Bday Goodie Bags

I am also a goodie bag hater but really like to give the kids something for coming because I know how much my daughter likes to get something when we go to parties! Last year for her party I bought plastic cereal bowls and plastic spoons at Wal-Mart. They are sometimes on the end cap or sometimes, or they are with plasticware dishes. I bought some paint pens in the craft section and painted each childs name on the outside of the bowl and their first initial in the end of the spoon. Then I bought some of those snack pack bags of Fruit Loops and Pops cereal and taped them to the inside of the bowl. A semi-healthy snack and a reusable bowl and spoon. I think the 4 pack of bowls was under $2 and the spoons as well. It was super cheap to do, the kids loved having something with their names on them, and the parents loved not getting a bunch of candy and junky toys.

This year we had a girls only party. I got each girl a pink hair bow to take home from www.littleclippies.com. They are $2.45 each. You could find a boy appropriate item and just give them that one thing along with a book or puzzle from Big Lots or Dollar Tree. The parents loved the bow as it was something the kids would use again and again.

They also have canvas bags at Wal-Mart, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc. You could get one for each child and some stencils and let them all decorate and take home their own bag for trick-or-treating this year.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide!

Oriental trading Company has some great stuff, even some themed party favors. I just got some for my son's bday party from there. They have a bag of misc small favors that was good. I also got a bag of these putty animals that have the eyes pop out of their head when you squeeze the sides. Was pretty cool. The only thing on the putty animals, when they came in, they were covered in some sort of machine oil. I called the company and they said that had happened before and they are sending me a replacement. We'll see what happens with that. I am waiting on those to come in this week. But the site has all sorts of fun party favor ideas. Good luck!

I like the idea someone else posted about planting strawberries... Target actually had little tiny pots with the seeds and the little soil not too long ago but they probaby don't anymore but shouldn't be hard or expensive to recreate. other than that Party City has a whole wall of goodies to pick and grab from of non-candy items. and really inexpensive. a small pack of crayons, a little coloring pad, a crazy straw, a slinky , OH and a small box of dry fruit kids think its candy!!! at least mine and their friends and cousins did lol

I just finished giving a Mickey Mouse themed party for my 2 year old and I got some ideas from the Disney website. I bought bubbles at the dollar store and those cheap kid sunglasses. I also purchased crayons and printed some online coloring sheets which I rolled up and tied with a ribbon. Then I found some stickers and bought a bag of balloons so each child would have some balloons to blow up at home.

I am not a fan of goody bags at parties so I try to do something a little different. Moms don't want kids coming home with candy anyway and all those toys just are cheap crappy junk that ends in the garbage. That being said I do them every year.
I have an Oct birthday girl too and we have decorated pumpkins.
In April 2001 my daughter gave little African Violets in a tiny pot. I think they cost $3 at one of the big hardware stores. She was 6.
We always make bags out of paper lunch bags and decorate them.
We have done the little pads of paper shaped like all sorts of things. I have done this probably 10 times throughout the years. I have 4 kids. Then put a little box of crayons in the bag too. Or pencils.
I have done hair barretts & rubberbands.
Check out the dollar store and Party Supply and Michael's.
One year we bought a tube of those plastic animals and doled out little creatures in the bags. That was the Lion King party.
When she gets older and you have bowling parties and skating parties don't feel obligated to do a goody bag. The party will cost enough itself and those places usually give coupons.

Hi W.,

My Fav goody bag thing is home m,ade bean bags. The kids love them & they are super cheap & super easy. Also so easy to tie into any theme. Here is what I do:

Take your daughter to choose 2 fabics (one for the back, one for the front) You can easily find Strawbwerry Short Cake fabricsor halloween fabrics.

I like 4 1/2 inch by 5 1/2 inch rectangles, they make a nice size bag. Put the "right sides" of the fabric together, sew up 3 sides, leaving one shorter side open.

Turn Right side out.

I like using split peas for filling- inexpensive & nice texture in the finished bag. Have yout Daughter help by scooping about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of peas into the bag. (about 1/2 full) don't over fill, or you will have difficulty sewing it up.

Turn the edges inside for a nice seam, and run a quick stitch to close. Ta-da! Bean bag!

You can even decorate a box or board, cut holes to make a toss game.

Have a fun party!

P. : )

go to party city. They have an isle of nick nacks that are .25 cents each. It is really cool that you can pick what you want and not have to buythem in 8's. Have fun!

I like old fashion stuff like:
punching balloons
silly putty
paddle ball
play dough
ball and jacks
coloring book and crayons

keep in mind the age of the children always.

Hi W.,
We just celebratyed my daughters third bday and I always do goodie bags. I go to the party city in the Boro by Target and love it there. Well after her bday I went to the new Dollar General in Walter Hill and found the same items i put in her goodie bags at nearly half the price. So my suggestion to you is Dollar Stores for goodies! Good Luck!

R.

Along with the pumpkin idea you could carve or just paint pumpkins for less mess.

Goody bags could be small canvas bags the kids decorate to match their costumes and use as trick or treat bags or art bags for back-to-school. They could be filled with markers, face paint, colored pencils, erasers and crayons.

For a more strawberry shortcut theme you could use tiny pots and have all the kids plant starwberry seeds or a small strawberry plant that they can nurture and watch grow.
I think any of those ideas could be done under $5.

Have Fun!
M.

I personally hate it when my kid comes home with a bag full of junk that gets tossed in a week. Why waste your money on those things. Here are a few of my favorite suggestions.

Yo-go's/Fruit snacks/Granola bars
Small container of play-dough
Stick of sidewalk chalk

Good luck!!!

We just went to a birthday party and the goody bags had a small slinky, "hello kitty" pad of paper (I think the boys had spiderman) stickers and a small stuffed dog. My friend said she got everything in the $1 section at Target. My 3 1/2 year old daughter loved all of it but probably has paid the least attention to the stuffed animal (but my 1 1/2 year old loves his stuffed dog)

Fun pencils, erasers, crazy straws, small containers of playdough are also great ideas!

Personally I love when we get goody bags WITHOUT candy!

Have fun!

Check out Dollar Tree. I've found 24pc and 63pc puzzles there, which normally would run between $2 and $5 elsewhere. Examples of puzzles I've purchased there include Disney princesses (several different pictures), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Strawberry Shortcake, Spiderman, and Care Bears. They have had several other boy themed puzzles, but things that my son just never got into, like Pokemon. At one party we went to, guests received 1 item like this (since puzzles boxes are a little bigger than goodie bags), and it was wrapped in b'day paper w/ each child's name on it. My son thought that was so cool to get a present at a party that wasn't for him. Good luck!

I'd get creative with the Halloween aspect. A dollar store near my home has nylon fairy wings for girls and a pirate hat/ sword combo for boys, among other things. Every kid loves to dress up! You could stash them in paper bags that are closed at the top, for a surprise element. Bingo- $1 per kid, good times...

W.,
I too hate doing the goodie bags, but my kids do not think it is a birthday party without them.
A $1 or $2 McDonalds gift card in place of candy is always welcome by parents. Bubbles are always good for any age/gender.
I have also ordered the pre-made gift bags or boxed from Oriental Trading Co. I usually end up spending with these than if I try to put together my own.
Good Luck!

A paperback book would be really nice, or a sticker book. Go to ebay or oriental trading co (on line), see what they have. Give the book and a tiny bit of candy, or a prewrapped cookie. Another thing we love, is the tiny books of stickers or tattoos. I have found them in Cracker Barrel restaurant, or in a real toy store.

Have you heard of the tickle me plants? One year I had a flower theme, but flowers and plants go along with Strawberry Shortcake too. They are the neatest things. The kids get a little planter with the seeds. The kids plant the seeds and watch the flower/plant grow. When you touch them they react as if they have gotten tickled. Really cool. The website is ticklemeplant.com. Good Luck!

I always let my children pick out the things to put in the goodie bags. They do a great job picking out what the other children would like to receive in a goodie bag.

the dollar tree is the best place for that stuff. i always do bubbles a think gof stickers and whatever else will fit with the theme that year

If you do bags do a few small items like bubbles or stickers and instead of candy, do strawberry filled cereal bars.

for my son's recent birthday I went to michael's and they had these wooden animals, dinosaurs, penguins, etc. all were pieces you punched out and then put together. it looked like just a flat piece of board so we wrapped them up and tied ribbon to them and stuck lollipops to it. we had his party at his tae kwon do studio so we also tied free class passes to it. it was one "toy" that they could go home with and put together. feedback from the moms was great as it kept the kids and some dads too entertained. They are usually $1 or $2 each, but a lot of times you can catch them for 1/2 price.
I know they also have wooden dolls like this that come with markers that you could do as well for about the same price.
Good luck.

Check out the $1 section at Target or even the dollar store for ideas. I think Target has some Strawberry Shortcake Themed items in their $1 section too! My daughter got a small coloring book from there from her grandmother. Crayons, coloring books, small jewelry, stickers, or bath toys are good. You can find plenty of websites with free coloring pages to print and put in the bag too. Have your daughter decorate small lunch bags to give to each kid with stickers and their name to make it personal. Good luck.

A. B

Hey W.,

A go place to go would be www.orientaltrading.com They have crafts and party supplies, but with the age being 4 I think it would be neat to have them take an easy craft home that they could do with their mom, dad or another sibling. The price is VERY reasonable you usually get a dozen of one craft, but read to make sure. Depending on which craft you get you could end up getting 12 crafts for under $10. An example I found for Halloween was this:
Foam Mr. Jack-O’-Lantern Craft Kit...12 for $5.47

That was just an example. They ship and deliver usually within 5 days. I would go and browse that site. I taught for 8 yrs and I used this site almost every month. I even filled my treasure box up with toys and crafts from this site. All the kids likes it...boys and girls. Good luck and have fun with the party.