Birthday Party Ideas: Guide to Party Favours and Goodie Bags!

Kids’ birthday planning is stressful enough; here’s how to leave a lasting impression with expert tips on creating great party favours and goodie bags!

At some point or another we all have been thrown in to frenzy by the need for organizing a kids’ birthday party. While it can be one of the most fun and “interesting” activities a parent could do, it can be a tough ask for parents without the proper planning.

As a mama first and party stylist second, I wanted to contribute a blueprint for all mamas aspiring to organise a dream birthday celebration for their most loved little one. Sassy Mama asked me to focus on one particular party essential: “party favours” or “goodie bags“.

For better or worse, Goodie bags or Favor Bags are a birthday party staple. It has become an unwritten rule for kids’ parties and you risk ending things on a sour note when little ones leave your party empty-handed.

Let me first take a step back to tell you a bit about décor and party themes first, as these should relate to your goodie bags. When you decide to work with a particular theme, you’ll usually find that the rest of your event planning goes a lot more smoothly. Hopefully your menu, decorations, entertainment and favor bags will all be related.

When choosing the theme just don’t restrict yourself to what your friend recently did or you’ve seen on Facebook; be a little more creative and identify what your kid is really excited about. There are tons of options to choose from; Nursery Rhymes, Puppies, Pink mixed with Gold, a Garden Theme, Construction vehicles … all these are quite unique and delightful!

Atmosphere is everything, and your décor sets up the right atmosphere for the party. It’s all about first impressions, after all! There are few subtle but important things to consider with your decor, mama:

Colour scheme: A well-coordinated party color scheme infuses the party space with life and helps tie the food, dessert and activities together.

Backdrop: Backdrops and wall decorations are definitely easy ways to turn plain, blank walls into a matching party accessory that looks terrific. They are easy to apply or hang up — just use double-sided tape or thumb stacks on the back.

Dessert Table:
Let’s admit it mamas, kids are always fascinated by sweet treats, whether it’s cupcakes, cake pops, jellybeans, you name it they LOVE IT! Making dessert tables the perfect complement to your birthday cake. In fact, these tables are increasingly becoming the star of the show, showcasing a kid’s favorite treats.

Guide to goodie bags: Okay, mama, you’ve done all the hard work, created fantastic decor and put on a great party, but one more hurdle remains even after the cake cutting and present opening. How to ensure all your guests remember these remarkable celebrations? Simple: FAVOUR BAGS!

Okay, so how to come up with that special, meaningful and personalised favor bag that won’t break the bank? First off, I am not in favour of you loading up your kid’s friends with plastic junk. Instead my suggestion is to be little more creative and make it something that they will love.

The perfect favour bag is easier when you have a certain theme, and that should be the focal point in deciding the look and feel, colour scheme and even the items that you want to put inside.

A few key considerations:

• How should the bag look?
• What items should you put inside the bag?
• Where and how should you display the goodie bags?

1) Design: Look & Feel!

Don’t waste your money on a very expensive bag! You are better of spending that extra buck on what you put inside. However, does that mean that you just buy some plastic bags? No way! Consider buying some paper bags in the colour combination matching your theme and then make a nice little “Thank You” tag to go along. You can also get creative: for example if your party theme is “Princess” then consider purchasing a simple pink colour paper bag and decorating it with a magic wand or some paper crowns.

2. Favour items:

Think this one through and come up with some items that match the theme. For instance if it’s a garden theme, consider going to your local gardening store for goodie bag inspiration! For a princess theme consider visiting some art & craft stores: Remember how much fun making friendship bracelets was as a kid? Your child and her friends will love it too! Other ideas for Princess or Spa-themed parties might include nail polish, nail files, and a small bottle of lotion to create a great homemade manicure and pedicure party favour kit.

If your party is centered on a kitchen activity (pizza-making, anyone?), a cute cookie cutter makes an adorable (and inexpensive) favor. Attach a card with your favorite cookie recipe with ribbon, and your sweet gift will last a long time.

Is your theme centered around a popular children’s book character? Have your little guests color and decorate their own bookmark to take home.

3. Display:

Mama, don’t under estimate the importance of this, you have put in all the effort so you deserve to show your goodie bags off in grand style!

While there are no strict rules here on how to display your favour bags, I have few suggestions here. For one, a nicely customised favour bag tied to the party theme and displayed properly can really boost the overall décor. So, if you are putting up a backdrop and dessert table you can consider displaying the favor bags next to the dessert table. Place them neatly on a table – preferably same height as the dessert table – and consider adding bunting or streamers.

Overall, choose a favor that really means something, one that is practical and long-lasting or one that suits your party theme. Give a favour that makes an impression – one that stands out – something absolutely fabulous that won’t break your bank!

Birthdays only come once a year, so with a little bit of planning and creativity you can ensure that your child and the people who were part of her special celebrations won’t soon forget (until the next year!). Now….LET’S GO PARTY!