Money-Saving Mum Creates Stunning Teepee Bday For £60 After Being Quoted £800
- Tamsin Evans, 48, was quoted £800 for a professional teepee party
- She decided to create it herself using supplies from Home Bargains, Poundland, ebay and Amazon
- The party ended up costing her just £60 instead of £800
If you’ve always loved the look of a teepee birthday party but been put off by the sky-high cost, take inspiration from this fabulous budget birthday party.
Tamsin Evans, 48, a postwoman and mum of three from Hertfordshire, wanted to create a really special birthday party for her 21-year-old daughter Bryony.
After being quoted £800 for a teepee set-up and party from a professional company, Tamsin decided to create the look herself on a budget as a surprise for her daughter.
She used supplies from Home Bargains, Poundland, ebay and Amazon, and managed to create a stunning day for her daughter for just £60.
Tamsin told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I came up with the idea as I was thinking about what I could do to make my daughter's 21st special and memorable as we couldn't do the usual party or trip like we did for her sister.
"I originally wanted to do a teepee sleepover for just our family but space and money stopped that. As I was looking on Pinterest at the teepee sleepover parties, I saw one that had a similar tent over their outdoor chair so I thought we could do that over our sofa!
"My husband said we could use the wood we already had from building work we are doing to make the frame which we just practised the day before the surprise.
"We crossed two bits over and screwed them together and then put a bit across and screwed them on.
"I used a flat double bedsheet over the back which I had and pinned it to the top of the wood with a little hanging down to hide string used for lights and curtains
“The lights cost £11 from Amazon and I got the curtains from the bargain bin in Homebase - they cost £12.50 for all three!
"I bought ivy from Amazon and it cost £6 for 12 strands making 83 feet in total to dot around the room.
"I borrowed the gorgeous hanging faux flowers from my sister and I covered my chairs in another double sheet I had.
“I was going to do this the night before her birthday for the afternoon as a surprise.
“However, when her brunch plans were cancelled in London with her siblings and cousins because of London being on tier two, her sister wanted to do it at home as we were in tier one and her cousins could still come to us.
“She had ideas of what she wanted that she found on Pinterest which complemented my teepee idea so we decided to do them together a couple of days early.
"Sadly my son couldn't come as he lives in London and was already in lockdown but her cousins could, so to make the floor we borrowed garden cushions from my sister and covered them in more white sheets. Luckily we had loads from when my daughter was at uni!
"I got six cushion covers from ebay for £16, which they rushed to me to make sure I got them and put an extra one in. They were water damaged but as promised washed up perfectly.
"My daughter Wade borrowed the coffee tables from her work. I had the milk style bottles and jars which we added string to and tags with the girls' names on, which were from Hobbycraft and cost £1 for 10.
"We used my Christmas table centrepiece and took off the red berries and added roses which cost £2 for a bunch. We bought another bunch of roses from Home Bargains for £2 and put one on each cushion.
"The wooden plates were £2 from Poundland and we collected wood from my sister and tried to make placemats which didn't work, so we bought 12 already done from Amazon for £13.
"We also had to buy the wine glasses for £3 from Home Bargains as I don't drink.
"All in all I think it cost £60, which we are pleased with as we were originally quoted £800!
“We also spent about £30 on the food from Tesco.”
Tamsin is delighted with the amazing outcome of her teepee party, especially considering how much money they saved by creating the look themselves.
"It made me feel elated that we did such a lovely job on such an amazingly small budget, and it made my daughter's birthday,” Tamsin adds.
"I loved creating and finding bargains to make this special and cheap and I'm by no means creative.
"Her face was a picture when we showed her and she said it was better than any brunch she would have had in London!
"I found that because of lockdown we have had to get creative and think of other ways to celebrate to make it memorable and special.
“I enjoyed getting a glue gun that I bought especially for £2 from Poundland and craft stuff which I used to enjoy when my children were young.
"Although I got stuff in shops because we have been allowed out, I did find bargains online as well.
"Once I decided I wanted to do this I made notes and lists of stuff I needed to make it happen and always kept an eye out for the bargains.
“Plus, if you want to do the same, my advice would be to let the idea evolve as it goes along.
“For example, I spoke to my sister about it and listened to her suggestions on how she'd do it, which were very helpful!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Professional teepee party planners might take all the hassle out of planning a party, but they’ll also take a huge chunk out of your bank balance!
“It’s much more special - not to mention cost-effective - to create your own teepee party at home. Home Bargains, Poundland, B&M and ebay always have loads of amazing party supplies on a budget!”
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