Need Loot Bag Ideas for Toddler's Party

Whatever you decide on, please don't buy a bunch of junk! The last two parties we have gone to, we have come home with a bag full of junk that goes directly into the trash.

The best "goodie bag" we have seen was a bottle of bubbles that had balloons attached. They were the decorations at the party (bubbles were the weights) that each child got to take with them at the end. They are great fun for all kids and usually result in parents playing too!

I do special events and more and more, people are no longer doing "goodie bags.."

It is just more stuff.

So do not worry if you do not do anything,.. The parents will probably thank you.

I'm not sure I would do loot bags for such a young age. How about a photo of the guest and the birthday girl/boy opening the gift from the guest? We took pictures with our digital camera and while the party was going on, myhusband printed the photos and and we inserted them into nice cards and handed them out as the guests left. You could also list on the invitations that instead of handingout loot bags you will be making a donation in that childs name to your favorite charity. We have done that to the local Humane Society. You can spend $20.00 easy on loot bags, which are usually filled with junk anyway. Why not put the money to good use and donate to a worthy cause. You never know, you might inspire others to do so to.

I agree with Shari. As a mom of a 3 year old we have had lots of birthday parties the past few weeks and honestly I always throw the goody bags away. She has more than enough stickers, little notepads, rings, etc. If you feel like you MUST do something then I would take a picture of the whole group with your digital camera, print out copies of the picture and mail it with the thank you cards.

Honestly, I say forget the loot bags! Most kids will forget them, or loose half the contents before the party's over! go with maybe one small gift each, a themed cup or small toy. Save your money, and save on junk lol. I did goody bags for my first child, and havent done them for the other two, and dont plan on it! Have a great party!

I have done "the loot bag." I hate "the loot bag"!

Why not get coloring books/crayons or tote bags something like that? You could always get Gerber puffs for the really little ones.

I went to O. party that they had plain canvas totes with a clear pocket and they had a picture of each kid at the party in their pocket. Cute idea.

Well, I agree that you shouldn't do the little "junk" that no one really uses, but I personally feel that a gift bag is a little thank you to your guests for coming and bringing a present. It does need to be expensive or extravagant, but just something fun/useful. I really like the idea of the pail and shovel...too cute and perfect for summer! You could also do $1 certificates to McDonald's (which, I know is McDonald's, but most people probably do eat there ocassionaly!). Your other suggestions were good too...bubbles and balloons are always a hit around my house! I also like your idea of a book. You probably have a half price book store or discount book store of some kind near you and they always have great books for cheap! At Half Price you have to look around sometimes to find the deals, but it might be worth it and even a 3 month old can use a book!

Dollar store. Buckets with shovels, those "punching" balloons, bubbles, etc. We also bought stickers and let each kid decorate their bucket (that already had their names on it). They loved their "personalized" take aways.

Also, tatoos or a helium balloon to take home are fabulous too. I'm a big fan of "consumable gifts". Things the kids use up and then they're gone.

For the babies, you can give some Gerber biter biscuits or puffs or a simple rattle toy.

One year we also did oversized cookies from the local grocery store bakery. They cost about $1-$1.50 each. The kids LOVED having a treat to take home. It was decorated like the theme of the party - so that was a big hit. There was no other "give away" from that party. The parents loved that we didn't give junk or candy and they were able to tell the kids they could share it with a sibling for dessert that night after dinner.

I agree with Becky. Helium balloons- a dollar a piece at the dollar store and all kids love balloons.
Bubbles are also cute. You could even print/ write on a sticker a little "thank you for coming to my party".
Even for my older kids, we have ditched the whole "loot bag" idea. We usually buy 1 bigger thing for the kids to take home rather than a bunch of junk that gets tossed after the kids eat all the candy :)

ok i am very frugal but not cheesy cheap..so here a some ideas

i have done the bubbles with the balloon..kids always love taking a balloon home...super cheap/super easy. no bags involved..just line them up...looks neat.

big box of crayons with a balloon attached..same idea

this year in june i am doing mini unpainted birdhouses ($1.29 at craft stores) with a set of paints from the dollar store..might throw a single serve bag of goldfish in.

one year i just did one thing of playdough with a plastic cookie cutter, wrapped them in those cellophane gift baggies. the presentation was the prettiest and it cost me a dollar a child...i bought the cookie cutter at a craft store..

just think simple...once you get out of your head that it has to be a bag FILLED with stuff...you'll be surprised at what you can think of! good luck

Updated

Target has board books for a $1 in the $1 section. Books like these
are good for the under 3 crowd & super nice as a goody bag- better
than other 'cheap' gifts- I would rather spend money on books:)!

I'm not sure if you are having a theme or not. I use some sturdy paper and printed coloring pages I found on-line to go with the theme. I used a hole punch and curly ribbon to connect the pages. The front page was a thank you note from my son. I opend a box of crayons and put 2-3 in each bag. Then I try to do a snack the kids can eat while they are at the party or on the way home. Maybe yogurt convered raisins, fruit snacks. Bubbles would be great-dollar store is wonderful or the dollar bins at Target have great little seaon appropriate gifts or containers. Little books for the tiny ones and age appriate snacks are good.

Another thought-You could do tiny flower pots and a seed packet to encourage a special project at home. You can decorate the pots with markers, paint, stickers. Your little one can help too. YOu could put each child's name on it-they love that!

I was just at a 1 year old birthday party last weekend and the mom had a whole bunch of balloons blown up for decoration around the room. At the end all the kids there got to take home a balloon if they wanted. My girls are 4 and 2 and always LOVE getting a helium filled balloon. Something that simple would be nice. I wouldn't worry too much about getting a 3 month old a party favor.

Sometimes I think parents need to think of what their CHILDREN want and expect -especially since it's a kids birthday party. Honestly people, they're cheap little stickers and candies -why wouldn't you let your kids have that for an afternoon? Why would you throw it away? That's pathetic! We have gobs of the stuff too and weekly I go through and take the stuff that's no good anymore or half-used and throw it away -or in the case of little toys that are still ok, we have bins those go into. We ALWAYS do loot bags, and every kids party we go to has them (and my oldest is 4 -they've been getting them since the 1st birthday parties). My poor little goddaughter went to a birthday party where the parents obviously were just thinking of themselves instead of their kid's party -the cake was in a flavor the mom liked and all the kids hated, and there were no goody bags which prompted lots of comments from the kids leaving the party. The stuff you put in them is like carnival junk. It doesn't last, but it's really nice to see the kid's eyes light up with their goody bags -even if it will only last for the afternoon! AND -I'm 40 and I ALWAYS got goody bags growing up and they were always given at my parties, so the tradition has been around for quite some time.

I wouldn't concern myself with infants. I would just go for the age demographic of the kid who's having the party and up. Look for themed things -i.e. -my 4 year old had a dinosaur party, so we put plastic dinosaurs, dino stickers, dino tattoos and some tootsie rolls and suckers in the bags. We've been to airplane parties where we got airplanes; race car parties where we got little cars, etc. The poster who mentioned the dollar store is right on -those BOBO paddles, bubbles, mini play-dohs -those area great, and Oriental Trading is great too.

What about an individually wrapped craft project? Make it Fun Party Craft Kit from Discovery Toys has 10 individually wrapped goodies. Visit www.toysofdiscovery.com and you can find other things for the infants.

CDs! I make a mix cd of some of my child's favorite songs to play during the party, and burn a copy for each guest. Everyone loves it, and they can listen to it for a long time after the party, and remember what a good time they had.

What about a personalized party favor! I started my own business when I had my 3rd child. I have a lot of great inexpensive items that will cost as much as a loot bag. I also give a 10% disount to Mamapedia Moms. You can check out my items at www.littleshopoffavors.com or find me under the Member Perks tab on the Mamapedia website.

Check out Oriental Trading (www.orientaltrading.com). They have all sorts of goodie bag items that are sold usually in lots of 12 and that are SUPER cheap. That's where I go for the stocking stuffers for my daycare Christmas party and I usually have about 20 stockings to fill that range in age significantly due to siblings. Good luck!

RUBBER DUCKIES!!! I had a party and that is what I bought and even the adults were playing with them and took them home for bath time and the pool!!!

Our new favorites are a MatchBox car ($0.97 each) and a big bouncy ball from Old Navy ($0.25).

We've adjusted pending the age of the child. A 3 month old won't need a goody bag. I'd probably stick with 10-11 months and older.

Little canisters of Play-Do are always great.

You can get cheap packages of plastic bracelets for little girls and parachute toys for little boys.

Everyone puts bubbles in because they're cheap, but what a nightmare with kids who get them all over the place.

As for the smaller babies I did teething rings, maybe even a bottle. I also did bubbles, crayons, note pads, pez dispensers etc. I got all of these items at the dollar store. No need to spend alot of money on these things. And for the bubbles I printed out return address labels with my daughters theme and her name and party date. You can also get little frisbee's. The come in a package of 3. I did the smaller babies too cause the parents appreciate that you thought of their children too. Besides it's cute to watch them try to open the bags. They are fascinated with them. Teething rings are very helpful to the parents too.

W.,
you can try bubbles, chalk, small balls, crayons, pads, color pencils, clay (like playdoh), you can find these items at any $1 stores and some candy :)
I don't think you need anything for he 3 months old but you can get a book (like a bath book) and a small fabric ball aside from the baby food.
Blessings

Skip the candy (I throw so much candy out - there just isn't time to eat it all!).

Kids love balls, note pad and colored pencils. Under 2 does not need a bag.