We all want our children to treasure the memory of each birthday party. So much, in fact, that as parents we tend to panic and blow the budget on fancy themes and costumes.

Sometimes, however, the simplest ideas are still the best. While each generation has its favorite trends, characters, and toy lines, some basics will remain timeless. And happily, most are surprisingly easy to decorate on a budget.

Many boys (and, let’s be honest, a good many girls) will have a special fondness for the seven seas, the Wild West, the prehistoric era, or outer space. What do they have in common? A sense of adventure; the opportunity to recreate daring and dangerous feats from the comfort of home or the playground.

How? The key is to remember that these themes are full of iconic and recognizable images that your child will know inside out. Even the simplest decorations and accessories will spark imaginations! As an organizer, your role is to spark that imagination and enthusiasm. The minds of your young guests will take care of the rest!

pirates

Pirate accessories are not hard to come by. Plastic hooks, cutlasses, eye patches, and hats can be easily and inexpensively purchased at almost any toy store. That being said, there is always room to improvise. If your guests don’t have pirate captain hats available, they might jump at the chance to create their own out of newspaper.

Some iconic Jolly Roger pirate flags will go a long way, either purchased or printed; adorned walls or dotted across invitations.

Where there are pirates, there are always tricks. A few packs of chocolate gold coins dumped in piles on the table will look surprisingly close to genuine pirate gold! If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you could even create authentic looking gold bars out of gold foil cardboard!

For additional decoration or lighting, paper lanterns are a fantastic, not to mention very inexpensive, way to add extra color and personality. Try alternating red and black round paper lanterns to enhance your theme.

And don’t forget the orange slices to prevent scurvy!

Cowboys

Once again, the first step is to raid the toy store for some simple costume accessories: cowboy hats, sheriff’s badges, and plastic guns will be all that any young western fan needs. Unfortunately for the wallet, there aren’t many creative ways around this. (If you come up with any, I’d love to hear them!)

A cowboy needs a horse. ace Monty Python and the Holy Grail hilariously demonstrated, two coconut halves can do an incredibly convincing job of mimicking the sound of galloping!

The right music can add an amazing atmosphere to a themed birthday. Western movie scores are so widely recognized that even the youngest fans of the Wild West may have heard them lampooned or copied or their favorite TV show or movie. The work of the Italian composer Ennio Morricone is the most recognized. His theme of “The good, the bad and the ugly” is a melody that we all know as tea archetypal Wild West music, and can usually be found at the beginning of most bargain bin “best western movie themes” compilations. (Expect many dads to nod in approval!)

We have already discussed methods to create pirate gold. In a different scenario, you can use the exact same tricks to decorate your child’s party with loot from a bank robbery!

astronauts

Rule #1: Aluminum foil is your friend. You can transform a gift into an alien artifact; a punch bowl in a spaceship! It’s also incredibly reflective, which leaves a lot of potential to experiment with lighting.

Once again, paper lanterns are a great and inexpensive way to add some atmospheric sparkle. Alternatively, just dig through your Christmas supplies. The festive lights on the trees will take on a much more alien tone in this setting.

For a young space fan, learning astronomical facts can be legitimately fun. If the birthday boy has learned a thing or two about space, he’ll try holding a trivia contest with prizes. “What’s the bigger planet?” “Who was the first man on the Moon?” Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to make science fun!

Freeze-dried ice cream is always an exciting treat for any young space fan. Even if you don’t like the taste, the fact that it’s real astronaut food will more than make up for it!