Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
How to have a low-cost coronation party
Reading Time: 7 minutesThinking of throwing a coronation party?
The bunting is out and there is a buzz in the air. His Majesty King Charles III is officially about to have his Coronation. Although many of us will be remembering our former Queen fondly at this time, it is a time for celebration (and not only because we get a three-day weekend!), but because the whole country will be having a wonderful time celebrating His Royal Highness.
It doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg, though, and throwing a party or get together can be done on a budget. Less money spent, just as much fun! Here are our top-tips for throwing a low-cost coronation party and still feel like royalty.
- Share the cost
- Don’t fall for marketing
- Save on food
- Make your own desserts
- Buy own brand drinks
- Cheap decorations
- Cheap entertainment
Share the cost
If you are having friends or family round to celebrate the occasion, why not spread the cost? Ask everyone to bring their favourite main dish, side or dessert, and have a buffet style spread for everyone to pick from.
You could also have an at-home picnic and ask people to bring ‘picky bits’, like salad, coleslaw, pork pies, cucumber and carrot sticks, fairy cakes, falafels, sandwiches and other delicious charcuterie and canapes.
People could also bring a drink of their choice for everyone to share – juice, lemonade, or even some Pimms or wine! This makes it much cheaper for you as the cost doesn’t fall on one person. This is especially the case if you are hosting lots of people, as the costs can add up!
Don’t fall for marketing
Many businesses and supermarkets are offering ‘Coronation editions’ of your favourites. The product is likely totally the same, with some sort of fancy red, white and blue packaging or a crown on it. Except, they hike the price tag up, re-branding their product as ‘limited edition’. Don’t fall for this scam! Packaging all ends up in the bin anyway, and it is the same product ultimately.
Save on food
If you are hosting a small handful of people, bulk cooking a delicious meal may be cheaper than offering a buffet style meal. A portion of 18 mini scotch eggs can cost you £2.15 at Tesco, with a pack of 20 mini sausage rolls and 30 mini cocktail sausages costing the same. That’s already £6.45 spent – and you aren’t even halfway through the food list!
If you bulk-cooked a big chilli, for example, it’ll cost you much less. You can grab a 500g pack of mince for £2.49, a tin of chopped tomatoes for 32p, a tin of kidney beans for 33p and a kilo of rice for 48p. Add in some seasoning such as cumin and paprika and you have a delicious meal. Grab a few packs of mince, a few tins of kidney beans and tomatoes and you have a cheap way to feed the masses. Bulk out your mince with lentils to make your chilli go even further.
Of course, making sandwiches is cheap and easy, too. Get a few loaves of bread, some cheese, ham, tuna, jam, any other fillings you enjoy, and make a boat load of sandwiches for your guests. Everyone loves a good sandwich.
Make your own desserts
Making your own cakes will save you plenty of money. Plus, you can get the kids to help you decorate them to keep them occupied. Fairy cakes are a crowd favourite and cost pennies to make and decorate. Get some red and blue food colouring and have a blob of red, white and blue on each cake to make them fit for the royal occasion. You could even get some yellow food colouring and create some crown designs.
Strawberries and cream never go amiss, if you aren’t a fan of baking and want a delicious dessert everyone will enjoy. Jelly with ice cream is also a fun and easy dessert, perfect for any summer event. Jelly mixes cost just 75p in Aldi, and there is an abundance of delicious flavours to choose from. You can get 2 whole litres of soft scoop ice cream too, for just £1.69. Delicious!
Similarly, homemade trifle is not only nicer than pre-made, but much cheaper. A tiny, pre-made trifle will set you back £1.75 at Sainsburys. Buying jelly, custard, cream and a sprinkle of chocolate for the top will cost you £3.17, and we guarantee the one you make will be both bigger and scrummier.
If you want to buy ice lollies or ice creams, go for an own brand option. Aldi do a pack of 6 ‘Ice Blitz’ lollies, which look suspiciously like Fabs, for just just over £1. 6 Fabs are £2 at Tesco.
Buy own brand drinks
If you are looking to buy alcohol to help you celebrate, consider buying own brand versions of your favourite tipples. They have the same taste (and effects) as branded alcohol but will cost just a fraction of the price.
If Pimms is your go to for summer (especially when celebrating such a British moment in history), you could pay £15 for a bottle. Asda’s ‘Great Summer Cup’ tastes identical – in other words, totally the same – and is just £7.00 for a 700ml bottle.
Prosecco and cava are a similar thing. Most own brand prosecco and fizz tastes delicious and just like the pricey stuff. Most prosecco bought from the supermarket’s brand will cost around £6, with posh brands offering the same product for up to £10. A bottle of Moet – which is okay for very special occasions – will cost upwards of £43. Save your pennies!
Fizzy drinks and juices follow the same rules. Lower cost cordials, juices and colas taste similar and don’t cost the earth. You can have a delicious drink without worrying about how much each sip costs at your Coronation party!
Cheap decorations
It wouldn’t be a good Coronation party without some decor. Don’t spend your hard-earned cash on overpriced plastic bunting, union jack paper plates and Coronation-specific balloons. Shops are cashing in on this occasion, big time.
On Amazon, you can find 20 Coronation balloons being sold for £9! Asda are offering a 12 pack of red, white and blue balloons for £1.50. The difference? One has writing on, the other doesn’t. Save your money and go for the cheaper option.
When it comes to bunting, why not have a go at making your own? Get some red, white and blue paper or card and cut our triangles from them. Hole punch them to allow string to run through and voila, you have some cute, patriotic décor. If you want union jack themed bunting, you can find this for a low price on eBay.
When it comes to things like paper plates, cups, straws and cutlery, ask yourself – is it worth the cost? Yes, it would be nice to have themed bits and bobs, but sometimes it just isn’t worth the price tag, especially as it all gets binned.
Cheap entertainment
Not sure how to entertain your guests on a budget? Fear not! We have loads of awesome games for your guests to play and entertainment for them to get involved in.
Sort a good playlist
Music is the key to any good party, especially for such a celebration as a Coronation! Create a playlist of some good party tunes and ask for guest requests before the party. Think of British themed music to add to make it special for the occasion. For example, add London Calling by The Clash or Waterloo by ABBA. Celebrate British artists who are timeless, such as Elton John, The Beatles or George Michael.
Have a dress theme
Having a dress-up theme doesn’t have to be difficult or cost money. Ask people to wear red, white and blue or for an easy option everyone can partake in. Ask everyone to come wearing a crown – you can buy these from party shops and pound stores for a very small price. You could even make your own from paper and card. You could even ask people to dress as royalty – get them to wear their best frocks and suits and have fun playing dress up and feeling posh!
Games and activities
Our minds immediately go to something fun like ‘Pin the crown on the King’ – in the style of pin the tail on the donkey. Print out a picture of the King and a few mini crown cut-outs and let your guests try and get the crown on his head. Whoever is closest, wins!
If you want to keep your little ones occupied, find some colouring in stencils online. There are many pre-drawn stencils of the King, union jack flags, Buckingham palace and more online, free to print out. Have a colouring-in corner, so kids can go to it as they wish.
If there is a keen quizmaster amongst your group, why not suggest a royal quiz for you and your pals? You could always create one round each to spread the workload. Everyone loves a quiz, after all. So, get those competitive juices flowing and start thinking of a team name.
Play ‘Who am I?’, but with a royal theme. Everyone has a sticky note on their head with the name of a royal family member, or someone affiliated with the royals. They then ask the group questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers and try to work out who’s name is on their forehead. It’s a fun game and get the laughter flowing.
Charades with a royal theme is also a good one. You could do royal people, events or even TV shows such as The Crown. This is another game which gets everyone involved.
Are you having a Coronation party? Let us know your plans in the comments!
Heya.
We had a mini coronation party on Saturday. It lasted all morning, afternoon and evening in order to make things easy. I had a whole tray of nice food in addition to serve people at the event here. We ate small pork pies, biscuits, cupcakes and a bottle of white wine. It was a lot of good fun. We loved it. I handed whole trays of food out to people. We hired a cheap ice cream van and played live music. We had a free book stall too.
This sounds brilliant! I hope you had a lovely time. The free book stall sounds wonderful.