Toy Story Birthday Party Ideas On A Budget

Looking to plan a party but not looking to spend a ton of money? Read on for all the Toy Story Birthday party ideas including a DIY cake, a cute kids table and a DIY balloon garland.

Toy Story Birthday Party Ideas

We recently celebrated Harrison’s 4th birthday and decided on a Toy Story Theme. I love planning parties and living through a pandemic hasn’t been ideal for that but with nice weather we were able to keep his party outdoors and just invited a few friends from the neighborhood.

How Do You Pick a Party Theme?

For kids, I always start with what they are interested in and then head to Pinterest. I even have a board specifically for birthdays and there’s a ton of Toy Story Birthday party ideas there along with 500+ other pins I’ve saved along the way. I usually let Harrison scroll through with me and show him pictures and he ultimately picks out what he wants (within reason). We let him pick out his Halloween costume this year and he chose the grim reaper while everyone else was dressed as paw patrollers 😂.

Another fun and easy way to pick a theme is to work with a party company that already has curated themes for you like The Party Heist! This is also a great way to support a small business, especially a party business since we know the pandemic has hit them hard.

How Do You Throw a Cheap Birthday Party?

Here are my three big tips to save money when planning a birthday party:

Make your own cake. I’ll admit I did shell out a few hundred dollars for Harrison’s birthday cakes for year 1 and 2, and I think it can totally be worth it! Check out the beautiful Baby Shark cake by Sweet Melissa for Harrison’s second birthday here. But if you’re looking to save money, this is the first place you can save a lot. If you’re not good with cakes, cupcakes are even easier.
Create a DIY balloon garland, it’s cheap, fun and makes for a great decoration. A friend recently messaged me and asked me where to find one because most companies were charging $300 for this. WHAT! You could even go to the store and pick out your own assortment of balloons but I like the convenience of the kits that already have them bundled together. Check out The Party Heist for all of her balloon garland kits or you can also find them on amazon.
Keep the food simple – especially for kids. You could make your own, or order out. These days, you can even order a TON of pizzas for $5 each, that’s what we did for Harrison’s party and its easy clean up and great to have leftover. Subs and sandwiches are nice, but they can get expensive. If you do order them, make sure to cut them into small pieces, even smaller than the sub place cuts them because people will end up eating half and throwing them away. Our favorite thing to order for parties are the soft pretzel rivets from the philly pretzel factory.

How Do You Plan a Small Birthday Party?

This is clearly the question we have all been asking for over a year now. I think the answer to this depends on the age. If it’s a first or second birthday party you can keep it small with close family only. Once they get a little older, it’s more fun for them to have their friends so invite a couple kids from the neighborhood or if you have cousins with kids that’s another easy way to keep it small.

Send out invitations via text or evite, I love that people are into digital invitations these days. Saves a ton of time and money. Etsy.com is my go to for invitations – another way to support small shops. Here are a few of my favorite toy story birthday party ideas for invitations:

Minimal Invitation by ReallyGoodPrintables ($6)
Buzz Lightyear Invitation by FestivityInk ($10)
Cowgirl Jessie Invites by NewPrinty ($9.80)

Toy Story Birthday Party Details

Cowboy Hats – Cheaper at Party City, but also sold on amazon
Cloud Print Table Runner
Toy Army Men
Woody, Buzz Lightyear & Slinky
Cake – made by me and my mama!
Forky Craft Kits
Balloon garland & paper products – The Party Heist

Shop The Post

What Are Some Good Birthday Themes?

A quick search on Pinterest and you will find a ton of ideas! Here are some birthday themes we have done in the past:

Other great birthday themes I love are linked below:

Toy Story Birthday Party Ideas On A Budget