I keep wanting to start a petition to abolish the goody bag at kids birthday parties. But then I think about about the zillion other causes that should probably take precedence like world hunger, human rights, animal rights. Oh you get the idea. Then there’s the fear that people will think I’m a total grinch. What really gets me about these party favors is that they are usually a bunch of junk bought for less than $5 and have about 10 minutes of glory before they get tossed in the trash. The sheer quantity of this plastic junk overwhelms me and ultimately makes me feel guilty about tossing it out. The kids aren’t really excited about the junk either, but they are so accustomed to getting a gift bag at the end of the party, that it’s hard to do without it.
So instead of abolishing the gift bag, we try and come up with inexpensive items that won’t get tossed out immediately.
Here are some ideas and please feel free to add your own.
- books. Lindsay is in the early reader phase, so you can buy a paperback book for $3-4.
- flashlight. We just had a pretend sleepover party, so the kids picked flashlights of different colors and used them in the fort we made. We were able to get a decent quality flashlight for about $4.
- homemade cookies. Cute shapes and colors make them even nicer.
- cookie cutter. This could tie in with a party theme.
- art supplies. Markers, crayons, glitter glue, stickers are all fun. You can buy Dover sticker books for about $1.50
- t-shirts. You can buy packs of undershirts and the kids can decorate them with fabric paint as part of the party activity.
- flower pot. The kids can paint the pots and you can either give them seeds, or they can plant their own plants as part of the activity.
- balls. Superballs or even a set of jacks if you can find one in the right price range.
- magnifying glass
- finger puppets
- magnets. Kids love to play with them.
- playdoh. You can get the small containers and give 2 colors.
- rubber stamps.
- yo-yo
- colored shoe laces.
I think some of the nicest ones tie in with the party. Make and take, so to speak. What the child makes becomes a lot more meaningful than a plastic smiley face ring. You get the idea.
Wow, I better get Lyanda over here to reply to this, she is the queen of simple home-made birthday goodies. Ok maybe not always so simple. One year she made little cakes in a castle-shaped bundt pan and the kids all decorated their own. One year we had a princess party and she sewed a simple tulle tutu for each girl.
Well, I often just pack gifts in newspaper and say it’s the most environmental way of wrapping i can think of. I offer no apologies for it. one note, though, poor birds often eat those ridiculous plastic things on and in gifts, mistaking them for food. Then die. So, there’s another reason to avoid it all. Of course, another version I’ve come up with (for times I feel compelled to forego the newspaper) is simple brown paper, tied and wrapped with twine. My family also now uses gift bags and we reuse them. There’s a big rush now to grab bags after they’ve been opened, so you get to pack your gifts (next time) in the nicest bags!
Detoxify your life – we all need to do that. More natural foods as close to their original form as possible need to be eaten. When eating vegetables, always wash them very carefully if you cannot afford to buy organic and don’t have the space to grow your own. To preserve the nutrients, steam rather than boil them.