watch as they each soop up a bunch of air most of the time.

http://www.youthwork-practice.com/games/cotton-ball-games.html

 

[Mom2Ben02]

Just had to reply - I had a retail store for 4 years, called "Oooh La La Spa", and one of the things we did was spa parties for girls We made all of our own products and used them for parties. Too funny.

 

[Jesussavedme]

We did this when my DD turned 10 and it was a huge hit!
We did not have a French theme, but that would be so easy to create.

We set up stations around the house in different rooms, with signs on each door...
Nail Salon
Facials
Relaxation Room
Cafe
Foot Spa

I would play French musette if I were you (Look up in iTunes store or on youtube). We played classical.
The girls went in groups of two and rotated.

In the nail salon room and Facial room, they did each others.
Nail Salon room - we set up chairs, towels on the floor so they could paint each others toes and finger nails.

In the facial room, there were bowls of warm water (which I'd change out each time) with washcloths and facial peels.

In the Relaxtion Room, there was music playing with nature sounds, the lights were out except for a few lava lamps. There were cold eye masks and pillows on the floor. They were served sparkling juice in plastic champagne glasses.

In the Cafe, we served a veggie tray, finger sandwiches and petit fours.
We covered the tables in pink & black, with the same party ware.

In the Foot Spa room, I had filled my garden bathtub with warm water and epsom salts, floating silk rose petals, candles and music.
The girls all sat around the tub with their feet in the water.

As far as goody bags go, the crafts you do could become their goody bag items. Buy flip flops (cheap!) and have them decorate them as slippers.
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/fluffy-flip-flops-670303/

Buy epsom salt and have them add scents (bought the liquid scents at Michael's) and put in a pretty drawstring bag,
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/frugalgifts/bathsalt.htm
Buy them a bottle of nailpolish to add to their collection.

The girls had a fashion show afterwards which wasn't a planned activity, but I was glad they could come up with their own ideas.
It was a sleepover which makes for a very long night with 10 girls in the house!

Take lots of pics and have a blast!

 

[sTINKS]

If you are doing facials, the Target Up&Up brand is pretty reasonably priced. Just buy a bottle of face wash, mask, lotion and let them share. You might want to walk around and dispense it to them to control waste, or be super organized and put a sample in disposable solo cups (jello shot sized cups) for each girl.

I like the idea of making spa stuff.

And, if you do a Beauti Control party, they brink all the stuff - towels, soaking bowls.....just may get a little awkward when it comes to ordering and buying. The sales reps need to make a living doing this, and they earn their money off of sales.

 

[holycow]

I did the cheapest spa ever!

Little shopping bags at walmart .50
If you look in the nail implement isle they have kits for like .99 comes
with everything you need.

I spent the most on nail polish I got fun colors. Look for cute stickers to put on the nails flowers and such.

I also had cotton, q-tips and a micro fiber towel too.

It was so cheap but the girls had so much fun!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

check the clearnace at your local CVS pharmacy.

Yesterday I got a Ped Pro kit for 99 cents. It contains: A tube of peppremint foot cream, a pair of fluffy socks, a foot buffer, a foot smoother, and the foot file.

It's a kit.

 

[ohanaMAMA]

GREAT ideas ladies. THANKS so much. DD is going to have the BEST birthday ever.

 

[erin.w]

Just wanted to say that I love all these ideas, even though I don't have any kids! I want a party like this for myself!