If you’ve got a little one’s birthday coming up, “How to budget for a kids birthday party?” is probably near the top of your mind. Kids party hire can be a bit dear; depending on what you want to do. You could pay £290 for a gaming van, £70-£100 for a bouncy castle and then there’s food, decorations and more. Getting their favourite princess is often £100 per hour and if you don’t want to have your kids party at home, you need to budget another £100 to £300 for an afternoon in the village hall or private use of a football field. So, today, we’re going to help you plan and prioritise what you’re going to spend your kids party hire budget on so you don’t feel like you’ve scrimped too much.
The average cost of a kids party in 2025
We’re experts on kids party hire and we can tell you, the cost isn’t going down. We put the average cost of a kids party at £400 to £500 quid. That’s not an insignificant expense. While you can spend this amount on a party, it is equally possible to create a special day for your little one on a much smaller budget. KPF has a wide range of suppliers all over the country, that can cater for budgets of all sizes. So, no matter your spending limit, if you need to budget for a kids party next year, we've got you covered. A good suggestion is to make a separate savings account or get a large piggy bank on their birthday this year and pop a few quid in every week. Then you’ll have enough in reserve by the time their special day comes around next year.
Here are all the categories to plan for:
Decorations
You can’t have a dull-looking space… that’s not very festive. So, you’ll want to put a little aside for decorations. But do you go with a kids party hire company that will do it all for you, or head down to the shops and wrangle up some yourself? Well, the choice is yours and you can find great items to suit any budget. Try looking at Poundland for affordable pieces, The Range for mid-tier or John Lewis for high-end decor. Alternatively, you can book a decorator for your kids party here.
Food
They’re bound to get hungry! You can hire someone to make all the cakes, treats and food you’ll need for your event; or make something from this list of finger foods. Just don’t forget to ask parents about any potential intolerances or food allergies you’ll need to contend with.
Venue
There is nothing wrong with doing your kids party at home. We have amazing suggestions for how to make that amazing here. But if you want to hire a venue, that’s a great idea too. We recommend looking at football pitches, parks and village halls if you want something on the more affordable side.
Entertainment
If you haven’t seen this list of hot kids party ideas for 2025, go check it out! Gaming, slime, animals, crafts - there are a tonne of options and it’s really important that you plan what these little ones are going to do while they're at your event. But that doesn’t mean you need to hire every kind of kids party entertainer all at once. Pick one or two things and let them amuse themselves the rest of the time.
Gifts
Sure, you need to get gifts for the birthday boy or girl but what about the children who attend your ‘do? How do you budget for a kids birthday party where fancy gift bags are now the norm? For this, we really recommend a bags and accessories vendor from our kids party hire listings. These are suppliers who will make, arrange and deliver all the gifts for you. Then all you need to do is hand them out. Trust us, that’s a lot easier than trying to create and manage a dozen or more gifts on event day yourself.
Hopefully, this list of tips on how to budget for a kids birthday party and what to plan for is helpful! There are even more party-planning and kids party hire ideas here for you too.
