Request for advice from 2 Smart Shoppers - can you help them?

A couple of fellow Smart Shopper blog readers e-mailed me yesterday requesting help from all of you! If you have any ideas on frugal party ideas for Eric and his 1 year old's birthday party or Debbie and her carpet replacement project, please post them in the comments section below. Thanks for any help you can offer!

Posted 3:26 p.m. May 16, 2012 — Updated 3:26 p.m. May 16, 2012

By

Faye Prosser

A couple of fellow Smart Shopper blog readers e-mailed me yesterday requesting help from all of you! If you have any ideas on frugal party ideas for Eric and his 1 year old's birthday party or Debbie and her carpet replacement project, please post them in the comments section below. Thanks for any help you can offer!

Request for ideas from Eric (who is the super couponing Dad who shot the blog interview with me about Men and Couponing in early May): "I was wondering if you could help me out. My daughter is turning 1 next month and we need some frugal party ideas. My wife is going with the Shabby Chic theme. We are planning to do everything ourselves and we have jotted down some ideas. If there is anyway you could possibly reach out to your audience for ideas, or if you have any of your own the help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again and have a great evening."

Request for advice from Debbie: "I need to replace the carpet in my apartment (Long story..apartment people will not replace it after it has been flooded twice). I don’t want to put expensive or brand new carpet down because I am renting. I wonder if you have ideas, go to people that could help me with finding carpet remnants and installing it myself or finding someone to help me with it?"

Eric, I suggest you go simple and go small. A first birthday part is for the parents and family and not really for the child. She's not going to remember any of it. We had an Elmo party for my oldest child's 1 year birthday party and invited family as well as 2 neighbors with kids in the same age range. At that age, they don't care about decor or games so as long as you have age appropriate toys you are set.

With that said, here are some links to Shabby Chic themed birthday parties and they are not small and simple! But you could certainly do many of the ideas at home to make them more frugal.

Click HERE for a Shabby Chic themed party full of ideas from Designdininganddiapers. So many of her ideas use items you can find around the house or at Micheals (using the 40% off coupon in the paper almost every week, of course).

Click HERE for a Shabby Chic themed party from Pizzazzerie.

Debbie, Head to the Habitat home store near you for remnants. Also, visit carpet stores near you to see if they have any remnant pieces they are selling inexpensively. Click HERE for a list of Habitat stores in NC.

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