Hello ladies... Seeking your ideas for age appropriate goodie bags fillers for 3yr old boy's birthday party... trying to keep it as economical as possible...
Oh my goodness..... I just want to thank you all for the wonderful suggestions... My fist would have been giving out hot wheels cars since our theme is monster trucks and cars. But,as my nephew and my son are exactly 1wk apart in age my sister stole that idea for his party last wk....and we did the summer beach pales with trinkes last year and that was a huge hit.... But, with the many suggestions received... I just fell in love with Jeannie M's suggestion of giving out the $2 baskin robins gift certificates and thats what we are going to go with.... Thanks for your help ladies..... and Jeannie... GREAT IDEA......
Hey there,
I have stopped giving out goody bags. I just go to Dollar Tree and get a bunch of toys and let the kids pick out the one they want. The kids like it much better and it will last longer than the little things that are in a bag that just get thrown out that night.
I put playdough, ( ten dollars for ten different containers), kazoo's, candy, and some other things. Motts apple sauce, stickers, sidewalk chalk, bouncy balls. You dont need to go over board just some things that they would like. Also those "crayons" that you can write with in the tub. Open them up and give the kids one or two. I am going to read other momma's suggestions.
Party City has some toddler favors, like small squirting animals (for the tub or pool). Other suggestions stickers, play doh, crayons and coloring books Wl-Mart has some party crayon packs, I think it's 4 crayons per pack and 10 come in the package, and Walgreens has small activity pads/coloring books for 2 for a dollar. Bubbles are also good and Wal-mart sells party packs of those too. I never put candy in the toddler/preschool party favors bags, but as my son grew older I put 1-2 pieces of candy but not a lot! How about some mini raisin packs or fruit snacks, kids love those!
Good luck!
Ugh! I really dislike goody bags... The stickers from one birthday party are now stuck on the car window nearest to her car seat... And they are seriously stuck there.. Because I was driving and watching the road while she had HER goody bag on the way home... great...
I think it was a fantastic idea that someone mentioned to buy hot wheels cars... give one to each child--Period. No candy (which by the way, is 1.) choking hazards for small children; 2.) problematic for children with food allergies). Forget the stickers and the crappy cheap plastic toys. Put a car in a bag, tie it up and you're done. Great idea.
Hi, L....
I would love to offer you a discount on my kids' character soap favors. You can check them out on my site at: www.Favoroo.com. I can also make custom photo ones, if you would like. I offer discounts for larger quantities, such as for birthday parties. So, let me know if you're interested. I'd be more than happy to send you a quote. They are great stuffers alone or with other items. I can also add colored ribbon in your choice of color.
You could buy each kid (even the girls) a Hot Wheels car and a bag of fruit snacks and maybe a sucker or two. Also, one of my kids' favorite goody bags they received at a party (for a 4yo) was a sticky notepad, a pencil, and some stickers. I rather like to do one "big" item rather than an actual "goody bag." I have given each kid a box of sidewalk chalk for each kid (you can pick up a little carton for $1 each at Wal-Mart), a bottle of bubbles and giant wand (I've found these at the dollar store), a box of crayons and a coloring book (especially budget-friendly if you stock up on the crayons when they're on sale for $.24 in August--not as helpful now), or a bottle of bubble bath.
last year I gave each kid a box of candy (like u get at the movies) they are 88 cents at walmart, things like mikenike, gummy lifesavers, sprees, etc. They loved em.
Getting close to summer now, maybe some small water toys, like beach balls that can be blown up, water goggles, things that can be used at the beach like buckets etc.
Hi L..
I have tossed out the traditional fillings of goody bags and replaced them with a page of stickers, bubbles, a few peices of candy and a $2 gift certificate to our local Baskin Robbins. The parents have all commented on what a great idea it is. We all resent those cheap whistles and bouncy ball choking hazards that we throw away when our little ones aren't looking. The gift card is a bonus for parent's, too as it gives us bargaining tools LOL and an opportunity to spend a little special moment with our little ones. I spend about $3 per bag and I feel good about giving them.
HTH
Hi L.! I have a 3 year old boy too... What about a pack of cars? Don't they sell a larger pack of little cars? Then, you could divide them up between the boys. You could also find a pack of small dinosaurs or animals too... Seems like I've seen them in Target too, but I'm not sure of the price. Maybe check Big Lots.
I hope that helps! Let us know what you find. :)
I like the Dollar tree and Target's dollar bins. I bought packs of stamps, super balls, mini slinkys, pencils, and tubes of smushed fruit in the healthfood section of the grocery store. I was putting the goody bags in a huge pinata so I needed smaller items. Other times I have given larger items. At a Princess party I gave each girl a princess doll and each boy a "Prince of Egypt" book, all from the dollar store. The children loved their nice take home gifts.
Our last party was Chuck E Cheese and we just gave all the children a cup of tokens. This is another good goody bag gift when you AREN'T at Chuck E Cheese! You can get coupons online for discount tokens.
I agree with the dollar bin ideas at Target and Dollar Tree.
I also have a friend who is great at watching the clearance sales on toys; for her daughter's fifth birthday, everybody got a Disney Princess Barbie. It sounds expensive, but she managed to find about twenty to thirty dolls on clearance for fifteen bucks for the total purchase (who knows what the regular cost would be). For a boy, watch for clearance sales on cars or maybe a coloring book/crayons?
Lastly: I am going to refer you to a friend's blog:
Go to her Monday, March 2, 2009 entry for this idea:
She is into all things homemade, still nice, but affordable. For her son's birthday party, she made homemade activity pads which did not cost hardly anything. My just turned four year old loved it.
Good luck!
