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Ah the dreaded goody bag. It’s every parent’s arch nemesis. And with my son’s 2nd birthday soon upon us, I’m determined to avoid the seemingly unescapable “bag of junk” that people seem obligated to give kids who attend their party.
I’m not even sure why they call it a “goody bag” because there’s just nothing good about it.
So here are some simple ways to create eco-friendly goody bags that kids and their parents will thank you for, and ones that won’t kill your budget.
1. Paint Your Own Bag
We’re huge fans of small family birthday celebrations, and we can actually still get away with them since my daughter’s birthday is in the summer and my son is not yet in school. For my daughter’s 4th birthday, I purchased a few canvas bags at Michael’s ($1.29 each) and had her paint them. If you’re brave, make it part of the party activity and have the kids do it. You can cover up their birthday best in old shirts and let them go to down. In fact, you don’t even necessarily need to stuff the bag; it’s pretty cool on its very own.
2. Books
Whether you pop a book in the bag you (or the kids) painted, or just give it alone, a book is an awesome take home gift. You can find cheap books at your local discount stores or you can purchase via your kid’s Scholastic ordering and give a little money back to their classroom. Either way, buy a few blank white labels and have your birthday kid write or draw on them. Then stick them on the back (or inside cover) as a way to say “thanks” for coming.
3. Art Supplies
If you definitely want to pack a goody bag, then raid the “shelves” at Stubby Pencil Studio. They’ve got everything from soy crayons to scented pencils made from recycled newspaper — all of which are eco friendly and completely kid approved.
Take your old crayons or buy a bunch of new ones to melt down and make cool multicolored crayons. Your kids can help you make them and you can easily pack them in a paper bag with a ribbon (if you want an extra fancy presentation). I purchased silicone letter and number trays and used those — a HUGE HIT.
5. Seasonal Crafts
Instead of doing a goody bag, make something with the kids as your party activity and send them home. Have a Fall birthday? Decorate small pumpkins (or send them home with a mini one). Winter birthdays are great times to decorate ornaments. It doesn’t need to be extravagant or expensive – just something that fits in with the season and that kids will think is cool – which is often times just a cool rock.
They’re kids. They’re not picky.
[This post was written by Kristen Chase.]
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
We try to keep the goodies simple too. The bags, if needed, are just the plain paper lunch bags we keep for the occasional school field trip. They really don’t need to match a theme.
We prefer including things like pencils that the kids will really use up.
Another fun craft is having kids plant flower seeds. It can be a favorite of the birthday boy or girl, or something you know will grow fast enough.
Another “goodie” option is a gift certificate to a local ice creamery. We gave them out at my daughters 3rd birthday party and the parents loved them. We also sent home some of the party decorations so the kids had something to play with.
For Kelsey’s 4th birthday “tea” and cupcake decorating party next week, I’ve been working on homemade aprons for her friends (luckily we only invited a handful). I’m considering making matching ones for the Mama’s (since it is a Mother/Daughter party) but probably won’t have time. The “goody” bag is such a pain! For our Halloween bash, I used recycled paper bags decorated harvest-y and gave each kid an organic lollipop, natural fruit snacks and organic rootbeer barrel. It worked in a pinch, but natural candies don’t come cheap and they are still CANDY.
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for my son and daughter’s birthdays I actually made cloth goodie bags out of scrap fabric laying around. I found some things bulk at the teacher store (pencils, erasers, small note pads), but then did the melty crayons mentioned above (my kids loved breaking up their old small crayons), I ordered some hand made soaps from an organic soap maker on etsy in the shape of cars and some temporary tattoos. The kids and the teachers LOVED them. We did similar for Halloween. No candy, no choking hazards, no characters. For my daughter’s tea party party we made tea hats out of paper plates and random craft supplies. Everyone had a blast.