Goodie bags, party favours, trick bags… call them what you want, but the fact remains that a children’s party isn’t complete without some party favours being handed out at the end. It’s a lovely way to thank your guests for coming along to celebrate your child’s birthday, handing out goodie bags is also a nice way to prolong the birthday party feeling long after the last cake crumb is gone.
But when the stress of actually planning the party has got too much and you’re burning through the cash… making your own goodie bags is a cost effective way to add a personalised touch to your child’s next party. With a little bit of thought and some clever budgeting, you can hand out insightful take home gifts that keep within the traditional spirit of the goodie bag but don’t break the bank either. And our friends at The Party Elves have come up with some simple ideas to help you along.
Homemade Alphabet Crayons
Image courtesy of Life in Grace
We love this clever idea! You can use silicon alphabet baking moulds (or any shape you fancy) to create unique crayons – this idea is so simple too; all it needs is a box of crayons and a good mould! If you want to be really fancy, you could make crayons that show only the age and initials of the birthday child or you could use the initials of your child’s friends. If you opt for this however, remember to write their names on the goodie bag tags!
Break down the crayons into small pieces, stick them in the moulds, pop them in a preheated 250oC oven for 20 minutes and you’re done! Let them cool completely before placing in take home bags.
For detailed instructions check out this website.
Gummy Sweet Skewers
Image courtesy of HWTM
If you are really stretched for time, this is a great idea for busy parents. Buy a bunch of your favourite fruit chews or gummies, skewer them on a kebab stick, put them in a clear bag, tie a pretty string and a cute little thank you note around the top of the bag and you’re done!
Eco Instruments
Image courtesy of mini eco
Having a music party? Then these 3 in 1 instruments – a shaker, a bongo drum and a güiro is a great make-at-home gift for littlies.
All you need are some empty tins that have been washed and cleaned, balloons (with the ends cut off), rubber bands and rice to fill the tins with – just make sure the edges aren’t sharp. Pop your rice into the tin, put your balloon over the top and secure with an elastic band. While it will need a bit of forward planning, it’s a fun take home gift for your child’s friends. Keep it within the colour theme of the party by using the right colour balloons, tie a thank you tag on, add some drumsticks or chopsticks on the side and you’ll have the kids tap, tap, tapping away with these cool pressies. What better way to prolong the spirit of the celebration!
Glitter Pots
We recently saw a great give away gift idea from one of our clients. Fill Ikea spice jars (or any inexpensive jars) with craft glitter in the same colour as the theme of the party and give these out as take home gifts. You could even take it one step further and fill more bottles with other craft items like buttons (of the same colour), sequins, pom poms or stickers of the same colour at the theme and give a set of three to each guest.
DIY within a DIY
Do it Yourself themed goodie bags are also another great way of extending the life of the party.
These fun paper face masks are easy to do. Simply cut them out according to a standard pattern, pack some decorative items into the bag along with the pattern to get them started, and you’ll have a ready made busy bag — which we’ve no doubt other parents will thank you for profusely!
Go to First Palette for some free printable designs, or come up with your own!
Now go forth and slay those goodie bag monsters, mama — all you have to do is remember these two points and have fun!
1) Ground work goes a long way
Do a little research and stretch your dollar. Get just a couple of useful things for your goodie bags, rather than a bunch of not so useful things for the same value. Sites like Foxysales, Q0010, and Fishpond are great online stores to go to if you’re looking for something in particular.
If you are more of a touchy feely buyer, Toys R Us and the great HDB void deck toy stores are great to have a trawl around. You’ll be surprised at the variety you can find!
Independent book stores (like Popular and Times) in Singapore are also great resources for inexpensive books within your theme. Just be sure to plan this ahead and order with enough time for delivery.
2) Don’t get stuck on the main character
Use the theme of the party to guide you, but certainly don’t get stuck on it. It’s not everyday that you’ll find the owl finger puppet that will be a HOOT for an Owl themed goodie bag.
Anything related to the party will help such as the age of your child, the colours of your detailing and decorations; anything that will remind the child of the fun time they had at the party.
Once, we ran an Elmo’s World party where the theme included different ball games. Instead of getting the licensed Sesame Street bags and figurines, we used a simple brown lunch bag, filled it with inexpensive balls purchased at the local toy store, pots of play dough in the same theme colours of red, orange or yellow (because really, what child doesn’t like play doh?), secured the bags with printed labels and ribbons and voila! They were a big hit too!
If all else fails, wait a week then send a nice card to say thank you for their presence and presents… and get organised for next year.