We recently celebrated our daughter’s first birthday. With a lot of guests coming to the party (20+), we knew we had to plan for shopping sales weeks in advance, help from parents, and finding party supplies for less, we were able to throw a beautiful and fun party for a great price!

Expensive Store-bought Birthday Cakes

I knew bakeries and groceries stores charge at least $25 for the size cake I would be needing. Considering I was trying to spend less than $50 on the whole party, $25 was out of the question.

Beautiful Homemade Birthday Cakes

I decided to make my own cake and I don’t have an artsy bone in my body nor had I ever tried to make a decorative cake. This was really going out on a frugal limb.

Bottom line: I was able to make the cake for less than $6, including a food coloring. That’s a huge savings of at least $19!

Here’s How We Did It:

-1 cake mix on clearance at Target for 84 cents  (Shop in advance!)
-2 tubs of frosting for 50 cents each (On sale plus used coupons)
-1 number candle- 94 cents
-candy decorations- free from CVS with ECBs
-food coloring- $3

I searched online for cake how-to’s.  Here are a few sites great I found: Kaboose (This is where I found the directions- with a little altering on my part- to our daughter’s cake!) Parents.com and FamilyFun.com.

A lot of families purchase a store bought cake for every birthday or occasion. My savings tip for you: save your hard earned bucks! A family could easily save a hundred dollars a year by making their own. Think of it as a labor of love.