Some of my mom friends and I have created this fantastic pact. I am so excited by it; I thought it was worth sharing.
Basically, we have said “NO” to birthday party goodie bags. If it is not edible or instantly disposable, we will not give it out.
This is an end to all of the crappy plastic toys from China. No more millions of bouncy balls, spinning tops ,and other useless stuff that seems to come home from every birthday party we attend. I’m sure the parents are spending too much money on toys that – let’s be honest – no one really wants. And when did this become the staple of every birthday party, anyway!?!
Once this stuff enters my house, it breeds like little bunnies and it ends up everywhere. Then, inevitably, that ONE special, favorite piece of junk gets thrown away (I mean lost). This leads to lots of tears.
So we are saying no more to all of this!
Here are some better ideas I have for birthday goodie bags:
Popcorn. It is edible and relatively inexpensive. Everyone likes popcorn. And it comes in a variety of flavors. Check out My Popcorn Kitchen in Scottsdale. You will be supporting a local business and getting a fantastic treat.
$5 Gift card to Target. No joke – this is my four year old’s favorite goodie bag item ever received. We can’t go to Target without her talking about the time she got to pick out some small item with her gift card. This is so easy.
Movie tickets. You can buy movie tickets in bulk. The kids love movies and the parents have something to do later with the kids.
Candy. I actually don’t mind the kids getting a little candy in goodie bags. I don’t really buy much candy for the kids. Plus, I can hide the candy and use for bribery later on.
Mix CD. Have your child help you make a mixed CD of their favorite songs. This is so old school (without the cassette tape), but who doesn’t like to receive some new music? Plus, the kids get to share something with their friends that they love.
So, you see, we have not ended the idea of goodie bags completely. None of us are willing to be the first mom to have the children revolt over “no-goodie-bags” at the end of the party! (Truly, we are chickens.) Do any of you have some good ideas for goodie bags that do not include anything made of cheap plastic? Please comment below!
I like the food idea. And yes, who needs another bouncy ball?
Thanks Debbie!
we gave the adults at A’s birthday party some seeds to plant with a note (something like) “thanks for helping me grow!”. depending on the age and the theme of the party, i can see some kids liking the idea of planting their own flowers/plant after the fact. even a small potted plant. they could paint their own pot or the hosts could paint them and then have a little brightness outside or inside for as long as it lasts!
Awesome Karen! Great idea! Thanks.
OMG I HATE goody bags! We just throw everything out anyway! What a waste of money. I gave Hello Kitty and Angry Birds toothbrushes at our kids last party and everyone loved them! They came in a little zipper bag and everything! We had 30 kids (joint party) and the toothbrushes were only a $1 at the dollar store, so we didn’t have to spend a ton of money 🙂
Couldn’t argree more! I am handing out books at my kid’s birthday party next week.
One year we gave $5 gift cards to chick.fil.a and set up future play dates.
At my son’s first birthday we did sand pails with goldfish snacks and sand molds to fit our pirate theme. For the 2nd birthday, which was baseball themed, we screen printed thirst for the boys and I made baseball hair bows for the girls.
These are such great comments. I love them all. I am so glad I am not the only one who feels this way!
Thank you all for commenting.
We bought a bunch of balloons for my 2 year old’s party. They served as decorations and the kids got to take them home with them with m&ms attached as weights.
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