Parents, what party favors do you hate or love getting in your child's goody bag?

Question

As a parent myself, I hate those party favors that have a 15 minute play time with the kids. They eventually end up under the couch, or in the trash. My son's 6th birthday is coming up, and i am looking for ideas on what to put in his goody bags, without breaking the bank. What party favors do you and your children love? hate?

Answer 1

hehe

what i did with my goody bags was stick a giant hersheys bar, 4 tootsie/blow pops, a pack of stride gum, 2 reeses peanut butter cups, and a small baggie full of different candies.

but if you or the kids parents dont want them gaining 2 pounds, then i would stick to the things you can buy in walmarts party isle

Answer 2

HATE the candy ... it's invariably something my kid has a life-threatening allergy to and it goes straight into the trash.  HATE the little plastic toys that get broken in two minutes and someone ends up stepping on them.

I put in goody bags either cheap art projects (everything from paint-your-own yo-yos to decorate-your-own mugs to paint-your-own teddy bears; you can order in packs of a dozen from www.discountschoolsupply.com and it ends up about a dollar or two a kid; sometimes I'll do bake-it clay in various colors so they can make a masterpiece at home) or the things they made at the party (like sometimes we'll have the kids decorate teeshirts or hats).  Usually I also stick in a polaroid of the kid in question having fun at the party.  I've also burned cds of the songs we played at the party and sent those home in goody bags.

Answer 3

When I was a kid, my mother would make crackers for us.  Just take a toilet paper roll,   cover it with wrapping papper and ribbon and wahla!  you have a party favor that the kids love!

Feel free to get creative with what goes in them too!  You can put little action figures of those rings from the quarter machine, temporary tatoos, or just a bunch of stuff thrown together from a dollar store run!

Hope you have fun, and Good luck!

Answer 4

Useful things are nice -- coloring books, paints, stickers, play dough, that sort of thing. Healthy snacks are fun, too.

Little plastic toys to clutter up my house even further (and choke the baby, to boot!) are really a pain.

Answer 5

I was in charge of these at my friend's daughter's 5th birthday. We went for a lolly/sweet, a mask from party theme(cardboard cut out type, loads of fun and very inexpensive), party popper, one of those balls that bounce really high and either a toy car (for the boys) or a small doll (for the girls) and of course a piece of birthday cake. The toy cars/dolls we got from PoundLand in packs of 12 or so. In total the party bags worked out at 80p a head including bags etc. and there were 50 kids at the party. Try your nearest Pound shop or Dollar store.

Answer 6

I like to go around to local restaurants and get  the little books of 10 coupons for a dollar. like McDonald's  you get a free small cone or Wendy's a free small fry.as annoying as it may be to us adults goodie bags are so exciting for the child it is so fun to see the kids going threw the bags with eyes full of excitement.if you don't have too many kids personalize it for each individual child.I hate all the candy.if you have a digital camera take a pic of every body during the party and give each child a small wallet size.

Answer 7

Well, make sure that everything you get is of the lowest of quality and made in China. Get some little fruit and vanilla flavored tootsie rolls, noise makers, bubble mix, coloring pages, non-toxic crayons, and a set of do-it-your-self counterfeit money set! jk

Answer 8

We always get things like puzzle books, pencils, sunglasses, silly putty, slinkies........ The one thing i hate getting the most are those mase games with the metal ball....

Answer 9

What I started doing was instead of lots of little party favors, I would get one big one. Like a stuffed animal for each child coming or small footballs for the boys. I usually spent about $5 on each item, which is about what I would have spent per child on the goody bags. The kids love them and the parents appreciate them because they last longer than the car ride home.

Answer 10

those stupid plastic tops are a total waste, sunglasses are used for about ten seconds, all those dumb little plastic toys are broken and in the trash withen an hour. skip the goody bags and go for a pinita (sp??) instead. they are very fun and you can get one for abou $8 and get bags of candy at the dollar store. i liked those way better than goody bags.

Answer 11

I don't see where the idea of goodie bags came from in the first place.  Isn't it the birthday child who is supposed to be getting the presents?

Basically, I don't like any of the cheap toys that my child wouldn't want in the first place if we went to the store.

It's all a waste of money, because no one puts anything in there that is really fun for them.

Like, oh, say, a gift card to McDonald's or some fast food place, or tokens for a video game store, or a day pass to the pool.

Answer 12

I hate candy in goody bags.  Plus my child never eats it (go figure!) so it ends up in the trash.  Recently, I went to the dollar store and picked up pencil holders (zipper kind).  I thought at least the kids can put things in it.  Pens and markers are always used by my daughter.  Balls, small notebooks to draw in, stickers, squirt guns.  Go to the dollar store - you will find all sorts of ideas.  My daughter recently turned 7 and I had a prize basket, so I got a bunch of stuff from the dollar store.  I also agree that goody bags are pretty useless.  Another idea is to do a craft for the kids and not only will that be part of the party fun, but a "goody" to take home!

Answer 13

I'm not a parent but I am a sister to many. I hate it when my lil sisters or brothers *** home wif balloons in da bag, they are a chocking hazard! what was really nice, at a 5 year olds b.day The kiddies painted an egg cup and brought it home with cake, and one wooden beaded bracelete it was beautiful!

Answer 14

My kids like to get a hard cover copy book .You can get them at the dollar store . Pencils and art stuff.Good for both girls and boys.

Answer 15

I hate goodie bags in general.  I think that it is ridiculous for children to now expect to "get" something when they are already having the privilege of attending a birthday party.  A birthday party is a time to celebrate being with friends.  Society has turned it completely commercial.  

A friend spent quite a bit of money to have her daughter's party at Pump it Up...one snotty guest remarked about how she couldn't believe they weren't getting goodie bags.  I believe the child was 8-definitely old enough to know better.

I really can't stand anything that comes in goodie bags.  I don't need anymore dollar store junk lying about my house.  Please just save the money and put it to better use.

Answer 16

i HATE bottle caps candy eww um i love silly putty Slinky's no puzzles um lots of candy YUMMY! kitkat, um reeses. Also like bubbles ans lollipops uh   oh and kisses, really candy and little fun stuff just puzzles are good for 6 year old i mean i am 12 so every thing is good i guess just make sure you have CANDY

Answer 17

i had them always do a craft-last year was a "movie theme" so I bought wooden stars and some paint-the rest(glitter, etc) we had at home and gave them a large bucket of popcorn and one thing of movie theater candy..the total cost was about 20-25

the year before was a dog/cat theme-we had dog/cat pads,stickers,pencils and we made magnets and collars for stuffed animals

year before-sleepover-we made pillow cases....

I hate all those little toys-not worth it.

Answer 18

I really hate the junk inside goody bags. Whenever I set up goody bags for some people, I usually put in something like reese's peanut butter cup instead of those plastic tootsie rolls, since the party's probably a boys only one, a little play car or motorcycle of toy soldiers, maybe one of those small water squirters, and a pack of m&ms. Put maybe some confetti or somethingto fill and decorate inside the bag. Hope this helps!

Answer 19

I hate hate hate hate hate goody bags.  I try to find something that is inexpensive but not likely to end up in the garbage in the first 24 hours....I aim for a budget of $5/kid

examples:

mystery themed party for an 8yo girl: nancy drew book with a little bag of candy  (cost: $4.50 for the book, $.25 worth of bulk candy)

explorer themed party for a 4yo boy: dollar store backpack (that had barrettes in them originally, $1.00), dollar store flashlights ($1), dollar store compass ($1.00) & some candy...then we made toilet paper roll binoculars at the party which also went into their little backpacks.

no theme 6yo boy: dollar store little clipboards with fancy notebooks ($1), sport themed pencils ($1 for 10), sport themed erasers ($1 for 5), some candy.

Good luck!

Answer 20

I am completely against goody bags. The kids are already hyped up on cake and ice cream so to send them home with a bag fill of candy that they are going to beg to eat is not a good idea. Also little trinkets from the dollar store look cute are first but once they end up on the floor to get stepped on during a midnight potty run they are not so wonderful. My advice is if you absolutely have to give out goody bags make them practical and usefull.  Every kid likes pencils,or little coloring books or activity pads, just try not to get the ones with the crayons attached because every kid already has crayons and the ones attached to the book are really crappy anyways, stickers and temporary tatoos are ok. My favorite is to set up a craft station for the kids to make something cool and take it home, like paper plate monster puppets or tissue paper stained glass windows, stick picture frames. The internet is full of simple craft ideas and this way you kill two birds with one stone, it keeps the kids occupied and it gives them something they made to take home with them.