Kid's Birthday Party Bag of cr*p

[melicious]

I didn't know people still gave goodie bags! Are they really necessary? I mean, if you WANT to give them out, you should, but I don't think anyone should feel forced to; IMO they should be optional!

[baglady]

I'm 37 and for the most part I don't remember getting them and I know the few times we had parties we didn't give them.  I get the "good stuff"/educational argument but how about educating the kids by introducing them to the concept that the company of others is reason enough to attend a party, that you don't need anythong other than good memories to take home with you?

This. Favors are one thing, but a whole bag of stuff? When I was a kid having/attending birthday parties, there were favors (like the BLATTTT! noisemakers a PP mentioned, and prizes for games), but those were nice bonuses. Nobody went to birthday parties for the "stuff." It just feels a little like bribery to me -- nobody will come to a birthday party unless *they* get a gift, too.

I like the idea of having an activity where the guests make something (e.g., decorated cookies or shirts) or are given something to use at the party (e.g., water guns) that they then take home. That's different from just giving them a bag of stuff.

BTW, around here they're called "loot bags." Maybe that's why I dislike them. Goodies are a gift, but loot is something you take by force!

[MommyPenguin]

Now I feel kind of guilty.  At my daughter's most recent birthday, she had a dinosaur theme, so the goody bags had tiny stuffed dinosaurs (and I mean *tiny*) and little 12-piece dinosaur puzzles, plus the candy they got from the pinata.  I guess all those poor little stuffed dinosaurs got tossed afterwards.  They were so cute, though.

I think the biggest hits that we managed for goody bags were last year, for her Dora party.  There were bubbles and these little kits that either let you bead a necklace or make a mosaic.  The kids went on a "Dora adventure" (with a map they had to follow) to find the treasure chest, and it contained all the goody bags.  So the kids got and opened them during the party.  There were bubbles being blown all over the house and kids chasing them around and stuff, then they all sat down to do the necklaces/mosaics and some coloring pages I'd printed.  I'll have to remember in the future that goody bags with activities are fun, especially if they get them with some time to play with them at the party.

[CakeEater]

Now I feel kind of guilty.  At my daughter's most recent birthday, she had a dinosaur theme, so the goody bags had tiny stuffed dinosaurs (and I mean *tiny*) and little 12-piece dinosaur puzzles, plus the candy they got from the pinata.  I guess all those poor little stuffed dinosaurs got tossed afterwards.  They were so cute, though.

I think the biggest hits that we managed for goody bags were last year, for her Dora party.  There were bubbles and these little kits that either let you bead a necklace or make a mosaic.  The kids went on a "Dora adventure" (with a map they had to follow) to find the treasure chest, and it contained all the goody bags.  So the kids got and opened them during the party.  There were bubbles being blown all over the house and kids chasing them around and stuff, then they all sat down to do the necklaces/mosaics and some coloring pages I'd printed.  I'll have to remember in the future that goody bags with activities are fun, especially if they get them with some time to play with them at the party.

Don't feel any guilty - my little one loves tiny stuffed anything, and that would go straight in the 'save for special occasions bag'. I don't think goodie bags are necessary, and I certainly wouldn't ask for one when leaving a party, but I think they're cute, and I like doing them. I was looking forwad to doing kiddie party things!

[Roe]

I don't think people should be forced to do a goodie bag/favor but I enjoy it and I take great care to create something fun and unique so I'll continue to include it as part of hosting a party.

[Mikayla]

I'm a sucker for goodie bags.  I don't have kids, but I've helped friends for parties and even helped put them together for a wedding once.  I think what makes them work is places like Dollar Tree and Dollar Store, etc.  They have lots of fun stuff!  Or maybe I'm just a dork.

Back when I was growing up, I remember having them, but it was a box of animal crackers and a pencil with my name on it.  This didn't rock my world much.

[kareng57]

I didn't know people still gave goodie bags! Are they really necessary? I mean, if you WANT to give them out, you should, but I don't think anyone should feel forced to; IMO they should be optional!

I agree completely - but I think that they became "mandatory" at about the same time as wedding-favours became mandatory.

For either occasion - I think that a nice small edible take-home item is fine, if the hosts feel that they absolutely must provide something.  For weddings - I realize that the justification in "charitable-donation-for-favour" issue is that the guests will notice that there's no favour, and will wonder why.  Not for me - I'm not likely to notice the absence of a promotional-pen stating "Jen and Joe, March 9 2012" or an inexpensive picture frame with the same inscription.  What would I do with it?

I really don't think that children or adults need take-home goodies.  I'll admit that I did the decorated-sugar-cookies (as mentioned above) but that was more of a keep-busy-party project as opposed to something to take home.

[Venus193]

I used to do (grown-up) goodie bags for Eunice's St. Patrick's Day party.  The typical contents were:

sugar-free spearmint chewing gum
green Starlight mints
Andes mints
Green, silver, and gold-wrapped York Peppermint Patties (or other small chocolates) purchased half-price after Christmas
Pearson Nips (esp if I could find Irish Cream flavor, otherwise Mocha)
Spearmint shelalagh (candy cane purchased at 75% off after Christmas)
Shamrock- or leprechaun-themed lottery ticket ($1 or $2)
Shamrock-themed Mardi Gras beads
small gift

I stopped doing this two years ago because this cost more than I could afford.  Since nobody has commented on this since then I guess it didn't matter.

[bopper]

Another favor we have done was to have the kids decorate a foam picture frame, and then take pictures of the kids doing the activity and print it out and put it in the frame.

[Instantkarma]

I stopped doing this two years ago because this cost more than I could afford.  Since nobody has commented on this since then I guess it didn't matter.

or they could realize that they werent entitiled to a goodie bag and didnt want to complain

[TootsNYC]

I stopped doing this two years ago because this cost more than I could afford.  Since nobody has commented on this since then I guess it didn't matter.

or they could realize that they werent entitiled to a goodie bag and didnt want to complain

Or the parents were really relieved not to have to deal with the extra stuff.

[Instantkarma]

I stopped doing this two years ago because this cost more than I could afford.  Since nobody has commented on this since then I guess it didn't matter.

or they could realize that they werent entitiled to a goodie bag and didnt want to complain

Or the parents were really relieved not to have to deal with the extra stuff.

the goodie bags were for adults not kids although now i have  a really funny picture in my head of grown adults parents not wanting their grown adult kids to have extra stuff

[Venus193]

I think one year someone had a $20 win on a lottery ticket right after losing her job.  That was what the Luck of the Irish is supposed to be about.

Most of the bag would be consumable, but it also took several hours to assemble 40 of them.  What I may still do despite what my contribution is currently costing me is check for a sale on Ferrero Rocher chocolates (the gold-wrapped ones) and fill a plastic leprechaun cauldron with them.  There are no good chocolate coins with gold wrapping.

[TootsNYC]

I stopped doing this two years ago because this cost more than I could afford.  Since nobody has commented on this since then I guess it didn't matter.

or they could realize that they werent entitiled to a goodie bag and didnt want to complain

Or the parents were really relieved not to have to deal with the extra stuff.

the goodie bags were for adults not kids although now i have  a really funny picture in my head of grown adults parents not wanting their grown adult kids to have extra stuff

Even the grownups might have been relieved not to have to deal with the extra stuff.
It's a big thing at weddings--al the favors deliberately left on the table.

[Instantkarma]

I stopped doing this two years ago because this cost more than I could afford.  Since nobody has commented on this since then I guess it didn't matter.

or they could realize that they werent entitiled to a goodie bag and didnt want to complain

Or the parents were really relieved not to have to deal with the extra stuff.

the goodie bags were for adults not kids although now i have  a really funny picture in my head of grown adults parents not wanting their grown adult kids to have extra stuff

Even the grownups might have been relieved not to have to deal with the extra stuff.
It's a big thing at weddings--al the favors deliberately left on the table.

yeah i know it just seemed like you were confused sorry i mentioned it