Party Favors--are They Always Necessary?

J.,

Great question. You are doing a TON for your son's birthday. Kids should be thrilled with that. I say, no favors. In fact, I hate them as a parent - they seem wasteful to me, since the kids rarely play with them, don't care about them for more than 5 minutes, and they (in our house anyway) end up getting thrown away.

J.

No you donot need party favors. My daughter rarely get's party favors at the parties she attends.

No! Most party favors are forgotten 5 minutes after they are received. At age 4, the cake or cupcake is the highlight! A gym party sounds great!

J.

Hi J.! I never do party favors. We buy a BUNCH of helium balloons and give one out to each kid. So, decorations double as party favors!
Enjoy your party!

Not necessary, but can be nice depending on what you give. Have you considered just giving everyone a helium baloon to take home???? At 4, kids LOVES baloons. Plus, you could use them for a little decoration at the gym (at the tables where you will be having the cupcakes) and then just send one home with each kid.

If you're asking the question...you're probably already doing plenty-enough. But if you really think you need a little something extra to remember the day, consider these in lieu of a tiny bag of choking hazzards;

Going to a craft store and buy iron-on sheets (run about 8 dollars a pack...and you really only need 1 or or two sheets depending on the number of guests/shirts)for a computer printer and design a t-shirt to remember the day. To save money on shirts, buy a pack of 5 undershirts in the boys department for about 8 dollars.

If you have a camera with a portable photo-printer (1pack of photo paper is about $9), take a group photo, print copies for each kid. You can buy cute paper photo frames in bulk (8-12 in a set) or even foam frame kits (about $5 to $10) they can decorate themselves from most craft stores or even sometimes the dollar bin at Target.

no favors are a waste...whether young or old completely not necessary. esp for kids, they dont care!!

No, but some kids might ask you or your son is there are goodie bags, so be prepared for that. Ask the gym if they give anything out. Some places will have a few things, like a flier with their info, coupons to come and try a class, stickers, coloring sheets, etc.
S.

Nope! I did them for my daughter for her 4th birthday, but that was mostly because we had her party at a park and I wanted the kids to have something else to do besides playing on the playset. They definitely weren't needed, weren't expected, and most of the stuff wasn't played with for very long. I'd go with a balloon or a piece of candy instead of a bag of favors. It sounds like the kids will definitely be busy enough and have a ton of fun! Enjoy your party!