Your 90th birthday party decorations don't have to cost a fortune. With a little time and planning, you can make memorable decorations by using pictures and cards to show highpoints of a person's life. Such personalized items will mean much more than something mass produced that you can buy at a party store.
So unleash your creativity and set aside some time. The more you can do yourself, the more money you will save.
As an example, here are some materials we used to create table decorations when celebrating my husband's mother's 90th birthday. These decorations were somewhat labor intensive. It would have been simpler just to get flowers for each table. But the table cards were original and unique -- symbolizing major events in my mother-in-law's life. And while they definitely had a homemade look and feel, they brought tears to her eyes the first time she was them because she knew they were crafted with love.
First, my daughter and I collected good photos of Meme from throughout her life, scanned them and arranged them on cardstock paper that you can buy from any office supply store.
Printing the cards proved to be a challenge for our aged inkjet printer, especially when trying to run them through a second time to get the printed information on the inside. I would recommend taking your artwork to a business supply store which would saved us time and many printer jams. Still, the end effect was work the effort.
Also, since her faith was a driving force in Meme's life, we wanted to reflect that in the decorations. So, we ordered small silver crosses and put them on the tables for guests to take as they wished. These symbols were not intended as mementos but rather as a reminder of salvation that Christians could carry with them. The "Cross In My Pocket" pieces are available from several religious supply houses on the internet.
We completed the table decorations with sections of vibrant fuchsia ribbons, a favorite color of our special lady. The time spent assembling and arranging these decorations helped create an event that was memorable and meaningful to all the family and friends who came.