Birthday Ideas for People With No Money

Having a birthday can be an inexpensive, easy and a fun experience. A successful celebration involves planning, hosting, care and imagination, but not a lot of money. What matters is not the cost, but the presence of cherished friends, family, and the treasured memories that are created when a birthday is shared with loved ones.

Tea parties do not need to be fancy to be fine. You can use the everyday mugs and cups that you have to set up a women's-only festivity for you and your friends. Using a colorful cloth on the table and flowers in a vase or a tall glass adds cheer to the event. Customary foods for tea parties, such as biscuits, crumpets, and rusk served with lots of jelly and jam, make excellent substitutes for the traditional birthday cake. Light finger foods, small triangle-cut egg salad sandwiches, cucumber with cream cheese and chives, or chicken salad can be easily made. Watercress is another sandwich type associated with tea parties, but cresses can sometimes contain liver flukes that cause disease. Substitute argula for cresses. The tea should be either plain green or black.

Many hands make light work and many dishes make good eating. A birthday potluck eases the financial burden and cleanup time for the host. Asking friends to bring their favorite dish or a beverage to a celebration can introduce others to new taste experiences. Be careful to inform the other guests of special dietary needs and allergy restrictions. The guests can also be asked to do a recipe swap where each guest is asked to write the recipe and bring it to the event in case there is a request concerning the potluck item. Have paper and pens or pencils to facilitate multiple requests.

Birthdays in the park during the warm months are active and free-form celebrations for children. The children can run around the park and play on the equipment. Cupcakes, or other finger foods like donuts, can substitute for a large cake. Some parks have grills where you can barbecue food. There are often parks with open-air shelters if the weather becomes rainy.

A guy's night birthday is ideal to schedule during a televised sporting event. Chips, pretzels, hot dogs, soda and other beverages can feed the fans as they cheer on their team.

Homemade ethnic food is a special treat for some people on their birthdays. Mexican, Chinese and Italian foods can feed a crowd with dishes that include tacos, fried rice or lasagna. Decorate with colors reminiscent of the cultures, such as green, white and red for Mexico and Italy, or bold red and black for China.

A sentimental and memorable birthday can be created for that special someone by finding free concert listings in the entertainment section of the newspaper or online. Music, whether the concert is in a park or in a recital hall, is a romantic way to say happy birthday. Taking your loved one to a café after the gallery or musical event is a cozy way to finish the celebration.