Party Favors for 1 Yo Party

M.

This is a large age spread, so I'd go with the lowest age -- safe things, i.e. things the little ones can't choke on, such as bubbles, kiddie sunglasses (could find a more sophisticate pair for the 13yo), a ball the size of your fist, etc. I always try to put a couple of sweet treats, too. Since you've got the lollipop, you might consider cookies -- iced Disney themes (Princesses, Cars, etc.) are often available at many grocery stories -- or animal crackers.

J. - Mama to 13yo, almost 6yo + almost 4yo girls...am in the midst of party planning, too.

I am really liking the sand bucket Idea... bubbles and stickers always get good feed back from the babies. I had ordered a custom made coloring book for my daughters first b-day party favor bags. The kids loved them. You can look on line and find a place that will custom create the coloring book with your child's name, picture and message. Goodluck, enjoy planning

Personally I think the chocolate lollipop with a pretty ribbon and a tag saying thanks for coming to my party is sufficient for a 1-yr old's party. (I did packages of M&M's for my first DD's first.) I am not a fan of all those cheapo little toys and cr*p from the dollar stores and birthday places - my kids have tons of toys, and the last thing I need in the house is more little junky stuff (plus then I have to worry about safety, keeping them all away from my 5-month old, none of them are rated for under 3 years, generally.) If you go that direction, think of stickers or tattoos, something that is consumable and will be used up easily. You can get a sheet of stickers or tattoos for each kid, these are best for ages 2 and up.

I like the beachball idea someone else mentioned, or you can print out some coloring pages and staple them together to make a mini coloring book - maybe make a cover page that says "Thanks for coming to my birthday party!" (I did that and bookmarks for my 4yo DD's birthday party last month - her party theme was the book Very Hungry Caterpillar, so I got a bunch of caterpillar and butterfly coloring pages and activity sheets free from the internet.)

Here's the link to the Disney Playhouse site - you can get MM printables from there:
http://atv.disney.go.com/playhouse/printables/index.html

If you want you can also add some little packs of crayons -Crayola has a ton of specialty crayons, get the younger kids the washable ones and get the older kids the glitter colors or neon ones.

HTH
Have fun and good luck!

Our favorite (and most used) 2 party favors from that year was an inflatable beach ball, which would fit nicely in the bucket and great for all ages. THe second was the whole backyard was filled with the walmart balls, small for the little ones, up to the 2' diameter ones for the oldest kids, with everyone's names prewritten on them with the paintpen. The backyard was so colorful and festive, the big kids dove and rolled over theirs and played dodgeball, and the non walkers leaned on theirs to toddle around. It also took care of entertainment for the event - all for about $2 each!

I've noticed that my kids really really liked little things from the Party Store. They have packages of random little things that kids actually really like. There was a small 1" Diameter mushy soccer ball that was a favorite toy for about an year. there was the camera which flips through 6 pictures of different animals, which they loved for a long time.
It helps that there is an age limit on the toys, then you can limit yourself.
Girls also seem to love necklaces, rings, jewelry. maybe a MM themed one?
For the future, I found BirthdayExpress.com was a very convenient place too. They all give good ideas, even if you don't purchase any of the items from there :)

I personally wouldn't do too much candy, b/c moms like myself would confiscate the moment they forget about the bag :) sorry.

For both my children's 1st birthdays, I bought appropriate books for each child. It was about $5 a piece but I thought it was well worth it because they were mostly cousins and close friends. I also made personal book plates for each book and one for the birthday child as well. That way, it is a permanent part of our library and very special reminder of our celebration. For subsequent birthdays, I try to give the guests something that they will actually play with - a mini playdough kit (1 or 2 cans of playdough with a few cookie cutters). When we did Madagascar, I bought the blow-up jungle animals from Oriental Trading and filled the yard (instead of balloons), then at the end of the party, each child took one home with with a goody bag that contained animal crackers and a bag of jungle animals (from Wal-mart, less than $1).

As a mother whose child goes to lots of parties, I do not like the bags of junk that come home, especially if there is too much candy. I'd rather get 1 toy for $1 (like a coloring book) than 10 tiny things that will break before the end of the day. The bucket is a great idea but your mixed ages will be tough - Good Luck!