Goody Bags

I like to fill a big basket or bucket/tub with a bunch of different toys... big balls, jump ropes, bubbles, race cars, stuffed animals, etc. (depending on age and gender of kids) and just let the kids pick whatever toy they want when they leave. The parents seem to appreciate not getting a bag of candy and junky little trinkets that just end up in the trash or on the floor to be picked up and the kids like being able to pick what they like and what they will play with.

if your party is going to be soon, a cute idea is to buy small clay pots, paint each kid's name on a pot, add a pack of seeds and a baggie full of potting soil.....kids love to watch their seeds grow.....

i've also given pencil boxes filled with crayons, colored pencils, stickers, etc......you can often buy these on sale....large packages can be divided....the bonus is that all the items are useful.....

another cute idea is to give each child an inexpensive photo frame....during the party, take a picture of each child with the b-day child.....get prints made and send them along with the thank you notes....

Hey Laura, I just went to a b-day party where the kids made their own favors. they made these really cool doorknob hangers with a couple different boy and girl themes to select from. The mom told me that she got the stuff at walmart and the dollar store. It's this foam material that was already pre-cut and then they decorated the hangers with puff stickers from the same material. They turned out really cool. I would imagine that you could do all sorts of things with that stuff if you looked around and it gives them something to do.

Hey Laura,
Is your son into any sports yet? When my oldest son was about 6, he was playing soccer and I bought brand new soccer socks and made goody bags with those. It was a big hit with all the kids and the parents as well. I didn't just use the one sock, though, I actually put the other sock in one, so they actually got a pair.

B. S

Love the book exchange idea!
We always have the kids "make" their goodies as part of the party. Keeps them busy and I don't have to stuff bags!
Buy a package of white undershirts/t-shirts and have the kids decorate them for themselves.
We had kids make their own pennants with the pre-cut foam pieces (in a sports theme). The pre-cut pennants and tub of shapes are available at Michael's.
One year we bought wood treasure boxes and gold glitter paint. The kids painted them and as they dried we had a treasure hunt for items we buried in a wheelbarrow of sand. The box becomes their "goody bag" full of treasure to take home.

Goody bags seem to be a new trend. I don't feel they are a requirement. Be brave and be the first to buck this trend!

I would say go with the sports bottle idea. We just got one at a party and it had 100 calorie snacks inside. It was great and we have already used the water bottle several times since the party on Saturday.

For my daughters birthday I made a coloring book to give out and went to the dollar store and bought crayons to go with it. Her party was a watermelon picnic, so there were facts and coloring pages to do with watermelon. You could find clip art to do with the four food groups, exercise, etc. The cover had a picture of her and said, "Thank you for coming to my party!" Not sure if they got thrown away a few days later, but I know we still color and "read" ours. One hint...Do not put color on any of the pages, as that drove the cost up! I took them to Staples and they spiral bound it. Just some thoughts!

Can't tell you how tired I am of those goody bags filled with candy and toy trinkets/junk that nobody needs! :)

I really like useful goody bags. Some of my favorites have been play-doh with a cookie cutter, sidewalk chalk, crayons/markers/colored pencils, watercolor paints, bucket and shovel. A sports water bottle might fit with your "theme", tied with a ribbon and a lollipop - maybe even personalized ones that you can pass out filled for the kids to drink at the gym.

Maybe not the most unique ideas, but at least they will be used and parents will appreciate it! Good Luck!

When our 8 yo turned 6, him and I put together balloons filled with confetti that we made out of paper punch holes that we saved. We squeezed a lollipop, a pencil and a bouncy ball inside. Tied it all up with curling ribbon and another sweet treat on the outside (I think we used starbursts ~ his fave at the time).
The children then had to pop the balloon to release the contents inside having the confetti spill out over and around them and end up chasing after a bouncy ball....very fun for that age.

A lot of work for us 2 but we had so much fun and he still talks about it.

NOTE: We warned his teacher to make sure that the children went home with the balloons as opposed to popping them in her class to avoid the mess.

have fun & and have a great time whatever you decide!
~D.

When my daughter had her party at a gymnastics place we gave away battons & hula hoops. Walmart (& the Dollar Tree) have very reasonable toys for this kind of give away. I think a larger gift-giveaway is better than a bag of candy or cheap little toys that get lost at the bottom of their toy box.

Hi Laura,

At my daughter's 4 year old party, we handed out kites. I got them at the dollar store and everyone loved them!

K.

Just last month, my friend had a party for her 5 year old at a gymnastic center. Let me just say, that was the BEST kid party I had attended. My 2 year old just loved it! My friend passed out a large bubble wand with a balloon attached to it. As a parent, I appreciated the minimal party favor. It was also a big hit with my son.

In the past, I have purchased cheap sand buckets/shovels and put non-food items in them. Another time, small, plush animals. Things like this can be fun, especially if it's possible one of the attending children has a food allergy.

~D.

Hi Laura!

I gave up the standard goodie bags at birthday parties several years ago. I found for about the same cost, I could give each child one thing they might enjoy playing with and really like. I attach a lollipop to the item because almost everyone enjoys a little candy. For my son's parties I've given jumpropes, yo-yos, hand puppets, four-square balls, and now that he is older, things boys his age collect like those little finger skate boards. I've had good luck with this strategy. I'm sure your son will have ideas about what his friends would like.

Good Luck!

T.

The "goodie" I gave at my son's party was a $2 gift certificate to Baskin Robbins. Everyone loves ice cream!

For my daughters 3rd b-day, we bought a bunch of inexpensive, outside balls at Target (the size of a basketball) and the kids played with them all afternoon and then got to take one home.
All kids like balls.

Have fun!!!!

Hi, Laura. I raised 7 children and am grandma to 9 (hoping to add more)and I'm always trying to do something different that the standard candy type of things for holidays and birthdays. I have found that McDonald's gift certificates are very popular. They can pick their own happy meal with toy attached :) They also love their favorite box of fruit snacks (Princesses and Spider Man seem the most popular). I've also found that having the kids decorate and take home their own cookie or cupcake is a fun and less expensive way than sending home a goody bag. Another really fun thing to do is have a "treasure hunt". I buy several inexpensive toys, books, markers etc. and hide fake coins, plastic Easter eggs etc. with a number on them. Each child gets to find one treasure and then come and cash it in for a toy that has the corresponding number on it. I do this at Easter for my grandkids and they love finding the egg with a number in it and see what toy comes with that number. Sometimes the kids even trade with each other. They like that better than a bag of candy that quickly disappears. Hope some of my "Grandma" ideas work for you. J. F.

yoyos, sunglasses, headbands, marbles, cards...

My friend did a really fun thing for her daughter's 4th birthday. Instead of giving gifts, she held a book exchange. Each child brought one wrapped book, and they all got to pick one to take home. All the kids were so excited because they all got presents. :)

Try contacting the gym where you are having the party. Most of those places have a small "store" you could do water bottles for a few dollars. I would contact the gym asap if you want to do this, because they may not have enough in stock and they might need to place an order. Also, ask for a discount since you will be buying a larger quantity and you are having the party there.
Good luck.
(PS I used to work at a place that did parties, and parents always seemed to like the favors better when the kids didn't get a bunch of candy and worthless stuff to make a mess in the car on the way home)

Ds's birthday party is at a gym next weekend as well. He'll be 4. I am including crayons, those capsule things that make sponge animals when soaked in water, stickers, bubbles, and play-doh. Each bag is costing me about $2 or less.

Good luck!
C.

For my daughters birthday I gave out small bouncy balls instead of goody bags. I got them at Party Cirty for like $1.00 each. The kids loved them. For the girls they had princesses and Care Bears and for the boys I got Sponge Bob. It was a big hit with the kids as well as the parents. Hopefully this helps. 8-)

T.

Try going online to: www.orientaltrading.com. They have a bunch of stuff at reasonable prices. You can get little bottles of bubbles, crayons, candy, bags, etc through them.

small bouncy balls, small plastic animals (you can buy a bag of assorted ones rather cheap), matchbox cars, stickers, tattoes, box of raisins

We have a birthday party this Saturday and I have been pondering this as well. I can't stand the standard goodie bags, it all ends up all over my car and ultimately tossed by the end of the day! I noticed at Walmart last night they have some kids watering cans for $1.50. I think I am going to get each of the kids one of those and put some sidewalk chalk and maybe some bubbles in each.

For my oldest son, when he turned two, I bought each kid one of the Little People that came with a vehicle, at the time those were $3 each, but I figured by the time we bought the bags, candy and all the 'stuff' to put in it, we would have spent about that much anyway. Each kid was happy to go home with a toy. Another year Target had big rubbery dino's in their $1 section, we gave each of the kids one of those with a pack of M&M's. This past year we had his party at the park and we just bought a box of M&M's at Sams, it was the big packs, and gave each kid one of those, I had several parents thank me for it!

Good luck!

I had 23 five year olds at the house in Jan. I filled the bags with an orange, fruit roll-up, and 2-3 silly things like crazy straws and sun glasses. They were a big hit. We set up circus games on one side of the yard and rented a blow-up slide (from the jumping castle people in town). It was fun for all. good luck

my daughter had a gymnastic birthday party and we gave everyone a trophy from the dollar store filled with candy for the goody bag/i have also done the medal with ribbon around the neck as they left/ or a book from the dollar store/a water bottle with their name on it, i did it with puffy paint. those are a few that I have done at parties for my kids in the past. hope this helps.
A.

Hi Laura,

For my daughter's 6th birthday, I gave all the kids a can of silly string with a lollipop tied around it! Good luck!

L. R

I second orientaltrading.com. If you are having a sports type party they have inexpesive sports items that would be great for goodie bags. I love all of the make it your self things-for example 12 design your own mini footballs for 8.95. The kids can color the footballs and sign their names to remember the party. They have so many great ideas. They also have themed party favors-like pirates, christian, hawaiian, etc. The prices are great too! Good luck.

the olympics will be in China this year... mabye a chinese theme with traditional chinese favors? and chinese candy?

What about a gift pass to the gym center for a later visit? Some healthy snacks and a fun new water bottle (just in time for summer) a sports ball. Also, we received a harmonica from a cowboy themed party once and all the kids seemed to LOVE it. Good luck.

Hi! I love www.Orientaltrading.com. One year I got little treasure chests and filled them with shells, candy etc.
I try my best to get something that the kids can use a gain and not throw out. I limit candy in place of useful things like pencils or bracelets. Another time, I had all of the kids make "GAK" and they were able to take that home with them. They had a ball making it at the party. There are many ideas on the net, but I love looking through the Oriental Trading website. Another time we had a fishing party by a lake, and all of the kids got to go fishing. (Nobody got caught by a hook cuz the parents were involved!) A treasure hunt is always a hit also. No fewer than 10 clues and probably not more than 15. I bought a "treasure box" from Michaels and we use it every year!
Check out the internet for more ideas...there are so many sites that can help! Good luck and have fun!!

Hi there ~

I had a party where the kids decorated pre-cut pillowcases (bought cheap at Goodwill)and then wore them as Knights and Princesses with my son as the King. Then there was the party at the "Paint your own..." place where what they picked ($4-$6 items) and painted was the take home gift. And then there was the one with the goodie bag kind of stuff (tattoos, pencils, Target dollar bin things) hidden around the yard and color-coded to make sure that each kid got the same amount, etc....
I have found that the parties where the kids could decorate or make something to take home were the best. There was also one with a friend's kid where everyone made a rainstick and painted them. It's fun to see how each child chooses to do it. Sometimes you can tell a little more about each child through this.
Good Luck and have loads of fun with whatever you choose to do!!

you could buy a bunch of those big suckers or bubbles and give everyone one on their way out. You could do a grab bag w/ a bunch of wrapped gifts and let each child pick one.

Hello Laura,

For my daughter's birthday parties my goodie bags were only filled with candy. I can't beleive what some parents give now as goodie bags, it's unbelievable. I recommend those themed little plastic cups you can buy at Party Stores or Wal-Mart may have some. Also, maybe a $2 gift certificate from Baskin Robbins. I hope this helps.

D.

Laura-
I just had my daughter's 6th birthday party. What we need was get those punching balloons and wal-mart sells those little crayon boxs for very inexpensive and we got small coloring books. We are found some little books that are inexpensive to help out those learning readers. Also you can use the little lunch size crackers or snacks for the goody bags also. Good luck.
S. C

Laura,

The dollar stores have all kinds of little party favors other than candy - mini coloring books or pads of paper, crayons, party horns, pencils, mini calculators, pencil cases, combs (boys like those), flash cards, sun visors, shades, etc. and Target carries mini play dough cans that kids love. If you're wanting to give food treats maybe some mixed nuts and dried cranberries, individually wrapped snack crackers, Trader Joe's has some great dried fruit treats, juice boxes, etc. Gift certificates are nice too. Not that we frequent McDonald's but i know they have gift certs.

But you know, it's not mandatory to give gift bags. Kids don't seem to miss them now that we've stopped giving them out. The party is costly enough, you know? Just remember to have fun while you're planning the party... childhood flies by!

peace ~Dee

Laura,
I'm trying to understand why 5 year olds need goody bags in the first place. Isn't it enough to come to a party and have cake and ice cream and whatever the gymnastic center provides for entertainment?
I've been around for 62 years and have seen incredible splashes made at parties, at Bar Mitzvahs and at graduations. Perhaps I don't represent the thinking of 2008, but I think we're overdoing life-style events.
Let's try to be realistic about our kids' needs at this time in their lives.

i don't actually give out goody bags for parties and no one complains. actually since we haven't been doing it, a lot of parents have also decided to take this route as well.

if you feel strongly about giving something to the kids who are attending the party, howabout gift certificates to come to the gym for a free gymnastics class?

Laura,
how about something that has a spring/educational component to it, i.e. a small packet of seeds, some soil etc that they can plant and watch grow?
L.