Treat Bags at Birthday Parties.

S.,

try the dollar store they have great little things for a dollar that can go in a treat bag for the bigger kids that the kids will have lots of fun playing with.
L.

The dollar stores have great little toys and candies you could use for the treat bags. They have Christmas treat bags their selling right now, which would be perfect for the season. My son's birthday is around Valentine's Day, so his treat bags always have a Valentine's Day theme.

I know yall will probably think I'm awful but - treat bags? for a one year olds bday party? C'mon! You can't be serious! The only people who will know what is going on will be the parents and the only reason to make up treat bags (or worry about being considered cheap) is that you're way concerned what the other ADULTS at the one year old party will think of you! This is your child's birthday for heaven's sake! Forget the treat bags and spend money on the clothes they outgrow so quickly.

I'm sure you will get some great suggestions from the other moms on this board. I, however, am 'anti-treat bags'. I think they are nice, but not needed. Growing up, we never got treat bags for going to a party, and I don't want my son to expect a gift every time he goes to a party. But everyone does seem to do them....some items that we have received in the bags are books and little cheap toys from the Dollar Tree, bubbles, candy. If you are serving birthday cake at the party, then I wouldn't think brownies would be necessary. I hope this doesn't sound 'snotty'....not meaning to, just wanted to give my 2 cents.

I must say i agree w/ whitney. My daughter will be turning one on Jan 1st and i have no intentions of throwing an all out party w/ treat bags. I'll do cupcakes for the kids (mostly family) and that the extent so I can take pics of her making a mess for the 1st b-day cupcake. Now my son is 3 and I did throw a b-day party close to halloween so i did do treat bags w/ play-doh, bubbles, gummies, glow sticks (marc's has some good deals, but this was around halloween so i don't know if they still will have little bag stuffers) I also put in candy and little hand clapper things. This was the first real b-day party my son has had, i figured he'd be more in to it and remember and have fun. I had a mom e-mail me too when I asked about games and she said one child friend for your child's age (so 3 friends for my 3 yr old) her advise worked out well. I hope your not offended, but i think thats a little extreme for a one year old.
M.

Gummy bears or any gummy treats are usually big hits with the little ones. Small coloring books or puzzles are usually fun for the younger ones as well. I've put in pocket size notepads, colorful pencils, etc. Other things that go over well are goldfish crackers, peanut butter or cheese crackers (8/$1). Some places even sell sets for parties. All of these things can be found at the dollar stores. If you are really adventurous, you could do a make and take craft or treat instead.

Good luck and have fun!
M.

Try Oriental Trading (they have a website). You can get a lot of stuff really cheap and they ship really fast. You might want to try temporary tattoos, stickers or bubbles...these are things that most ages like and are really inexpensive at Oriental Trading. Also, try a store like Dollar Tree...they have neat little things that kids like in the toy and in the party aisles.

Good luck!

Hi S.,

Unless you want to go all out, I wouldn't even say that treat bags for 1 year old birthday party are necessary. For my son's first birthday we all went to a park and played soccer. Childrens ages ranged from 1 - 3... When people got tired(er) we sat down, sang happy birthday, cut the cake and he got to open his presents. It was informal but fun. Then everyone went home. It was really cute to see little 1 year + kids trying to kick a soccer ball. Each child did something different with the ball too. It helps if you have more than one ball for them to play with since not everyone is going to understand the concept of passing exactly. :) I think if the child is older, they should be able to understand they are at a 1 year old party and not expect a lot except to play and have fun. That's what's most important. If you wanted to get a little something to give to each child why not go to the $1 Family Store or Children's Explorium and pick up quick little toys that cost $0.25 - $1 and use those? I don't think you have to go the candy/brownie route. If you did want to go the "Treat" route, why not change your concept of what is a treat and stick something healthy in the bag - a yummy organic apple or mix of dried fruits and nuts? or dried fruit leather (kind of like a fruit roll up but without extra sugar added)? Just some thoughts everyone does it different I know.

Hello Sarah,

I have two daughter who Birthday's are in December also and it is challenging enough with the Holidays in the midst and throwing a successful Birthday Party.

You can go to the Dollar Store and buy little toys that have at least 5 or 10 things to a pack and one year I let my daughter fill up sandwich bags with a few toys and some candy.

At the most I would make 10 bags and since your son is 1 yrs. young then everyone coming to wish him Happy Birthday will enjoy and remember the party more than he does.

Just do not think that you have to fill a bag full of goodies for some kids.

S. P.
SP Payroll and Tax Services
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i just went through this this summer (we had an early bday party for our son).
anyway, i took the list of kids & went to the dollar store. we too had several ages of kids so what was good for one, wasn't appropriate for another. i tried to look for items that came maybe 3 or more in a bag for a dollar. (we had a sports theme so i got little baseball, footballs, etc.) i could then open them & use 1 item per treat bag. the dollar store also has really nice, small board books, notepads, snacks, etc. i also tried to keep in mind food allergies, no nuts for little ones, etc. so i stuck to indiv. bags of crackers or plain cookies. the dollar store had several choices & you get quite a few indiv bags for a buck or two. another big hit were stickers. again you can open up the package & use a sheet per treat bag.
i like your idea about making treats yourself, i think that would cut costs. if you didn't want to bake, you could always go to a place like sam's club, get a jumbo container of animal cracker or pretzels & divy them up into sandwhich bags.
hope this helps :)
good luck!!
i also think people are appreciative of anything -- it really is that thought that counts.

I agree with those who think treat bags are not necessary -- what do we do with all the stuff that our kids GET in the treat bags?

sure, if you WANT to do them, fine - but don't feel like you SHOULD or HAVE to.

and the party for a 1 year old - will most definitely have attendees who are around that age, that is why they woudn't KNOW what they are even for - please don't put gummies in a 1 year olds bag - they are way too young for gummies.

You can pick and choose the best ideas for YOU.

My favorite thing to do, especially for young children, is to put the individual snack packages of teddy grahams, cheese nips, etc. in the treat bags. Also a party "blow-out" (not sure what they're called) not the horn, but the one that uncurls as you blow. A one-year old can't do it himself, but loves watching it! I would recommend bubbles (they sell them in 6-packs) but not sure about it now because of the season. I'm not fond of candy. I think it's a bad idea too because of the range of ages you have to consider. Besides, most people still have a Halloween stash, and Santa may bring more for stockings!
Hope this helps!

R.

I would be careful with sweets in general. Many parents severely limit sugar and besides I am assuming there is going to be cake and ice cream served.

I would maybe do small coloring books for the ones who are old enough to color.

Maybe for the younger set do a box of baby type cookies and split the box between the kids of the age group.

Only the older kids are going to understand the treat bags anyway.

Maybe borrow a polaroid camera from someone and have pictures of the guest and birthday child made to put in the bags. That should cost only about one dollar.

I would wait till he was older to do treat bags, my daughter will be 2 soon and she will not get any. You could always have a craft or activity for the older kids to do so they are not board (like the suggestion for the foam bookmark and stickers).
Or have all the kids make cards for your son and make a collage out of it for a keepsake.

In response to all of the moms who think treat bags for a one year old's birthday party is extreme - shame on them. Treat bags are not for the guest of honor so it shouldn't matter how old your little one is going to be. If your family is like mine, you probably have a celebration for every occasion and your child's first birthday is a very special one. I had a wonderful first birthday for my son - treat bags and all! We invited our family and close friends and gave a treat bag to all of the kids 12 and under. I put mini-playdough, crackers, gummies,party favors, etc. in the bags. The Gerber graduates snacks come in individual packs and are great for kids under 2. We gave the older children a candy bar also. It wasn't too expensive and I only bought things that we would use if we had left over. Good luck on your party and Happy Birthday to the little one!

I usually have a wide age range too so I put mini play-doh, mini bubbles and fruit snacks in a bag. These are fun items that all ages can enjoy. I have also done foam door hangers or bookmarks with foam stickers, it's in expensive and the kids love to make them.

that sounds great i went to the dollar store and looked around i got bubbles for them among a few other things....

Hi S.,

I am not a candy fan my self...but do usually put in one sweet treat. But visit the dollar store. I always find things like stickers, pencils, little note pads are great for school age kids. Good luck!

I think I would probably give 2 brownies for each, even for the kids who are older. The kids will mostlikely want to eat them as soon as they get the treat bags and 3 at one time is a bit much for kids. I would go to your loca Dollar store or if you have a Big Lots and buy some bubbles. They usually sell packs of 6 for a buck and I have also found that you can find sticker packs for cheap.
Good Luck and Happy Birthday to the little guy!
Jenn.......

Hi S.! My son had his 1st bday party back in April!! We had treat bags for the kids 12 and under. Like most of the moms stated, I went to the dollar store and got pencils, tablets, etc.... It was a big hit!! I don't think that is going overboard at all!!! Good luck and Happy Birthday to the little one!!