Birthday Favors?

[msb700]

Hey everyone..i posted this question over at the mommy thread, but thought best to create a separate thread for it here..

I''m throwing a bday party for my son''s 2nd birthday in April..the ages of the kids invited range from 6 months all the way thru to 13 years...now i would love to make ONE favor/goodie bag for all, but am totally stumped!

i''d like to avoid the usual ''bag full of candy, silly putty, bubbles, etc''....

do any of u have ideas on anything creative (and budget conscious)? i dont mind any DIY ideas too...

thanks in advance

 

[somethingshiny]

We just had our son''s 3rd birthday and had kids from 1 yr to 14. We had a spongebob theme and decorated a bit "under the sea", so we gave gold fish. I bought the little tiny fishbowls for a dollar apiece at the dollar store, grabbed a large bag of rock and some cheap plantws to split up, and 28 cent gold fish. All the kids loved them. We got our son fish for his birthday, too, so I "started" all the aquariums for all the kids. And, I put a little food in baggies with instructions for feeding and temp.

I also used the bowls of fish as table centerpieces.

 

[msb700]

somethingshiny: thanks for the idea! thats actually cute..but im wondering if the parents will hate me? coz technically (especially with the younger kids) it will be the parents who will need to take care of the gold fish u know? (added responsibility and all )

 

[luvmyhalo]

For my daughter''s birthday, I made sugar cookies using boy/girl cookie cutters. Then I wrote each child''s name on their cookie and decorated them to kinda look like them (same hair/eye color, etc.) We had about 20 kids so it didn''t take that long. I figured that everybody loves cookies and I know that when my daughter gets goody bags with pencils, bubbles, etc...it just ends up in the trash.

I''ve been to parties where there was a craft set up for the kids to do either at the party or to take home and do. It''s always a big hit with little ones and older kids as well. This site has tons of cute things and has great pricing. Photo frames like this one are super cute!

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=48/2503&prodCatId=377472&mode=Browsing&erec=7&Ipp=16&No=16&sp=true&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&cm_re=ED-_-Novel%20-_-S1L1&N=377472&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=%26%238220%3BCute+As+A+Bug%21%26%238221%3B+Photo+Frame+Magnet+Craft+Kit

 

[Tacori E-ring]

No offense but I would NOT want a goldfish! Do you have a dollar store there (or something similar). I would look around to get inspired.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 3/8/2009 11:00:17 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
No offense but I would NOT want a goldfish! Do you have a dollar store there (or something similar). I would look around to get inspired.

Ditto

 

[ice-queen]

A while ago, I helped a girlfriend plan a birthday party for her son. For favors, we got a bunch of those giant swirly lollipops (the kind that are like 5" or 6" in diameter) and made custom labels to stick on each one, with a ribbon tied to the stick. The kids loved them. You should have seen how big their eyes got when we brought them out!

I did not make these, but this is an example I found online...

 

[Girlrocks]

Date: 3/8/2009 12:48:08 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

Date: 3/8/2009 11:00:17 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
No offense but I would NOT want a goldfish! Do you have a dollar store there (or something similar). I would look around to get inspired.

Ditto

Let me add as a mom who had 3 kids at a birthday party 2 summers ago, therefore we left with THREE FISHBOWLS...really NOT APPRECIATED!!!

 

[somethingshiny]

Date: 3/9/2009 2:37:56 PM
Author: Girlrocks

Date: 3/8/2009 12:48:08 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

Date: 3/8/2009 11:00:17 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
No offense but I would NOT want a goldfish! Do you have a dollar store there (or something similar). I would look around to get inspired.

Ditto

Let me add as a mom who had 3 kids at a birthday party 2 summers ago, therefore we left with THREE FISHBOWLS...really NOT APPRECIATED!!!

LOL! I''m still glad I did it! But, my smart a$$ brother said, "thanks for the chores!" before he left.

I just hate giving crap plastic junk.

 

[E B]

I think the personalized lollipop idea is a good one! Also, these look fun and portable (and can be enjoyed later, if you wrap 'em up!).

Brownie Pops

 

[Jas12]

Those brownie favors are so cute!

I personally wouldn''t mind the gold fish--it is very cute. but i would ask parents first for sure! and wouldn''t do if for a party of young kids (cuz the parents get stuck with the chore)

Msb--did u see my suggestions on the mommy thread: butterfly nets, bug collector, skipping ropes, marbles, gardening stuff--all spring like ideas
some other ideas:
--t-shirts or door hangers to paint/personalize
--small gift card for a treat at a local shop ( dairy queen, MD,etc.) i went to a party that did this and i thought it was really nice.
--cookie making kit (a colorful bowl with the dry ingredients and a recipe)

I just bought sticker books, a travel pack of play-doh and a reading book for Cohen''s b-day loot bags. I didn''t include candy cuz the party is on easter weekend.The sicker books are cute cuz i got to choose b/w different themes for different kids. I know the kids well enough to personalize them to their tastes.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

So I saw these mini rubber duckies at Target today and thought they would be SO cute as a favor. You could do a bath theme (maybe tub crayons, bubble bath, etc).

 

[msb700]

hey everyone..so sorry for not responding to this sooner, but i''ve been really busy with things and havent managed to respond, but have seen all your wonderful suggestions..

ice-queen: thats a really sweet (pun intended ) idea, but unfortunately as these type of candy/lollipops are not very common over here, the places that do sell them charges quite a bit for it and if i multiply that with the amount i need ill be spending a pretty penny!

Ebree: thats an excellent idea and ill definitely keep it for use in the future, but wont be able to do it for K''s birthday. Im already baking/frosting 70+ cupcakes and i can''t bring myself to even THINK about doing these too!

Jas12: Hey mommy i did see ur suggestion on the mommy thread thanks! unfortunately we have umm..almost no springtime...we have two seasons...summer...and a slightly less hot summer =D..skipping rope wont work either...marbles im scared to death that one of the kids would swallow them!! hahaha...ur so lucky u already finalized co''s favors!

Tacori: we actually did ''rubber duckie'' favors for my friends baby shower

Okay, after major brainstorming and browsing the shelves of various shops across the country i FINALLY found something

I bought these ADORABLE mini cookie jars (see-thru glass jars about the size of ur hand (slightly smaller))...i will place chocolate and white chocolate chips in there and then attach a recipe for ''mini'' cookies and tie it to the cover/top..ill also print colorful stickers and say something to the effect "Thank you for coming to my party ...Love, K.." and stick that to the jar directly.

I promise to post pictures once i make my first sample =D

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I love the idea of doing the "lollypop"...and if you're feeling really in the mood to bake, you could do one brownie, one rice crispy treat! Or, s'mores on a stick...you take a few jumbo marshmellows put them on a skew and dip them in melted milk chocolate, dust them with gramcracker crumbs and you're done!

(P.S: Even though I'm not a parent, I think the goldfish thing would be pushing it for me.)