Alex's Batman birthday party on a budget

We often see inquiries about birthday parties on our Facebook group so I thought I'd tell you about our son's last birthday. Since he was born in "winter" we always celebrate in a park or at home - much cheaper than booking a place, if you know where to get the supplies from! I like the fact I have full control of the food instead of having to buy some packages, and of course that I have plenty of time to get ready and decorate in advance.

Alex turned 5 and asked for a Batman theme. While there is plenty of Avengers merchandise available, Batman supplies are not exactly common here. I ordered what I found online but also had to get creative and do my own. You can find all my printables here. I will post this link several times throughout the text but it will always refer to the same pdf file.

Food and beverages

THE cake

The star of our party was the beautiful cake we got from Adriana's Cakes as every year. Adriana, our local cake queen, is not only a very sweet and dedicated lady but also gives Dirham Stretcher 15% discount! Her cakes look great and - that's rare here - they also taste nice.

She has a variety of flavors to choose from but we always end up with chocolate for the main part! The top tier was vanilla flavored this year- specially for Alex who loves anything vanilla.

Batman surprise cake

I made this little cake myself, with a Halloween cookie cutter. Details will follow soon on the blog, I promise!

Bat cookies

I found Spiderman cookie cutters on Amazon and spent an afternoon baking with my 9 year old niece. Our recipe is always the same and has been shared on the blog in the past! You can make these cookies several days ahead and store them. Whether you leave them plain, decorate them with melted chocolate as we did or sprinkles, I promise you will only be left with crumbs!

Cupcakes

To be honest, I had planned to buy ready made cupcakes from Spinneys. They turned to be out of stock at the moment of the party so I ended up baking myself- it's not *that* complicated after all! They're regular cupcakes but what made them look nice were little cupcake toppers I found online. I printed them out, my niece cut them out and glued them on wooden sticks from Daiso. The cupcake stand is an old Noon buy (code MK51 for 5-10% off valid on Noon express items only). They weren't perfect but they were gone within minutes!

Savory food

I just realized I don't even have a pic of these. As every year I served beverages and savory food on another table- a selection of vegetable sticks cut at home, chips and mini pizzas and canapés from the bakery counter at Union Coop in Barsha Mall. At 2 to 3 dhs/piece these might be cheap but don't make the same mistake as I did- I bought waaaaaay too many and was left with piles of canapés afterwards. The community's security guards were happy for sure! But this ripped a totally unnecessary hole in my budget. With a big cake and lots of sweet snacks on the table on one hand and kids busy playing on the other, they really weren't in demand.

Beverages

Again- I don't have a pic of these. I usually don't go overboard with beverages. I left a huge water dispenser (like this) with water and ice cubes, bought a few juice packs for the kids and prepared a cooling box with ice and other beverages for the adults. I keep the receipts and anything that isn't needed on the day of the party is returned to the store the following day and exchanged for groceries or other things we might need.

Decor

As I said earlier, it's not easy to find Batman decor in Dubai. This ended up being a blessing in disguise! I bought crafting supplies from Daiso and Dubai Library Distributors and got crafty!

Door decor and others

I taped black bats to our entrance door, together with a small number 5 balloon bought from Daiso and some regular balloons. I also printed out a "welcome to Gotham city" sign I designed myself and a "scan to enter" sign (printable versions here - pages 1-2).

Garden decor

Nothing complicated here! Just balloons in a small selection of colors (black, white, gold), air-inflated and attached with strings wherever they fit. I also designed a small Batman poster and put it in a frame. You'll find the printable version here (page 5).

Cutlery and other disposables

I like to keep things simple. I've had the same white giant pack of paper plates and paper cups that's lasted me for a few birthdays now. White goes with everything and in combination with a few color accents with decor and balloons actually looks better than bright-colored, themed disposables. Just my two cents.

Table decor and backdrop

This was a little more time consuming than the rest tbh. I spray painted cardboard boxes black and glued small yellow rectangles onto them to make a city background. Sat a few superhero figurines on the boxes and taped bats to the tablecloth- et voilà.

Our only bunch of helium balloons was tied to one of the tables' legs. I bought them from Party World in The Springs souk and paid 5 dhs each. You could barely see them in front of the golden backdrop! It was a little too busy for my taste but our helper put so much dedication and effort into this I didn't want to sadden her and take it off. She did it with a clothesline, a curtain and golden decor which was part of a balloon set I had bought on Amazon.

I ended up not using them but here (page 4) are printable food labels, in case you'd like to get creative and serve two-face cookies or joker juice.

Entertainment- our superhero academy

I had planned lots of games but the reality of birthdays is that not everyone is on time. Either start the games with the kids present on time, or don't set up in advance. If you wait like I did, the kids who have already arrived will have destroyed most of the game set ups. And you don't want to run after them and shout "no, don't play yet!". Don't be a party pooper, literally. Also, think well about timing and don't be frustrated if you don't manage to play everything you had prepared. In the end, you want the kids to have fun!

If you have a separate space which is not accessible to the kids before the games, that's perfect, otherwise set up as late as possible, with one or two helpers. Write down everything you want to play so you don't forget a game.

This was my initial Batman party plan, although we didn't manage to do everything.

The super hero academy

The kids first got their superhero kit. I wanted black masks with a batman sign on them but looking back it would have been much better to just buy standard black masks I found for cheap at Daiso. I got black felt instead and our lovely helper spent a whole day sewing masks, which turned out to be too big for the kids! Trust me- don't do this. Buy masks.

I had found Spiderman tattoos on Amazon which were a big hit and gave them all super powers!

The kids also got a spray bottle from Daiso on which I had glued a label (printable version here - pages 6 and 7). We filled it with water and of course they started a water fight straight away! They were soon sent on their first mission though...

Splash the villain

Looking back, this is the game they loved the most. I had printed out small Batman villain drawings I found online and taped them to a wall (they're also here to print out - page 11). The kids had to step back and throw water bombs on them until they fell off the wall. Whatever remained after they had used all their water bombs was taken care of with their special spray bottle.

Unfreeze the superhero

I froze a couple of small superhero figurines in water. Using their spray bottles, the kids had to free them. Works better under the full sun... And while they're busy you can set up the next game!

Free the parents

Tie one or several parents to a chair or pole with a rope or tape and let the little superheroes rescue them! Look at this perfect victim, sitting on the perfect kidnappers' chair! 😆

Super hero hopscotch

Tape the hand and footprints in the printable file (pages 15-39) to the floor and let the kids have a go! Use a stopwatch for older kids and challenge them to beat their own time while they go through several times, forwards and backwards. Make teams. Add more obstacles if possible! Whatever you do, make sure the prints are well-taped to the floor as they will come off otherwise.

Super hero laser maze

This is one of the games which were destroyed before we could even play them and I don't even have a pic of it! (I used a photo found on this blog instead) Only set it up if you have a separate space the kids will not go to before you play it. Or make it the first game perhaps?

And don't forget the piñata!

That's why I said write it all down. I forgot the piñata and realized it when it was almost too late! Also- attach it somewhere high before your guests arrive. I thought it would be easy but it turned out to be trickier than expected.

I made the piñata myself out of a box and crepe paper and filled it with candy left over from Halloween. The stick was from Daiso and I glued some crepe paper on it (detailed tutorial coming soon).

Party favors

After completing their super hero training, the kids received their reward. I don't like unnecessary plastic packaging and always try to find something useful to put the party favors in. I was lucky to source these super hero pencil cases on Amazon which came in packs of 4 so cost 5 dhs each. I added in a Batman slap band, a magic towel and some Batman stickers, all from Mumzworld (code DS10 for 10% off) as well as sweets.

Overall time flew by and Alex was a happy little boy after celebrating his big 5! I hope this detailed post helps you organize great parties for your little ones 🥳 If you have a venue and a nice cake, you don't need much at all.

My top 5 tips for a party on a budget are:

- keep things simple.

- keep your expectations realistic. Some DIY is fun but if you can buy it for cheap, don't DIY it unless it's quick and easy to make.

- don't go overboard with food. Invest in a yummy cake and add some simple foods like cookies and chips. Don't spend too much on canapes and mini pizzas.

- easy on the decor! We had way too many balloons! Only inflate a small bunch with helium if needed (directly at a party shop) and inflate the others by air. This can save you hundreds of dirhams!

- keep store receipts. Any unopened food, beverages and crafting items can be exchanged for something you really need after the party.