Ugh. I have to do my kid's birthday party "goodie bags" this weeks and am dreading it. But the 4/5 year olds seem to LOVE them. My son keeps asking what will be in them and whether he'll get one too... Anyone have any suggestions for something better to put in than candy or plastic junk? Last year we did hot wheels cars and one mom complained they have too many cars. One party we went to featured little Lego kits, but that's beyond my budget.

I don't mind favours, but I think that it would be good to scale back on the quantity. Instead of spending money on a bag full of things, one or two items would suffice just fine. Last year at my sons party the kids got a colouring book, a pack of crayons, and bubbles, all from the dollar store. Everything can be used up and no candy. They get enough sugar from the cupcakes anyway, no need to add candy into the mix. I do enjoy the idea of maybe a container of play-doh and cookie cutter, or maybe a decorated cookie to enjoy at home.

I feel obligated to do favors but I refuse to do dollar store crap. Instead, I sew or buy something related to the theme and give away a couple things instead of a bag of junk. This year for my son's rocket party, I made up crayon/coloring pad wallets out of rocket fabrics and for my daughter's flower party, we made cargo pant backpacks (using Noodlehead's tutorial) with flower fabric highlights on the girl ones and car fabric on the boys. I hate receiving crap favors from others and would rather get nothing than have to trash what we do get. That's also why we ask for no gifts. I think one nice things that's actually somwhat durable is better than a bunch of stuff that will break within days. If you can't sew, than there are other ideas like shaped crayons for your theme, etc. that will get used.

Oops, got a little worked up about this topic and made numerous typographical errors in the above comment.

I prefer to give activities rather than throw-away stuff. I like to give art sets like paint sets and a little canvas or beads to string or whatever. The kids love it and the parents appreciate that it's a productive activity to entertain their kids for a little while!

Ooh, I love the little canvas and bead idea!

I'm not sure if it's a regional thing or what but I have never been to a child's party (as an adult or kid) where guests have been given goody bags or favors. Not only do I find it kind of wasteful (kids get enough candy/trinkets through out the year) but I also think it sends a bad message to the kids. They are there to honor a guest and don't need to get a gift to give a gift, if you know what I mean.

We are skipping gifts and favors this year and doing a book exchange instead. Each child who wants to participate will bring an unwrapped book and at the end of the party they will get to choose a book to take home. That way we aren't inundated with more stuff (birthday gifts) and our guests get to take something nice home. A friend started this tradition and I love it.

I am SO against favors. We never had them as kids, and I think it's wasteful. I understand the concept, but we won't be giving them out. On another party thing I hate getting, Thank you cards. I gave a gift because I wanted to. And you most likely already said thank you when you opened it.

Usually it is junk that gets thrown away so, yes, I'd rather skip it. Occasionally we've gotten something consumable like play dough and that works. But even the consumable ones are usually kind of a waste like crayons that don't color well or "homemade" stuff that is still going to get thrown away.

Our little guy isn't at the age where we're too deep into the goody bags yet - he's 2.
I really like the activity focused ones. We did get one from a friends birthday that was a small seed packet and a mini-ceramic pot.

I hate party favors!!! Hate and Loath them!!! When my kids get invited they often get invited with their siblings... there is nothing worse than walking away from a party with se7en (+1) bags of junk... When we have parties I try and do a nice, useful craft with the kids and then send that home as their "goodie bag." So we will tie dye shoe laces or decorate bandanas... Otherwise make sure you pop consumables in there... crayons, little bath fizzes whatever. In a world where where parents are trying so hard to declutter and get their kids to declutter it seems a bit insane to make them think that a bag of absolute junk is the great reward for being at a party. AND if you ask any kid about a party - I know you won't believe it, but try it!!! The thing that they most remember, yet are very forgiving about artistic ability, is the cake!!! The cake!!! I realize this is a bit of a rant... but I have had to part with millions of little bits and pieces of flimsy plastic toys in my time - all in the name of party fun...

depends on the favor. I prefer to do single, meaningful items or something useful that tis related to the celebration: a personalized cookie, a baseball, a bandana, nail polish or an inexpensive tiara/hair clip, a mini pumpkin decorated at the party. I don't see the point at all in all the Oriental Trading-type kitsch. For one birthday last year I gave little bear honey jars ($1) wrapped in bandanas (theme was spaghetti western) with a note that said: thanks for making our celebration sweet. I felt good about it, and people seemed happy with it. Note: we keep our guest list to a minimum.

Another favor hater here.

Simple favors, yes. Bags full of plastic, yuck. We've given harmonicas, decorated cookies, watercolor paint sets, scholastic books, playdoh, wooden bead kits, science kits, ribbons to hold girls hair clips, or had the kids create something they take home. I also dislike pinatas filled with plastic and sugar. Find one thing that cost $5 or less instead of spending that on a bag and filling it with little things. The parents will thank you.

We did a package of paints and and pad of art paper. I think it was well received...

Agree with Annieglan on favors and thank you cards!

Yeah! I was the one who started the favor conversation!

I also feel obligated to do them, but like some of the others, I have done very carefully chosen items, like a small stuffed animal and a See's Candy Lollipop. Quality over Quantity, for sure.

That said, if my kids never got favors again of any kind, I'd be so happy. They don't need more stuff. And neither do the landfills!

My four year old son loves favors. Either attending or hosting birthdays are one of the only times that he is allowed "junk" either toys or food. He especially loves giving little gifts to his friends on his birthday. These are small gifts that he carefully picks out. I also have him give thank you cards because I want him to show his appreciation for the time/effort others spent in picking out a gift for him. Showing appreciation, kindness to others and being gracious are values I hope he will carry into adulthood.

My son is about to turn 1 and I'm not very experienced in this area, but my memories of childhood party favors were the ones we made ourselves--rhinestone t-shirts! safety-pin bracelets!

I'm skipping favors for our first birthday. There will be bigger kids but they will have to suck it up. It's not something I'm interested in, so I'm not doing it...

HATE favor bags! Sure, the kids think it is such fun to open them and see what is inside and then you are left with a pile of unused junk. Oh, thats not quite right- the baby seems to constantly be finding bits of this plastic trash and stuffing it in her mouth when I look the other way. I beg you, parents of the world, please abandon the gift bag. Spend your money on a fun craft for the kids to do at the party or print out a bunch of photos on your printer before the kids leave and give them to me. A heartfelt 'Thank you for coming to my party!' is truly enough.

"Favor Hater" Great term. I'm soooo a favor hater. Plastic crap, leftover candy, stupid staining bubbles. ARRRGH!
If I do anything, it's homebaked cookies. I used to snap polaroids of each kid for their goody bag (w/ a couple cookies,) but I fear that's gone the way of the dodo.

Did I mention I hate goodie bags? The book exchange sounds cute, too.

I cannot stand favor bags in general. They are the norm for parties here, but I too try to find one or two quality things to add to the bag instead of the junk that's so pervasive. Printing coloring pages related to the theme (or not!) is easy and popular. My new fave thing to do is to make a CD of the child's favorite songs -- play it at the party and then give a copy in the goody bag. It has been very well-received, and it's a nice little snapshot of the party that's automatically archived for years to come.

I LOVE FAVORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't like favors but my kid LOVES them and it's his birthday afterall.

I like favours. The kids LOVE favours. They're kids for such a short time, so why not?! I don't usually buy the sort of toys found in favour bags, so we don't have a lot of this sort of stuff hanging around... My daughter has a small drawer and a couple of coloured plastic boxes to devote to this sort of stuff, and my son a basket, so I don't find it makes much of a mess...

Usually I am a "quality over quantity" favour bag person, but this year, we had a carnival party for my daughter, and got piles of cheap toys from Oriental Trading. I heard back later from several parents that they were a huge hit -- especially the glider planes. Many, many hours of fun out of this year's bag! Maybe they went over so well because there are no toys like that on the local market.

Three years ago, we gave out handpainted, handmade stuffed character magnets that I bought in Prague -- they were gorgeous and fun. When we visit, we still see them on our friends' fridges! (they were a big hit).

I also buy small wooden toys -- things like tops, little games, etc.

I like the idea of favors that hold more than momentary interest, such as mini art projects, theme based/ homemade cookies, etc.

We've gotten into the habit of keeping the favors in the car or in our travel box to pull out for long trips.. they serve their purpose and no one is sad if something is lost!

I don't think it is about me, so if it makes kids happy to give and receive small plastic favors, I don't have a problem with it. I do try and think of favors that will actually get used, (I love etsy for this) but I don't think this is a pleasant post ranting about people who give of themselves to make your kids happy.

We create more waste and plastic with our everyday pre-packaged lifestyle, (everything from the wrapper on our organic granola bar to the lattes), so why begrudge kids a little joy and come off being so ungrateful in the process.

I personally did not get favors growing up, but then I also did not grow up with ANY of the stuff that I see on ohdeedoh. If we are serious about decluttering the world, lets start with our own consumption.

I absolutely have to disagree about lumping thank-you cards in with favors as something negative about a party. The point of a thank-you card is as much to demonstrate good manners and consideration for others as it is the literal expression of "I liked the Legos." Now, toward that end, the fill-in-the-blank thank-yous really bother me, because then it is just about the stuff, but a real thank-you where the child remembers the person who gave the gift and says I was glad you came to my party is one that helps children learn more about social relationships and thinking about other people and not just the gimme-gimme.

Not to mention that it can be good parent-child time, and maybe even the opportunity for something creative if you do a little make-your-own!

Isn't the party enough? I don't understand the need for favors. I think it teaches our children to expect unnecessary gifts. The birthday party is about celebrating the person whose birthday it is. If there are activities, crafts, cake, etc., for everyone to enjoy, why do they need to go home with a gift as well? I think this tradition encourages our children to be consumers rather than givers. I recently heard from a friend about a child who had such a meltdown after going to a favor-free party, that his parents stopped at a store to buy him a toy. Really?! This is not what I want my child to look forward to about parties. Parties should be about celebrating life, good friends and loved ones.

At my niece's party last month the favor was a joke book for each kid. Huge hit! Each one was different (there are ALOT of kids joke books on the market) and it was great fun for them to make each other crack up. My two kids are still reading theirs weeks later.

The kids love it and isn't that what birthday parties are supposed to be about- what kids like?

I am definitely not in favor of over the top goodie bags and infact prefer simple stuff (yes the run of the mill kind) and yes if it has a couple of candies - no problem - why not - just teach the kids to ration and eat it as per your rules...make them add the candy to the jar..

What I have a huge problem with is nail paints and stuff like that for a 5 yr old girl's party goodie bags - a definite NO NO even though the theme maybe princess or dress up! That would go in the trash in front of the host in my opinion (sorry feel very strongly about this)

They may add to the junk in the house but like many posters above, keep a box or drawer for this stuff and let the kids play every so often with it.....that's what we do in our house.

Infact our neighbor kept their pile out during halloween and all the kids had a blast!! theirs was the most popular house!

I happen to love party favors, I think they are a great way to continue a party theme, my kids love to make them, love to get them and I think a well though out favor can be such a treat. Handing out favors is a great way to bring a party to an end (thanks for coming... here is your favor... bye!) I am also in the quality over quantity camp. But lets face it, cheap favors are a fact of life. So how can favors become something that we all don't waste enegrgy loathing and we don't dump in the trash on the way out of the party? (Same goes for toys from Happy Meals, etc.)
Here are my ideas:

1) Put all your favors away where you store your luggage. Next trip, bring them along, they are now fun travel toys for an airplane or at Grandma's and who cares if they get lost?

2) Put a few in your purse and keep them there to be pulled out in the situations that take longer than expected (doctor's office, lines, traffic in the car, etc.) As they are lost, replenish from your endless supply!

3) Keep a few in your purse for OTHER people's kids. A few times I have been waiting without my kids and someone else had theirs who were clearly bored and growing impatient (in an airport for example.) With a parents permission I give that child some little trinket, its met with gratitude every time!

Lets put the cheap, bulk-manifactured junk that comes into our lives to work for good instead of evil!

We make a mix CD of the birthday child's favorite tunes for the year (it's a fun way to catalog changes in taste). This year, for Astrid Meklit's blue party, I'm making tubs of blue slime to accompany the cd. We've also made recycled crayons, rainbow tubes of homemade playdoh, etc. NO JUNK! My favorite rule :)

Just a note; mix CDs of music you've recorded yourself are fine, but if you record CDs of other artists' music and distribute them, you are breaking the law, as well as stealing the artists' work. I would not allow my child to keep a CD of stolen music, but obviously people have their own opinions.