My daughter's 5th birthday party is this Sunday and I am stuck for ideas for a party favor. First, I absolutely detest giving out gift bags, especially ones that are filled with junk candy and toys...but I am appear to be in the minority on this one. Anyhow, I need some ideas for a favor to give to the guests. We are having the party at a local gym, so doing a "create your own favor" is not an option, as the kids will be bouncing around the gym, having pizza/cake, and then sent on their way.
Any mamas have some creative/cute ideas? And of course my procrastination got the best of me, so time is of the essence!
PS - I think we are going to do a Minnie/Mickey Mouse theme.
I had already sent out with the invitations, that in lieu of gifts, we were collecting donations for a local animal shelter/rescue.
But I opted for an easy favor, and just went with water bottles.
Thanks for all the ideas mamas! I may use some of them for the next birthday when I'm not up against such a time crunch! :)
Balloons. Get a bunch of helium balloons, one for each child, plus a couple of extras, just for the festiveness of it all. Put a large Mickey-Mouse lollipop on the end for a balloon weight, and each child takes one home. Decorations AND party favors - done. It's cute, inexpensive, and the balloons usually don't last more than a day or two, so the parents aren't stuck with more little trinkets.
I was also going to suggest water bottles, maybe get a paint pen and put each of their names on them. I'd actually give them out at the beginning of the party so they stay hydrated while they are bouncing around!
We did a mix cd of my daughter's favourite songs. It was a HUGE hit with both the parents and the kids!
Going with the fact that the party is at a gym:
Jump ropes?
Sport Water Bottles?
You could do a small beanie-baby sized Mickey or Minnie for each child. Putting gift bags of junk together is not always cheap, and it would be nicer for each child to have something they can actually keep. Other ideas:
Disney coloring book with small pack of Crayons (both should probably be available at Dollar Store)
Mylar balloon for each child (also at Dollar Store -- just learned this recently!). My kids LOVE these and they hang around for a while.
There are cute, cheap mickey mouse ears at party city!
Go do the dollar store. We did the Minnie/Mickey theme a couple of years ago. We found Mickey yo-yos, frisbees, jump ropes, you name it- for $1. The frisbees came packaged in a set of 4 for $1, which is pretty good. Since it's a gym, it only seems fitting to give out some non-candy type of favor. We also had Mickey pencils and magnets. The only candy I put in the bag was one ring pop.
One year we included crazy straws (also at the $1 store) and Go Fish playing cards (which I got from the party store).
I absolutely hate getting junk at parties, so anything the kids can play with long term is always a good idea.
Hope this helps!
Walmart has cute plastic, reuseable cups in the party section by the decorations in all "themes". You can buy each guest one of those (they are like $1) and fill them with pencils, little tablets, fruit roll ups...that sort of thing.
We made cookies for my kid's favors. they were such a hit. You can always buy store bought cookie dough and roll them out and decorate quickly with royal icing. nothing fancy maybe just the #5?
Do a polaroid camera and give pictures of the kids enjoying the event in their bag, Individual cupcakes wrapped up in a box with the photo sent home. Get cheap frames from Ikea or the dollar store and have your daughter paint them and decorate them so the kids can put their photo in it. Make goodie bags with goldfish, crackers, chex mix, or anything healthy and fill them, fresh fruit in individual packages and etc. Good luck! Hope this gives you some kind of idea.
A mouse ears cookie or a little maze/puzzle book that is mickey themed. Mickey washclothes and soap. etc. Gift certificate for a cone at an ice cream shop.
I detest junk and candy bags. I would rather get one small nice thing than a lot of little junk.
Look at Target's $1 aisle. they have cute little bags, puzzle books, etc. For my daughter's flower party, I got little clay pots packed with potting mix and a flower seed.
not theme-related, but we once gave a bag of microwave popcorn along with a $5 gift card to blockbuster as party treats... figure we spend about $5 per child anyway on junk, so at least this is USABLE!!
I always have my childrens parties at our home and they usually last into the night, followed by a fire and leftovers. a huge hit for the kids are the glow sticks (the thick ones that go around a necklace), I then get them one nice treat, bottle of mini M&M's, package of gummi worms etc. Keep it simple, maybe pick out your childs favorite one, or call a bakery and see if they can make mickey mouse cookies. Put them in a clear bag and Tada!
I would suggest refillable water bottles/ sippy cupys. Use a paint pen and put each child's name on it. Check places like AC Moore or Michael's. I found the bottles there last year in the $1 bin.
I'm with you on this one- last year we did his party at the zoo and did water bottles, bag of pretzels, and two pencils for each child. A little more costly, but at least I know they didn't end up in the trash like most of the "plastic junk" we bring home!
This year, we're doing his party at a bounce-house place. He's a May birthday, so it will be water guns and a little thing of sunscreen.
playdough sells the mini containers in a bag to use as party favors or for whatever. I'd get that and then maybe some mini coloring books from the dollar store
Could you buy some Mickey ears for them?
