Youth Group – Inexpensive Party Tips

Everyone can use some helpful party tips that won’t bust your budget. After thirteen years of youth ministry, I learned a few things about saving money. Read on to find out some ways I found to save money when planning a youth party.
The invitations:

Get out the old birthday cards, greeting cards, etc. that you have lying around. Cut the cover off the back. You can throw the backs away or recycle them. If the cover is blank on the back,  write the basic information, Time, Place, Date, etc. on it. Leave room for the name and address of the person you are inviting to the party.

The drinks:

The easiest punch to make is  putting sherbet in a bowl and pouring Sprite, Ginger Ale, or 7-Up over it. The sherbet can be any flavor and 7-up is the most refreshing.

The food:

Keep it simple. The best food idea is to serve finger foods. Serve raw vegetables, nuts and chips.

1. One idea is to serve Taco Salads. Have each teen bring something for the Taco Salad (ex. someone brings a large bag of Kraft shredded cheddar cheese, someone else brings chopped onions, someone else brings salsa, etc.). If you don’t have enough teens or your teens are mainly low income, ask other adults for donations. Maybe people from your church or organization will donate items.

2. Make peanut butter sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, ham sandwiches, etc. Now cut each sandwich diagonally, from corner to corner making an “X”. Now you have four finger sandwiches from each full sandwich.

3. Serve homemade personal pizzas. Again, get donations to cut back on the cost. Your teens will enjoy getting to make their own pizzas. You can use hamburger buns, refrigerated croissants, refrigerated pizza dough, or even slices of bread for the pizza crust.

* Remember: Focus on the fellowship. When having a teen gathering, put your time, energy and money into the message, the fellowship and the games. The food, drinks and invitations are important but these areas are where  you can cut coners to save money.

* Warning: As always, make sure you are careful with all volunteers and donated items. Safety first!

Tags: Ginger Ale, Pizza, Sandwiches, Sprite, Taco Salad