Good or Bad Idea for a 5 Yr Old Party Favor?

Wonderful idea. Those goodie bags are such a waste. A CD they will
have for a long time and enjoy. Kudos to you.

I love the idea. Party favor stuff is junk. At least this way they could play it in the car. I'd say 5 is the limit on that though. At 6 they start getting "cool" and it might be a baby thing, especially for boys. But 5 it would still be great!

I did this too. Parent's LOVED it as much as the kids.

I have a pretty awesome collection on NON ANNOYING kid's music too. :)

Technically this is called piracy. As someone who knows MANY musicians who sell their services and who had a duet I sang distributed on Napster with no compensation for my school (whose label we performed under,) I am very against making and distributing mixed tapes. It is one thing to compile one for your own use, but when you distribute them it becomes piracy. I know they are fun and thoughtful and millions of people do it every day, but I am very against it.

awesome! i love it. can we come? wait...is it going to be annoying and played over and over and over in my car? is it too late to change my answer? :)

Great idea! My kids love listening to music, especially in the car!

AWESOME idea!!! Very creative!

Good idea! You could even play the music during the party!

Great idea! We did this for my son's second birthday and still get compliments on it and people asking how we did it (we put his photo on the face of the CD). He's four now and I'd do it again!

I think thats way better than the usual stuff they get

sounds great! Much better than a bag full of 'junk'. And I wouldn't even do the McDonalds. My son is 3 and has never been to one.

I love it! I would much rather get a fun cd to play when we are in the car vs. a bunch of little plastic toys that I end up throwing away a few days later! I wouldn't even bother with the coupon ~ the cd is plenty!!

Well, he's 5. Parents vary greatly on what they want their kids to listen to. I probably would throw it away if we got it. We just don't listen to most stuff that is out there. But, maybe I'm in the minority on that. I love it that you are trying to come up with something different though! Most goodie bag stuff is really junk that is tossed as soon as possible. Are you doing a theme for the party? I wonder if there is an idea that goes along with your theme. That is inexpensive and not junk. hehe

I think it's a great idea. Creative, personal, useful. Go for it!

Ditto Queenofthecastle.

:(

(It IS a nice idea, but it is also illegal)

that would be a great idea!!

What we did one year was buy some decent totables....with colorful lids...you know durable plastic? and decorated the tops with each of their names in the durable paint you can get at Michael's.....and filled it with Cherrios....some were filled with trail mix for the older kids - mom's LOVED it - as they still use the containers for their kids snacks.

My kids have gotten those in the past & we still pop the in the CD player on long drives when radio reception isn't great! Way better than candy & junk that gets tossed or forgotten after a day!

A friend of ours did that for her son's birthday party favor. Her son picked out all the songs on it. It was great! I would just do the CD and no additonal gift card.

I'm in the minority here, but it is stealing, and teaching kids that it is ok to steal. It's totally fine to make a mix tape to play during the party, but I don't believe in giving out mix tapes (funny we still call them tapes...) Just because they might buy some of the songs on them doesn't make it right...

I don't think it is an either/or. Either don't do favors, or do something small and edible... 2 cookies to take home, or a small bag of birdseed, or something. I think the whole favor thing is pretty stupid, and would NEVER be upset about not getting them at a party.

--EDIT--

I am sitting here typing this with an IP lawyer. People who do this are stealing other people's intellectual property. Just because you are not profiting off of it does not make it ok. It is still stealing. You wouldn't think it is ok to buy one lollypop and steal 30 more to give out as party favors, would you? There is no difference here.

And, BTW, educators have strict guidelines of what they can photocopy. The statute makes allowances for educational use. If you want to give out a CD at your kid's birthday party, then buy it. Otherwise, think of something else. Sorry, but I am shocked at how many moms think this is ok behavior... and how many kids are going to grow up thinking the same.

We've attended parties where this was done. They compiled a CD of the child's favourite songs - good idea. I'd rather that than a bag of junk!

CD sounds great. I would ding the McDonalds gift certificate - right into the garbage at our house.

I know I would love it!!

Yes, on the CD, no on the McD's gift certificate. What about a gift certificate to ice cream, frozen yogurt, or something similar?

I think it is a great idea, especially because my little guys just love music. just to be sure though you may want to run it by the kids parents, some parents monitor what kind of music their kids listen to and even with it being clean lyrics some parents may frown on it. but i think it is a good idea, way to go with being creative!!

I think that's a fantasic idea! If a little time consuming - worth the time though. I love creative gifts/favors.

I would like it as long as it's all kid appropriate. Do you know the music style of the other parents? Some people don't want their kids listening to lovey songs, etc that I have run into in life lol. I would think it was really cute.

Great idea!!!! I hate those cheap goodie bag toys that lay around and get stepped on or chewed on by the cats!

As far as the CD's being illegal...come on, seriously?

I think it's a great idea. Is it really illegal to make a mix CD for a 5 year old? Let's all be realistic. Are you going to start turning in your kid's teacher for making illegal photocopies next?!

I did this once, and got a warning from itunes that I was breaking the law by making multiple copies of the music. Unless I was making it for my personal use, they considered it stealing. So for those who think it's not illegal and fine to do, you're wrong.

I gave CDs out for my son's 7th birthday and they were a huge hit. I think it is a great idea. As far as the piracy aspect of it...how many copies are you making? You are not selling them to your guest...you are giving them away, right? Did you purchase the music legally? Skip the gift certificates and junk. Hope the party is a huge success!

great idea! My friend did this and everyone loved it!