Gift Bags St Bday Parties

[MN Mom]

Hello all!

I just had a great question from a friend today...

Does one have to give gift bags to the kids who attend the birthday party? All of the stuff is so trinkety or the kids get all kinds of candy.

Or do you have to because they are attending the party?

The whole thing is just ridiculous and you end up spending so much money on other kids. PLUS they get cake, ice cream, sometimes food, get to play games etc...

Thoughts?

[Claire64]

We have always done a little giftbag or something to bring home from our kids parties, but we try not to make it too cheap or trinkety.

For younger kids, I usually put a juice box, a toy, crayons and a package of cookies. For older kids, I've done cans of pop, bags of chips, chocolate bars, cool pens, bracelets, rings and candy.

Last year when Landon turned 9, all the girls got a diary and cool pencil and the boys each got a soccer ball.


My kids have gone to birthday parties, where they haven't gotten a loot bag, and they didn't seem to notice or care. However, I think the majority of parties do give them out, at least until the kids are 9 or 10.

[Trina]

We try to stay away from gift bags. Instead, we do something crafty, and the kids get to take their finished project home. You can buy very reasonably priced craft kits at Party supplies, crafts, party decorations, toys: Oriental Trading

[Teresa]

We did things that went with the theme of the party, but usually just one or two items of quality rather than a bunch of small, inexpensive things. For one of the dd's 13th birthdays, we had all girls, so the gift bags had nail polish, lip gloss and cool little mirrors of various shapes.

[Kaytee]

we also did the crafty thing.. well not really since it was for 2 year olds, but I took their pics when they got there and printed them out with a mickey mouse border (Mickey was the theme) for her first birthday we bought coloring books and a small box of crayons for the kids. My friend had a princess birthday party for her 3 year old and she gave all the girls bows for their hair.

[ljmahr]

My dd's b-day is July 2nd. We are going to have a red, white and blue party on the 5th for her. I think we are going to give snap pop's and sparklers in their little loot bags.

[Trina]

Originally Posted by ljmahr

My dd's b-day is July 2nd. We are going to have a red, white and blue party on the 5th for her. I think we are going to give snap pop's and sparklers in their little loot bags.

Snap pops and sparklers? Not something I'd give to kids. These are items that should only be used under strict adult supervision. You'd think that would be common sense, but I wouldn't want to take that chance. I would also think most parents don't check the contents of goodie bags, because they assume they are kid friendly. How about little US flags or something along those lines?

[ljmahr]

OMG!! Snap pops and sparklers are great for kids at fourth of July. I would hope it would be common sense for a parent to check what their kids are getting, I know I do. My kids LOVE them! Matter of fact we just got some tonight and are going out when it gets dark so they can do them.

[Trina]

I apologize for I didn't mean to offend you. Just wanted to point out that although you think sparklers are OK for kids, some parents of the children attending the party may not agree.

[Teresa]

I have to agree with Trina on this one. We never let the children have sparklers or any other sort of "fireworks" when they were young. It just wasn't something we were comfortable with, and we wouldn't have let them keep them if they had gotten them in a loot bag from a party.