Our lives are made up of important milestones like graduations, birthdays and anniversaries.  Many people like to celebrate these milestones with parties and big events. These are a fun time for family and friends to get together, share memories and make new ones.  For individuals who are currently involved with a Christian debt management program you may think that any fun events like these are off limits until you have reached your goals concerning your debt. It’s true that there is a lot of sacrifice involved in Christian debt relief. However, that does not mean you can never celebrate another big event with your family and friends.

Rethink Party

You just need to rethink your definition of what a party or big event is. If in your past you could not have a party without expensive decorations and professionally catered food, then you must stop and re-evaluate. Most of these ideas are based on pride anyway. Many money troubles stem from a sense of pride and an un-Christ like desire to make people think highly of us. If you are throwing a party or hosting a big event for someone the event is not about you. It is about the person celebrating the milestone. Remember that your loved ones will be touched by your efforts not by how much you spend.

Old Fashioned Pot Luck vs. Catering

Never underestimate the power of a good old fashioned pot luck style dinner. People get excited when they get to participate. A pot luck evens out the burden of providing food for your event in such a way that no one feels overwhelmed and in most cases each person will not spend more than they normally would on making a meal at home. A pot luck style meal is appropriate for a number of different events and are far more interesting as there will be a bigger variety of foods to choose from.

Bulk Tableware

If you are planning a large event visit a bulk supply store to purchase plates, napkins and flatware. You can get huge discounts when you buy large amounts of these products together.

Chill on the Decorations

There is no law requiring you to decorate every inch of every event. It is far more cost effective to decorate with something like photos of the folks you are honoring. Clothes lines strung with photos, or individual notes written to the special someone are a touching way to decorate your event space. These can be organized and gathered together weeks ahead of time. Another great alternative to excessive decorations would be to organize a slide show of photographs celebrating the life of the individual. When set to appropriate music these are usually an emotional addition to any celebration and in most cases the decorations or lack of decorations will be forgotten about as every one reminisces together in this special way.

Research Freebie Venues

There are many organizations which will allow the use of their facilities by the community for free as long as you agree to care for and clean the area during and after your event. Community centers, schools and churches are a great place to start looking for free venue options.

Choose Emotion Over Expensive

Taking the time to make the event emotional and memorable will create a far greater and longer lasting effect on those present than expensive food and decorations. Remember that these celebrations are about people not hundred dollar shrimp platters.