Hi Mommies,
My son is having his third birthday party this weekend and I am stumped on what to give out to his guests for favors.
I don't want to give out a bag of "worthless" stuff. The goody bags usually add up to about $5 worth of junk, so I would prefer to spend $3-$5 on one need gift for each guest. I want it to be fun stuff that the kids will actually use and like!
We did those really big bouncy balls one year, buckets and shovels, and we also have done....oh, I can't remember the other one! I have seen bubbles, chalk, candy, etc....
Does anyone have any other cool ideas? We have little boys and girls attending the party ages 2-4.
Thank you!!
I did forget the theme: It's a soccer party, but only the plates, napkins, cake etc. My son really wanted skateboard, but we couldn't find anything cute so he settled with soccer.
Thank you all for your awesome suggestions. I got some great ideas for future parties! I went to Coley which is a kids clothing/toy store in Long Beach. They have really cute toys there, like the toys store on Main Street in Seal Beach. They had these really cute toy cars that were pretty big and make noise and the door and hoods opened up. They were so cute. So, I got one of those for each boy at the party and the lady working at the store sent me home with clear bags, tisse and ribbon for each goody bag! GREAT customer service! I added some tattoos in the bags and everyone loved them! For the girls I bought a cute kids magnifine (sp?) glass and wood chimes for them to paint. It all worked out and everyone was happy.
Thanks again for the great advice!
Have you thought about gift certificates to a book store?? :D Everyone loves a good bedtime story!! :D
Huggles!!
~S.~
Playdough is always a hit and there are so many options these days. You can choose to give a few tubs or get the kits that have cutters and one tub.
Books are always good or hit up the Crayola section and give coloring books and crayons/pencils. Good luck and have a fun birthday.
What about crayons with paper or coloring books?
i went to a one year olds party last month & it was elmo themed. they gave out an elmo box with a few goodies in it & a $5.00 gift certificate to "Cold Stone" ice cream parlour. i thought it was a great idea.
Small books are a good idea, princess related for girls and Bob the Builder or truck related are big hits for buys.
We gave out harmonicas last year at for our son's third birthday. The best "goody bag" gift we've received was a curious george book. The mom had a basket with a bunch of them, 4 or 5 titles.
I also think chalk, crayons or "useable" stuff is great!
You might want to check out the following websites:
Rhode Island Novelty
http://www.rinovelty.com/
Oriental Trading Company
http://www.orientaltrading.com
I'm a teacher and I use both of these sites to purchase things for my students.
Have fun!
For boys, I love hot wheels. My son even received one 5 pack as a "goodie bag" from a birthday party. It was great!!! At that party, my daughter received a fairy Barbie. I don't know where the hostess found them for under 5 bucks, but she did. Again, one bigger gift in my book was better than a bunch of "junk".
Another idea for girls are hair products. Girls can never have too many bows, ribbons, clips, headbands, etc. I love the Dollar Tree and the 99c store for that stuff.
You could also do a craft and the finished product is the "goodie" or just send home the craft supplies and the kids could make them at home. Michaels has some great kits for assembling and painting wood things (airplanes, birdhouses, racecars, etc.) for $1. It comes with the paints and everything. My 3yo and 6yo son loves these! But, there are so many other things there as well for a low price.
A friend of mine made handprint stepping stones at her party and that was the "goodie". She used the disposable ziploc containers, sprayed them with pam, mixed cement in the container with water, let it set for a short time, then press the child's hand in it and let them add broken up tiles for a mosaic look. She had one adult at her party responsible for the project throughout the party. We put the lid on the "stone", wrote our name on the container, took it home and the next day when it had completely set the stone popped right out.
I hope some of these ideas help. There are a lot of resources online as well, but you're running short on time. Have fun at the party!!!
What is the theme of the party? Maybe that would spark some ideas. I am not a big fan of the junk full of goody bag. I have thrown away many a bag of candy and "stuff" that I realize cost money. Sometimes instead, I buy a nice craft project for the kids to make (for example, if it were pirate theme, they could make a treasure box...use wooden box with jewels). One party was a beach party and I bought an inexpensive watch for each child that matched the theme. One party was at ColorMeMine so the "goody bag" was the ceramic item. Another idea would be if you are thinking $5 item, buy a $5 gift card for an ice cream store.
To save time on distributing thank you notes, while the kids are playing a game, my daughter quickly signs thank you notes which I attach to the goody bags. At a younger age, I would quickly write them out and she would sign them. This way, the goodie bag was also attached to a thank you note. She still does this at parties and she is turning 13 this week.
Have you looked at the $1 SPOT at Target? They have some nice $1 gift bag ideas that aren't so junky.
how about those multipacks of playdoh?
Helps to know if there's a theme, but I always like orientaltrading.com for lots of good ideas.
(BTW, I agree with you on the goodie bags. I think they are a stupid tradition, if you ask me. Kids are thrilled enough to go on a jumpy and eat cake. We just have soooo much in this culture, don't we? and the amount of junk candy and platics that usually go into these bags make me sick. Sorry, venting. I do them, in the long run, but try to make them creative and sort of consciencious if I can.)
Target has a dollar bin near the front of the store. I have seen some really awesome things in there such as: wooden dinosaur puzzles, gel pens, disney princess purses, etc. I am confident that you could find something really nice and for a good price.
For my son's birthday parties, we always did a portrait studio, where we took pictures of kids with/out their parents. Then, we printed them out that day and placed them in a "home-made" picture frame. This was always a big hit with the parents and kids.
We also made sure there were some crafts that the kids could do at the party so they could take them home.
I'm not a big fan of receiving junk bags at parties and most of the stuff that is cheap is not suitable for kids under 3 years old. So, books, crayons, stuffed animals, pictures, and crafts are the best best. You can also purchase t-shirts that the kids can draw on or decorate and that is their favor.
Also, it's not so much what they get as much as the presentation, so use colorful bags and ribbons. Also, personalize the gifts with the kids' names. The parents won't want to throw away useful things and will appreciate the hardwork you did on personalizing something.
Have fun,
F.
Bubbles are always a great idea they never go out of style. I've also tried tattoos and race cars for boys and play jewerly for girls. I find it easier to do theme parties that can accommondate boys and girls ex: a camoflague party. I went online to partyexpress.com and bought canteens, banoculars and they had all sorts of party favors and it was a big hit, everybody is still talking about it. Try party city and alin party co.
-N. B.
Aja,
I had the best response one year when we gave out those huge punch balloons. Kids from one year old to nine loved them alike!!
I hope that you find something fun to do too.
P.
If you've got the ime, make a little CD with 10 or so songs on the computer. You can burn a copy for each kid and make a fun CD label. THen each kid withh have 'their own' music to play again and again when they get home. I did this for my daughter's bday and just used all 'adult' music that kids would like, too. For example, Beatles, Jack Johnson, Jackson 5. Good luck!
I'm not a huge fan of goody bags, but the following is a list of items that cost less than $1 each and kids seem to like:
--a set of mini-pens in assorted colors (Target)
--an erasable drawing board with attached "pen" (Target)
--a paddle with attached ball (Target)
--a folding ruler (Learning Tree, I think)
--a mini-board book (www.pubint.com)
--stickers
Lynne E
I am also curious to know if there is a theme! I am not a fan of goody bags at all. My had a Mickey /Minnie theme for my son's 3rd birthday a couple of weeks ago (it was a joint party with my niece) and we bought a little game from the Disney store as the take home gift. http://tinyurl.com/5lomwc It was only $5! For the few babies in attendance we gave out small plush Mickey/Minnies that I got at Target.
Books are also a great idea!
Hello Aja,
Well do you have a theme for the party? My son is turning 3 in Aug. and we are having a pirate themed party. I am like you and don't like giving junk in the goodi bags.
Last year, the theme was Disney "CARS" We had a real race car come to the party. Likely my next door neighbor is a race car driver and had a red car that he uses as his 2nd car. So, my son and the kids were so excited to see Lightening McQueen at the party and they all got their pics taken with Mc Queen.
Anyways, as the goodie bags, I gave them each a car, got them at Target for like $3 each. I also gave them a CARS cup from Party City $0.99 each. And a box of CARS crayons again Party City for $0.99 each. I am sure I put some CARS stickers and tattooes in the bag as well.
This year, I will give each child a foam pirate sword, with an eye patch and a felt pirate hat. I know its to late for you but for next year check out www.orienttrading.com for great cheap goodi bag items.
But, if you let me know your theme I can give you tons of ideas. Before my son was born I owned my own Event Planning company. But, don't have the time anymore, but have tons of ideas.
Best of Luck,
M.
I know this may sound lame, but I gave out flashlights one year at my son B-day party,as a party favor,and it was a big hit!!!
For my son's 6th birthday last March, all I did was buy (2) boxes of cupcakes from Costco and put them in individual cupcake boxes, which I ordered on line, and gave them to the kids. I had different age groups so it worked perfectly. And the cupcakes were big in size and tasty. Hope this helps!
