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Parenting
KrisBriMcBunny
member
The best place to buy goodie bag stuff that wont break my bank?
KrisBriMcBunny
member
in Parenting
and some ideas too....thanks
Josh-10/1/87, Brittany 3/9/91, Mandi 7/26/92, Michelle 9/11/06
I'M GRAPE JELLY- ALWAYS AROUND & ALWAYS THE SAME
If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me. For I must be traveling on now. Because there are too many places I've got to see. -Allen Collins & Ronnie VanZant
My favorite verse!
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Re: The best place to buy goodie bag stuff that wont break my bank?
Do you have Dollar Tree? Everything is a dollar! lol
They usually have cute things you could put in a goodie bag.
Is there a theme?
Don't waste your money at the dollar store unless you are doing something tangible - like a coloring book and crayons. Or something kids will actually use. I throw out all that "junk" that comes in goodie bags.
I buy the kids $5 gift cards to Target/Toys R Us and tape them to the bag that they use for the pinata candy. I would spend about $4-5 per kid for all that goodie bag junk anyway and I'd rather they go pick something out themselves/use the gift card towards something they want. I never have to worry about having enough favors either. I usually have about 15 kids come to the parties so I buy 20 gift cards and if there are any left over, it feels like a bonus at my next trip to Target!
ITA with Jodi on this one. I'd much rather have something like her giftcard idea or some fancy cookies/something edible.
good idea but god the parents would hate me....I know because I cant stand those things but M LOVES them.
The last few years, I've always purchased a bulk package of gift bags from Target, added a cute sticker or tag to them. Then, I put in a punching balloon (these things are always the hugest hit with kids of all ages), and one other small cheap thing. Then, we have a pinata and the kids use the same bags to put all of their candy in. I probably spend $3-$4 each kid.
I always do something edible. I just had DS1's birthday party this past weekend and when it was over I thought of a good idea for favors for next time...I had gotten him a few helium balloons at the dollar store and I thought it would be fun next time to get a balloon for each kid, write their name on it and have the balloon weight be a bag full of m & m's or something like that.
For his party this year, it was a cars theme, so I made rice krispie treats to look like tires...they were round with dark chocolate on top and I wrote the kids' names on them in white icing. I wrapped them in plastic bags and had them by the door for the kids before they left.
I agree with the other posters that I pretty much always throw the little toys in goody bags away.
I agree - don't get junk.
Last week I did markers (97 cents/ea pack) and color pages ($4 for the roll of 30 pics). I did crayons last year and made a coloring book from free b/w images online of the theme.
I also like edible stuff....cookies, chocolates, cake pops, etc.
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
I'm always the odd man out on the Nest because I don't mind the goodie bag junk. Frankly, it's all junk. We don't need any more bubbles. Or sidewalk chalk. Or sand toys. Or coloring books. Or crayons. Or Play Doh. And I would be annoyed if I got a $5 card to Toys R Us because nothing costs $5 at TRU except for more junk, and I"d have to take DS and listen to, "Can I get this? Can I get this?" and I'd likely end up spending way more than $5 just to get something.
So you can't please everyone! Yes, the junk gets pitched pretty quickly, but it entertains DS for the day and he thinks it's pretty cool. They're not for adults; they're for kids.
I go back anf forth on if I care for goodie bags or not. Really, the kids like to get stuff, and it doesn't really matter what the stuff is.
I usually get something to go along with the theme. I did an ice cream social party once and the favors were ice cream bowls/spoons that I got from oriental trading co. DD's party favor this year was squeezable applesauce pouches, punching balloons, stickers, glow necklace, and a helium balloon.
ML and TB went to a luau themed bday party on Saturday, and the girls decorated flip flops and the boys decorated straw hats, which they all got to take home. I like doing/giving things like that. Not only does it kill some time at the party, but they get to take something home that they made, which might mean they'll value it more. At ML's bday party, we had an art theme, and the kids made aprons/painted birdhouses/threw paint at canvases, all of which they got to take home, and maybe they were just being nice, but the parents all said they much preferred that to plastic toys.
Could you provide materials to make friendship bracelets or something similar? Or barrettes/headbands? I bought a bunch of really cheap headbands from etsy seller onlyee. I bought mine already "done", but she has just plain ones, and she sells things like flowers for decorating. Mini Birdhouses are $1 at Joann's.