$50 Budget Kid's Birthday Party: Make A Volcano Theme

• Host the party outside and let nature serve as your décor. Plus, this party is messy, so it's best to have it outdoors! 
  

• Kick off the party with a nature hunt where the kids collect leaves, small rocks, and grass to decorate their volcanoes.

• For the main activity of this party, the kids will build their own volcanoes using a plastic water bottle, mud, and more as outlined in the instructions below.

• The big finale is when the volcanoes erupt with a simple mixture of household items. (Use the money you saved on décor to purchase them.)

• For an explosive birthday cake, pile frosted cupcakes--without the paper baking cups--into a volcano shape and put a candle in the top. Use red decorator's icing, if it fits your budget, to pipe lava coming down the sides.

• See the $50 Budget Kid's Birthday Party - Cost Breakdown to round out the items for this party.

How To Make an Erupting Mud Volcano

Gather enough free supplies for each kid to make a volcano and purchase a few items to make it erupt.

Materials for Each Volcano:

• Scrap piece of cardboard as a volcano base
• 8 oz. or individual-size plastic water bottle with the tops cut off
• Lots of stiff mud (not runny), leaves, grass, small rocks.

Eruption Mixture for Each Volcano:

• Warm water
• 3 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon dish washing liquid
• 1/2 cup white vinegar (buy at least 32 fl. oz. of vinegar)

Steps

1. Instruct the kids to pack mud, leaves and other natural materials into a volcano shape around the water bottle.

2. Fill each bottle inside the finished volcanoes almost to the top with warm water. Add about 1 teaspoon of dish washing liquid and 3 tablespoons of baking soda. Use a funnel to make the pouring easier or a piece of paper rolled into a cone shape.

3. When all of the kids have the basic mixture in their bottles, pour 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar into each bottle and watch as the bubbles spew down the sides!

Note: Do not cover or put a lid on the bottles (with the Eruption Mixture inside them) at any time.