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Creative Goodie Bags And Fun Favors

Goodie bags have come to be as much a part of birthday parties as cake and ice cream.  But these bags have come a long way from the standard stickers and erasers.  Tired of stuffing plastic bags full of the same old useless items, many hosts now show their party guests their appreciation with more a creative thank you.

Here are some ideas, suggestions, and tips to help you with your next party favors:

Keep with the theme.  

A great way to complete the feel of a party theme is to give away items that fit into the theme.  For example, if you are hosting a glamour party for your pre-teen, fill goodie bags with lip gloss, hair jell, nail care products, and cool hair clips.  Other theme ideas include:

§         Construction Party - Tools, tool aprons, hard hats, mini toolboxes, and small trucks.

§         Painting Party - Painter’s cap, paintbrushes, large drawing pad, and an assortment of paints.

§         Sports Party – Sporting magazines, Baseball/Football cards, Hockey pucks, balls, grip tape, goggles, and stop watch.

§         Baking/Cooking Party – Cookie cutters, rolling pin, paper chef’s hat, and frosting bags with tips.

§         Gardening Party – Seed packets, small gardening tools, and watering can.

You get the idea.  The point is to tie in the end of the party (giveaway time) with the beginning!

Think outside the box (bag). 

Just because they’re called goodie bags, doesn’t mean that you actually have to use a plastic sack.  Not only can using something other than a bag add to the theme concept, it actually becomes part of the favor.  Such as:

·        Use a small bucket and fill it with plastic shovel, rake, and other sand toys.

·        Giving away cooking supplies?  Place them in a bowl.

·        Small paint bucket make great containers for those brushes and paint stamps.

·        Ditty bags are perfect for holding ball, tees, grip tape and other sports giveaways.

·        Baskets work nicely for displaying ribbons, thread, sewing needles, and fabric swatches that will be part of your Sewing Party favors.

·        Place a train whistle, toy train, and train books in the middle of a bandana, gather the corners to the center and tie off for a hobo sack full of goodies.

Make and Take favors.

This is the perfect solution to both party activities AND favors.  Finding projects that your guests can make while at the party and then take with them solves two problems at once.  Plus, everyone is happy since the get to keep something that they like because they made it!  Here again, you can go with the theme of the day or simply find projects that are compatible with your guests’ age and abilities, and appeal to your guests’ interests.    Here are some examples:

·        Sleepover Party – Give everyone a blank pillowcase to decorate using fabric markers.  Have everyone sign each other’s case and you have a wonderful reminder of a fun party for everyone.

·        Princess Party – Provide all the little darlings with their own wooden dowels to decorate so that everyone ends up with a magic wand of their own.  Provide glitter, ribbons, markers, and plenty of glue to keep them happy.

·        Building Block Party – Each child receives a small box or bag of building blocks (i.e. Lego, Duplos, Mega Blocks, etc.) and participates in timed sessions to see who can build the most creative, craziest, ugliest, most colorful, etc. creation.  Everyone keeps all their blocks for future building.

·        Cowboy Party - Make cowboy vests from paper bags or pillowcases.  Have the guests decorate their vests with markers, stamps and stencils or fabric markers.  Each cowboy will head back to the ranch in style.

Buy them already made.

If are lacking creative or physical energy, consider buying pre-fabricated project kits or goodie bags.  This can be a much easier approach to compiling favor ingredients than trying to piece things together your self.  Letting someone else handle the details of your goodie bags can save you lots of time and even money!

Consider creative alternatives.

Party favors can come in strange forms and still be a big hit.  Check out some of these cool ideas:

·        Print out colorful, personal stickers (thank you notes) and stick them to your thank you gift:  a large candy bar or other treat, soccer ball, baseball bat, doll or stuffed animal, book, VHS movie, small game, visor, hat, or photo album.

·        Hand out gift certificates in your thank you notes.  Again, if you’re staying with a theme, then distribute certificates for free bowling at your Bowling Party, skate park coupons at your Skateboard Party, discount coupons to a toy store for your Train Party, or tickets to the zoo for your Barnyard Party.  Many retailers will offer you good deals if you buy in bulk.  Other certificates and coupons can also be a hit:  fast food restaurant coupons, mall gift certificates, sports tickets, or ice cream shop coupons.

Some final tips:

·        Consider your guests’ ages and genders.

·        Don’t go overboard.  A small token of appreciation is appropriate.

·        Keep it simple - instead of giving many small items, give each guest one quality item.

·        Have an extra or two.  Sometimes you end up with extra guests (the ones that said they couldn’t come are suddenly at your doorstep, a younger sibling simply can’t bear to be left out and is asked to stay, etc.).  You’ll want to be prepared with spare favors.

·        Give parents a heads-up about the party favors, especially if you’re including items that can be potentially dangerous (pointy or sharp), messy (paint, make-up, or bubbles), or controversial (some parents would not care for play guns or lots of sugar-laden treats).

·        If you’re giving away favors at a holiday party, keep in mind that not everyone has the same beliefs.  Provide alternatives to specific holiday related favors or opt for generic holiday favors.

·        Take a Polaroid of each guest as they participate in an activity or even with the Birthday child.  These pictures make wonderful reminders of fun times and are a cute addition to thank you cards.

·        Remember to acknowledge those who may not have attended your party but sent gifts anyway.

·        Keep all favors the same color, size of type to avoid arguments.

·        Personalizing favors is a nice way to make each individual guest feel special and helps everyone keep track of their favor.

·        Hand out favors when kids are ready to leave or you’ll run the risk of lost, mixed up or broken favors before they even make it to the home of the recipient.

Though handing out favors is more popular at parties with younger guests, even older party guests feel special when acknowledged with a thank you gift.  For plenty more party favor ideas and much more, visit the Tampa Bay Kids Net Birthday Party Pages.

Additional Resources for your Party needs:

Party Bags To Go

Choose from pre-assembled bags or get creative by building your own!

Oriental Trading Company

Get great prices on children’s party favors, decorations, lighting and more!

Birthday Express Party Store

Find everything you need to host a fantastic birthday party!

You can also find links to these resources on the Birthday Party Pages.  

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