Budget Breakdown for Custom Childrens Parties.

There are very few things that I enjoy more than designing and creating custom birthday events for children. Its tons of work on my end and in most cases somewhat of an investment on yours. There seems to be a misunderstanding from locals about what an event cost to create and often times thats not taking into account what a professional charges to create those services. I have been meaning to do a price breakdown on the blog for some time now. Its not meant to be abrasive but rather to shed light on some of the confusion. I sometimes get what I call "sticker shock responses" from a few that inquire. I also have those that understand how much of a savings it is to actually hire a planner verses purchasing or creating every single item ones self. A dessert table can be made to look WORSE for cheaper.or cheaper for cheaper lol..but thats not what we are talking about. We are talking about a QUALITY dessert table with custom pieces. Custom ANYTHING is not cheap..let alone an entire dessert table. I will break down an adorable bee birthday party I did last year for an adorable client. A picture is worth a 1,000 words. Here is the setup.

                                        I started with a room roll. Thats the yellow you see in the background. Nothing is worse than having a beautiful table against an ugly wall! I often do parties at rec rooms and that comes with the territory. I used 2 room rolls at 19.00 per roll. I wont bother with tax here. Right from the start you are looking at $40. Next we have a beautiful custom table skirt with tons of tulle. I rent these from my vendors. If you were to purchase one for a 6ft table without hiring a planner you are looking at $250.

                             Custom printables are a big part of any event. I work with designers to have these images (often times one of a kind specifically for YOUR event) There is typically a $50+ design fee plus the actual cost on printing large posters for the backdrop. Considering the backdrop itself, posters printed, fabric etc usually comes to right around $150. Notice I have made no mention of time. This is strictly what it would cost a consumer to throw this particular event for their own child.

                           There are also printing costs for bottle wrapper, food tents etc. Assuming most people have a standard printer I wont bother to calculate that charge.

                                              Water bottles and paper straws $12

                                Custom created cupcake stand $45
                                Cupcakes $12
                                Fondant Bee toppers $ 15

                                Custom Cookies $45

                                             Fondant Cake $50
                                             Wooden cake stand $ 47
                                              Glitter frame $15

                                  French Macarons   $35 per dozen
                                   Stand $22

                                 Felt bee table drop for birthday girls table $55
                                  Bee tissue pom and addtional poms $40
                                  Edible bee centerpiece on childs table $65
                                  Fuzzy bee centerpiece on main table $15
                                  Cakepops $25
                                  Tables rentals $20
                                 

                                         Fondant covered brownies $30
                                         Display plates for all desserts $25

                                 Display case $55
                                 Grass mats $38

                                  Favor boxes $25

                                  Custom jewelery favors $50
                            That comes to a grand total of $ 1181
That is the amount if you were to do a custom party very similar to this one. This does not take into account your gas and other miscellaneous supply costs. If you hire a planner this also doesnt take into account their time or talent. An average ONE TABLE dessert party like the ones you see on my page is almost always $1300. more than one table and that amount goes up significantly. Again one word. CUSTOM. Items made just for you for YOUR event is not the same as buying a similar item without customization. I always include 3 custom desserts with my events and often times the cake is included as well. I have many rental items at my disposal. That is where it really does become cost effective for the client to hire a professional. My average price for a party of 12 people is $1000. Sounds like a lot until you look at the breakdown and realize its actually LESS to hire a professional. Hope this sheds some light for those not familiar with the party world. Those that are already intimately familiar know that its hard to break even on most events let alone turn a real profit. Event stylists do what they do because they love the art of it.