How Can I Make My Birthday Special Without Money? (9 Awesome Ways!)

How Can I Make My Birthday Special Without Money?! With some creativity you can have an amazing birthday on a budget!

Birthdays can get expensive pretty quickly.

No matter how much you try to keep it low-key, sometimes you end up shelling a lot of cash on throwing parties, paying for dinners, and hosting all manners of get-togethers with others.

But it doesn’t have to be that way! If you’re broke or just don’t want to spend a lot this year, you can certainly do so without taking away from the fun of the day.

So, how can you make your birthday special without money? Find out below!

How To Make A Birthday Special Without Money

Take Lots Of Photographs

Even the simplest birthdays can make fantastic memories.

Take some good photos of the day and keep them in a virtual or physical scrapbook.

You’ll be able to cherish your special day for years to come, all with the use of a standard smartphone!

You can even ask friends to take photos for you and collect them later.

Use your phone for free or grab some disposables!

I absolutely LOVE disposable cameras for pictures! They’re cheap and you can have your friends take random pictures of the day.

Develop them and relive your birthday through the amazing (and most likely hilarious) pictures!

Look Up Birthday Promotions

Depending on where you live, it’s likely that there are tons of places that offer special birthday promotions and discounts.

Take advantage of them! Look up chains that provide free birthday treats and go visit each one. 

Don’t feel bad or embarrassed for being “cheap”; these promotions already exist for customers to enjoy.

And besides, it’s one day a year that you get to be a little cheap, so go ahead and enjoy your freebies!

Host A Potluck

Want to throw a party, but don’t have time or funds to cook a huge set of dishes? Have everyone bring their own by hosting a potluck!

When everyone chips in and brings food or drink, you’ll have more than enough for everyone.

Play some nice music, put up old decorations, and you’re all set with a lunch or dinner party that you can afford.

Have A Night In With A Few Friends

Invite a small group of close friends or family over for a chill sleepover night for a cheap party idea.

While you may have to buy snacks, you can also feel comfortable asking your friends to bring shareable snacks because they’re cheap and easy to get for everyone. 

By pooling together, you’ll have some great tidbits to munch on as you do whatever you like for the night. And it really can be anything.

Load up the TV or even a laptop with some cool movies you can all enjoy.

Plug in some extra controllers and play multiplayer video games.

Bust out the old card or board games. Or just hang out!

Decorate Your House With Printables And Crafts

You don’t need to buy birthday decorations.

There are plenty of printables freely available on the Internet, as well as lots of tutorials that can show you how to make pretty impressive decor out of cheap materials like paper and string. 

You don’t have to be the craftiest person to follow a few instructions and make things look festive. Get creative and don’t be afraid to experiment!

If at the end of the day you don’t like the cheap decor you’ve made or found, you can simply opt to reuse old decor or buy some from the dollar store.

Find Free Attractions In Your Area

There are plenty of free things to do in any city or town.

The exact scale of them will depend on your location, but the bottom line is that free options exist everywhere.

Whether it’s going to a park, taking advantage of a museum’s free hours, or heading to a historic monument with no admission fee, you’d be surprised how many options there are for the broke!

Spend The Day Giving

Birthdays are often all about getting, but if that doesn’t necessarily make you happy, you can opt to give instead!

Go alone or convince some family and friends to come along with you and volunteer at a charity organization, soup kitchen, animal shelter, or similar facility. 

Being selfless can be surprisingly rewarding. When you give kindness to others, you receive it back in warm, fuzzy feelings and heaps of happiness and accomplishment.

It’s enough to make anyone feel special, and you may even decide to become more active in charity in general!

It’s nice to know that, even without money, you can make a difference in the world – and for some, that’s enough of a birthday gift.

Throw A Virtual Party

This is a great idea if you want to save money and your friends and family are either busy on your birthday, too far away to visit, or simply unable to all get-together.

Organize a big video call on Zoom, Skype, Discord, or any other choice of chat platform. Hang out together, catch up on old times, chat, and laugh!

It’s a wonderful way to make a birthday special without having to do anything big or significant. 

Rest In The Way You Want To

Birthdays don’t need to involve others. Sometimes they can just be about you.

If you’ve been having a very busy time and haven’t had the time to truly kick back and relax, now is the perfect time to do so.

Use up a vacation day if you have one and spend the day resting and relaxing.

You’ll be recharged and will be putting yourself, your health, and your needs first, which is important and special in itself!

You don’t have to just lie down all day, either.

Read books, watch shows, play games, sing, dance, make music, pamper yourself with baths and face masks, and do all the things you usually don’t have the time for. It’ll feel special because you were able to put yourself first!

Soo..

Spending money isn’t what makes birthdays special! It’s about doing what you love, making it unique, or being surrounded by loved ones – or all of the above!

Don’t feel pressured to spend money on your birthday when there are so many ways to make it special for free or for cheap.

Ultimately, it’s about the fun you have and the memories you make, not about the money you spend. 

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