Classroom party on a budget

I'm really excited to be back in the classroom! I'm teaching second grade, a grade I absolutely adore. I'm filling in while a teacher is out on medical leave through Christmas break. My first day was on October 19th. I didn't know it was going to be a long-term gig until October 26th. 

I also didn't know that I had to plan a Halloween party. The old teacher had sent home a notice that the party would be on October 31st. I hadn't heard from any parents to say they were coming or sending any food. I knew I had to get something together for those sweet kiddos, so I put my frugalness to work. 

Luckily, the class is small--only 13 students. I didn't have to spend too much out-of-pocket. I wanted to get them some snacks and make them a small goody bag. Here's what I came up with. 

All of this cost around $20ish. That includes the content of the goody bags and all items shown. 

The goody bags were from Dollar Tree. I think you could get 15 for $1.00. The pencils were from Walgreens when they were on sale 8/$1.00. I already had the Skittles, Starburst, and Kit Kats on hand from previous couponing trips. I'd say those three bags cost less than $3.00 total. (Probably FREE if you count the Register Rewards I used to pay.) The paddle ball and slide puzzle were from Oriental Trading. They were SUPER cheap--like $1.00 for a set of 24 or 48. They were part of the "less-than-perfect" clearance section after Halloween last year. 

I got this little jar from Dollar Tree. It held one entire bag and about 3 individual packs of Starburst--128 in all! The big bag cost less than $1.00 and the individual packs (including the one shown) were free at CVS a few weeks ago. I showed students the jar and they estimated how many Starburst were inside. The student with the closest estimate got the package of Starburst. (I originally thought I'd give them the jar filled with Starburst, but that was before I knew it would hold 128 pieces!) 

The jack-o-lantern and rubber band ball (shown in the first picture) were used as a pumpkin toss game. Students took turns throwing the ball in the pumpkin. (Hey, I didn't have much time to be creative!) The jack-o-lantern was $1 at Walmart. The rubber band ball was 50 cents on clearance at Walmart. 

Now time for the food! I first wanted to bake cupcakes. I even had the cake mix, frosting, cupcake liners, and everything else I'd need. But I had a family party to go to the night before, so I just ran out of time. Instead mom picked up these Lofthouse sugar cookies from Ingles the day before. I probably wouldn't have purchased them myself--that little tub was $4! 

I bought a bag of pretzels at Walmart for $1.48. They're considered a "healthy" food--plus I had enough of them leftover to give the class snack the rest of the week. The Kool-Aid was from Walmart. I think it was $1.00 per 6-pack. The napkins were 97 cents at Walmart and the plates were from Dollar Tree. 

My favorite thing--the popcorn! I used some Pop Secret that I bought at Ingles a couple of months ago. It was really cheap--maybe 50 cents per box. I bought a pack of food preparation gloves (just plastic--not latex) at Dollar Tree. The rings and ribbon were $1 each at Walmart. And the candy corn (bag not pictured) was FREE at CVS a couple of weeks ago.

Put it all together and what do you have? Spooky popcorn fingers! The kids loved these! 

It turned out that some parents sent a few items--like those iced sugar cookies that are SO good, chocolate covered pretzels, and candy. The students had a lot of fun and they had plenty to eat. I was used to having my class room mothers plan the parties so this was foreign territory for me, but I think I did pretty well for a last-minute celebration!