Birthday Party Treat Bags -

I agree with the other moms...BIg League Chew Bubble Gum ....skip the cheesy dollar store toys. They will just get thrown away. Kids love candy and gum.

For an 8 year old sports fan, I think Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine, baseball cards, big league chew bubble gum, maybe a sports waterbottle or gatorade would be fun. Sports socks in the colors of their favorite team.
It might be interesting to figure out what the cost of the bag, and all of the trinkets to put in the bags costs - probably about 10 bucks by the end of it. Could you spend $10 on something really cool instead?

Why not just forego the treat bags? As a parent yourself, you KNOW that the other kids' parents don't want them brought home.

I usually go to the dollar store and pick an item to match our theme. I don't really do goody bags. For our Mad Scientist party I picked up goggles at Harbor Freight for $1 each. We used them at our party and then the kids took them home. For a slumber party, everyone got flash lights (I found three packs, so it was less than a dollar for each kid). We added names in Sharpie, so it wouldn't get mixed up while they were being used. For our Wonder Woman party, I found plastic cups with Wonder Woman on them for $0.87 each (We bought Justice League for the boys). We added a thank you note and passed them out as they left. For a kid into sports, I'd probably get some sort of water bottle. We don't do candy or treats (most of the moms we know limit that stuff) and we try to stay away from trinkets. It's just a little something for saying "thanks!"

Sweat bands
Temporary tattoos (sports-themed)
Hackysack balls
Super bouncy balls
Small (not tiny), squishy football
Sports banner, like a Cubs pennant, or something like that
Baseball cards (do kids still collect them?)

Maybe some fruit snacks and candy. I would not go a lot with the cheesy toys cause those either get thrown away or broken fast and then thrown away.

huh I like treat bags, even if they are cheesy as heck. I like more useful things but then that is what I want. I know my kids are still playing with the plastic harmonicas, ping pong paddles, and foam balls from the last treat bag they got. I know they LOVE the little notebooks and pencils and plastic bead jewelry. 8 year old sport theme, I would go more like plastic water bottles that you can get from the Oriental Trading company and inside you can maybe but like gatorade packets, or maybe something like a sports related ball or thing.

We explored dollar stores, Five below and deals - and get something that matches theme. This time we got little giant books 3 for $4.