Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you.
Welcome to the wild side of toddlerhood. As parents, we know that the journey through the “terrific twos” can be both thrilling and challenging. What better way to embrace the energy, curiosity, and sheer joy of a 2-year-old than by throwing a “Two Wild” birthday party?!
Celebrating your toddler’s second birthday doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, we recently threw a “Two Wild” birthday party for our little one right in the comfort of our home without burning a hole in our pockets.
We invited immediate family (which still equaled out to 22 people, eek!) and provided dinner, dessert, and fun!
In this blog post, we’ll share our budget-friendly tips and tricks for creating a memorable and affordable celebration that’s as wild and wonderful as your little explorer!
Invitations
Last year I did Evites (which are fantastic and budget-friendly), but this year I decided to get physical invites. I got these great fill-in-the-blank “Two Wild” invitations from Amazon. They are cute, cheap, and easy!
Because we had a party at the house and only invited our immediate families, I didn’t need a ton of invitations so filling these out by hand didn’t take me long. If you have a party where you are inviting more people, depending on your time (and patience), you may want to opt for Evites or invitations that you fill out online.
Decorations
What’s a party without some décor?! We didn’t go crazy with decorations due to having the party at home – that’s the nice thing about not having a big, open venue. I had all of my regular winter-y décor out and just added touches of our “Two Wild” themed party. Less decorations=less money! So here I am going to show you what decorations I used and link them so you can check them out too!
Two Wild Table Centerpieces
These adorable centerpieces that I got on Amazon were perfect to decorate my tables and countertops. It comes with 10 centerpiece items that are simple to assemble and light on the wallet. I got lots of compliments on how cute these were!
Born Two Be Wild Banner
When I came across this on Amazon, I couldn’t resist! Such a great play on words and adds a nice, sparkly, girly touch! You do have to thread the string through by hand, it’s not hard but make sure you allow time to do so!
Party Hats
When I originally bought these from my local Dollar Tree, I didn’t realize they were dino party hats – whoops! The yellow hat was on top and it looked like giraffe print so I just assumed they were assorted safari animal hats! Oh well, still cute!
Tablecloths
I had one large table and 2 smaller ones set up that needed tablecloths. I found these cute jungle-themed tablecloths at my local Dollar Tree! I ended up getting 2 of them; one for the big table, and I cut the other one in half to put on my two smaller ones. The colors are vibrant and the material doesn’t feel cheap at all – even though the cost is! This added a festive touch to our wild little party.
Balloons
No birthday party is complete without balloons! We got this safari animal balloon set on Amazon for a killer price! We had a helium tank left over from last year that I got at the Dollar Tree and blew them up ourselves.
Party Favors
With more and more kiddos joining the family, this year I decided to do little party favors for each of them. Including my little, there were 4 kiddos there ranging in age from 10mo-5 years. So I had to make sure there was something for everyone in there!
The Bags
I got the cutest party favor bags from Party City! I didn’t realize it when I bought them, but they do require some assembly. There are sticky backs on the animal’s head, arms, and feet that you stick on the bags yourself. No big deal, but just something to note!
A lot of party favor bags on Amazon came with way too many bags (I only needed 4!), or were a little more expensive than I was looking for. These were the perfect size and were by far the cutest ones that I saw while scouring the internet.
The Goodies in the Bags
Jungle animal slap bracelet: These jungle animal-inspired slap bracelets are perfect for any age. Even my husband and I found ourselves playing with them! I picked these up at my local Dollar Tree for very inexpensively.
Stickers: Another perfect party favor for all ages! I searched high and low looking for the perfect stickers for the party favors and I finally landed on these adorable 3D jungle animal stickers from Walmart.
Jungle coloring books: Something else I searched high and low for and is another great favor for all. I ended up ordering these small jungle animal coloring books from Amazon. It came with more than I needed so I put a couple in each bag and will save the rest for another time.
Lollipops: Lastly, I threw in a tasty dye-free treat for our little guests! These lollipops from YumEarth were the perfect last addition to our party favor bags. Obviously, the 10-month-old baby couldn’t enjoy this, but his sister could! This was a tasty treat I could feel good about providing.
Dessert
This year we decided to do assorted cupcakes that were made by a good friend of mine. We had chocolate peanut butter and lemon-flavored deliciousness. I purchased, printed, and cut out these cute cupcake toppers from Etsy. I taped some colored toothpicks to the backs, and voila – just add cupcakes!
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the finished product in all of the wildness!
Throwing a “Two Wild” birthday party at home on a budget proved to be not only achievable but also incredibly rewarding. Our little one had a blast, and we were able to create lasting memories without overspending.
With a bit of creativity and resourcefulness, you can host an unforgettable and budget-friendly birthday bash for your toddler right in the heart of your own home. After all, the best memories are the ones made with love, laughter, and a touch of wildness!
As parents, we couldn’t be happier to witness our little one grow, explore, and embrace the wild side of turning two!
Until next time,
XOXO,
Katie
