Gift Bags for Birthday Party??

I say no to goody bags. The expense can really add up and most of the toys break in the car on the way home. If anything, do a small snack or take-home treat. My little girl is having her party today, a Care Bear theme. I'm sending each kid home with a small bag of Gummi Bears...that's it!

You do not have to do them, but if you do you do not have to fill them with junk that will get thrown out either. My sons birthday is this weekend, and in the goody bags I put 1 full sized bag of M&Ms, a hotwheels car, a balloon, and a small box of crayons with a doodle book. No cheap plastic toys.

I am sick of goodie bags. I don't like giving them, I don't like having left overs, I don't like my kids getting them. I try to do some type of take home craft project which usually ends up costing me less then doing the bags anyways. I think where you party is pool themed see if you can find some bulk pool item like arm floats, those rings, balls, etc something you can purchase and give to each that you won't mind if you have left over. I think kids get enough sugar at the pary they don't need to bring home candy and cheap plastic junk.

How about beach balls for the kids instead of gift bags, might be hard tro find in the store right now but maybe on line? I dont like gift bags and usually pick something that is party themed. My son turned 4 in August and he had a cooking party so I personalized aprons for all of his friends.

I say NO to Gift Bags :-) not necessary ! JMO

Two more ideas:

---I made a big bowl of snack mix for the kids to have at the party, then packaged up some extra with a tag that said, 'thanks for helping to celebrate ____'s birthday!' for the kids to take home. They were excited and there was minimal extra cost.

---If you will be purchasing extra plates, cups, etc to use during the party, make them cute/fun/themed/reusable and the kids can take them as their favor. We did this with plates that we used at a make-your own pizza party.

I do gift bags but try not to fill with a bunch of junk. I do try to put things from the theme of the party in the bag. Example - last year we did Little Einsteins so the colors were primary colors and the them was centered around music and art. I let the kids create their own masterpieces and make their own conductors wand (silver or gold pencils w/ gold styrofoam ball on top). Those and some LE coloring sheets were put in their take home bags.

D.,
In my opinion...treat bags are NOT a requirement for a birthday party. Consider instead a NICE hand written note to each family who comes and helps make the day special. Maybe you could take a picture of each family at some point during the celebration and enclose that with the note, OR a picture of your children with the children guests and enclose that with the Thank You card. I have started taking pictures of my kids with each attendee at their parties and having them made into thank you cards that my kids send to their friends and family who help them celebrate.

Have a great celebration.
T.

I decided no more gift bags after talking it over with other parents. We all hate the crappy toys, even the kids complain. Our kids dont' need more candy. Plus, we are paying for the party.

skip "goody bags" filled with junk. If you want to hand out something at the end maybe do a bag with a decorated cookie and thank you note from your child.

Going to the party is fun, I wish people would stop the token gift, everywhere. I have never had a token from a wedding or a party of any kind that I wanted to keep.

My sons last birthday I polled my moms and they all agreed NO to gift bags....what happened to a party being about the birthday kid??? No one wants all those little things they mostly throw away anyway! If you really want to do something do what I have done and donate $ to a kids charity in lieu of gift bags.

www.orientaltrading.com
They have bulk prices for goody bags/items and various themes.

1 year old kids, probably do not 'expect' goody bags. At 3 years old, IF they have gone to lots of parties... may 'expect' a goody bag.
Then.. there are the parents. "They" may expect the usual goody bag for kids.

Or, just give each kid a balloon to take home.

Personally we have been to many pool parties or parties at venues, not it being at a person's home... and there have always been, the usual goody bags.

Up to you and your budget.

all the best,
Susan

I always do goodie bags but I have been to parties that do not. One party the mom just gave out mylar balloons. Each chair had one on it and you take it afterward. Another mom gave out cute cups that each kid used at the party then took home. A friend gave little pails/buckets and took a paint pen and put their name on it. Easy and cheap. You could get cute pool toys to give or just a small baggie with cookies or something easy. You could even have a cupcake for each to take home. You can buy big bags of things at the Dollar store and break the bag up into small bags.....like little coloring books with crayons, notepads, etc These kids are pretty young though and there is not much you could do for their age so don't feel obligated to do it. At that age they don't expect goodie bags.

i think with the party you are having no gift bags would be needed

I did a big pool party for my daughter's 3rd birthday. We lived in FL at the time and her birthday is in June, so it was a easy for us to find cheap beach balls and squirt guns at the Dollar Tree. We got one for each kid to play with while at the party and they took them home at the end of the party. Kids and adults all loved playing with the beach balls and water guns (I think the adult men had more fun with the water guns than the kids). But this party was an exception for us since we were making a huge deal of it for her knowing we were moving to TN in a couple of months and this was the last time to get all our friend's together for one last party before we moved.

For her other parties, we have not done any type of goodie bag and have not heard any complaints. I think I'm with most of the other mom's who all agree, it's not a necessary items for a kid's birthday party.

I say no to gift bags, but if you would like to give the kids something, what about a sheet of stickers that they get to choose before they leave? Kids that age love stickers. You could probably get about 6 sheets of 10-20 stickers for well under $2. Get a variety, and if you have leftovers... I'm sure they won't go to waste.

D.,
I believe it's customary to give a small parting gift to your guests. It serves as a thank you to all who took the time to purchase a gift for your child, cleared their schedules and made the trek out to your party.
That being said, the party favors don't have to be expensive. Why not purchase a multi pack of children's goggles for your little swimmers and some fruit snacks, goldfish crackers or candy and maybe some 'water bomb' balls?
It sounds like a great party. Parents know and appreciate how much cash you're dropping on a party like this. They are going to get your kids some really nice gifts because of it. Just remember it's a one time a year celebration! Have fun!

I would not worry about having party favor bags in this situation. Not sure how many kids you are planning on having at the party, but one idea might be to purchase floats or pool toys so that each child has one to play with at the party and can take home with them. I am thinking of the little inflatable rings that run $1 - $2 dollars at the little dollar stores and such. They also have the "squirties" (I think that is what they are called) these are just little toys you fill with water and squirt out when squeezed, they squirt pretty far and are really fun even for adults and my daughter loves playing with them in the bathtub now that pool season is over for us.
Whatever you decide the kids will not even be thinking about those gift bags with a pool, pizza and cake. And from a parent's point of view, they are a pain, b/c like you said they are usually filled with junky toys and candy.