Party Favor - Hockessin,DE

You can get all sorts of crafts at Oriental Trading Co. I personally like the bubbles idea. You can get 3 small bottles at the dollar store. Half of it seems to get spilled anyway (at least my house with my little ones). The ones that look like ice cream cones are especially cute.

Hi-
Some thoughts are:
* Craft kits (e.g. Oriental trading http://www.orientaltrading.com/)
* planting flowers or seeds/plants - they can decorate the pot, fill it with dirt and then plant seed or plants
* giving a booklet with science experiments they can do at home (and maybe pick one to do at the party - e.g. gak (http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/content/experiment/00...) , balloon blast off http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/ , etc)

:0) Have fun!

If your daughter is in preschool or you have another child in school, ask the teacher about Scholastic book orders. I order books for the kids. There are usually books in the $1 to $3 range and you can order different books for different ages if you want. I usually find that teachers are willing to set up an order because they get points to use towards books for the classroom.

Don't know what kind of party you are having but I just had my three years old outside. I had a big sand pit and I hid lots of little treasures. I bought shovel/pail combination's at the Dollar Tree for every guest. Whatever the kids found, they got to keep. The pails acted as a party favor, and it was a great activity. Kids ranging from 2-7 really enjoyed it.

Hi, I usually do not like to give the little bags with "stuff" either. I have given each kid an inexpensive book, coloring book and crayons or a craft. I like to wrap the goody and send it home at the end of the party. The dollar store and some craft stores usually have some good ideas. When my son was 3 he was into Barney and I was lucky enough to find 8 Barney puppets at the Christmas Tree Shop each for a 1+. Those were great favors. It usually ends up costing less than filling those goody bags and the favor is nicer.

a friend of mine made a mixed CD with their daughter's favorite songs. I thought it was a great idea.

My daughter was at a party last weekend (4 year olds) and they gave the kids each a ball...girls got a princess one, boys got a superhero one. She loved it and didn't care about having a goodie bag.

You could always save containers (glass jars, butter tubs, etc or just buy some) to decorate and then make homemade playdough with the kids that they get to take home. This way you get an activity and something they can take home.

There are TONS of recipes online for playdough-you can even make an edible one!

I'm like you, I always did 1 treat vs the goodie bag. My daughter is 15 now but here are some of the things we did:

art set w/ coloring book ( I happened to find these at a discount store on sale....total treat was less than $5.

sidewalk chalk

play dough

gift cards...... Mc Donalds, Ice Cream, Abercrombie (when she was older), blockbuster movies

the sand pail and shovel mentioned is a cute idea

Enjoy!

I personally hate getting goody bags at parties, its just more "stuff" in my house. Why not get a disposable Polaroid camera or two and each kid can have their picture taken with the birthday girl! It will be a nice memory of the party and kids love having their picture taken.

I'm against more Dollar Store junk for kids. I think it teaches them to be mindless consumers of poorly-made, possibly unsafe stuff that they don't really want but buy "just because." And most of it just ends up in the trash, which is bad for everyone. (sorry to sound like such a Scrooge!) Most kids have so many things that they don't know what to do with them. If you do send something home with them, what about a bulb they can plant, or a sunflower, or something like that? Kids love watching things grow.

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My son just had a party and I went to Walmart and got small watering cans in the section where they sell pool and outdoor toys. They were a dollar each and there were 12 on the shelf so I got them all. Then I wandered over to the garden section and there were more so I bought them up too.

All the moms at the party said they thought it was a great idea!

They work great as a bath toy, to take to the pool or to use outside helping to water the flowers. Later I saw at Target in the dollar section in the front of the store tiny pots with seeds. That would be a nice idea too.
S.

Do you have a "Dollar Store" in your area? They have good ideas.

Frankly, I don't give "goody bags" at parties. I don't agree that kids need to get a present for attending a party, the invitation to the party is the treat.

Bubbles are a great idea. I think all kids like bubbles. WalMart has lots of bubble stuff that's only $1.00. You could also do PlayDoh. It's inexpensive and most kids like it.

I usually match the small goodie with the party theme. Once I set up a tent and had a camping party. Kids played in the tent, we had smores and had a nature hunt. I sent them all home with a colorfull water bottle they could use again later. honestly, half the toys they get in the goodie bag are useless and dont get played with. You could also have them decorate their own small tote bags, t-shirts, hats etc.
Hope this helps.

Sidewalk chalk would be great! I also love those rocket shooters. I am not sure of the price, though. They are foam and they fly through the air. Great gift for spring. Have fun!

You could try going to the dollar store and see if anything catches your eye. I like the idea of bubbles. Others that come to mind
pail & shovel
beach ball
sidewalk chalk
coloring book w/crayons

I recently bought water shooters at dollar tree. They are great. Not sure if there is one by you. Appropriate for everyone in the price range.

I would go with a craft. Most craft stores have little kits for $1 or so that have parts that the kids can glue together. They have "foamy" ones, or wooden ones that the kids can paint after they assemble.