I don't want to do party bags

As a parent I hate party bags - always full of tat that should be binned but the kids insist on keeping like mini slinkies stickers bouncy balls!

my kids on the other hand love them and there have been a couple of parties where no party bags have been given and they’ve genuinely been really confused and disappointed

the best party bags have been the following

xmas bday - a bauble for the tree
xmas bday - grow your own xmas tree
spring bday - mini plant pot with seeds / Sainsbury always have a great selection of kids grow your own pots for £2
autumn bday- grow your own pumpkin seeds
big box of books - the ones you can get from the works 10 for £10 and the kids chose one at the end
hair scrunchies! Always come in handy love them!
older kids - kids spa type things - at home facial and nail polish

Slice of cake & choose a book, or sweetcone, or selection box (near xmas), easter egg (near easter).
No plastic tat here...kids are in it for the sugar!

The book idea is nice but they are always a bit of a disappointment to a kid. As a parent I prefer the books!

It’s fine not to do one but be prepared for a few ‘Where’s the party bags?’ And some mortified shushing from the other parents.

I must be odd though as I love doing them, but I keep the plastic tat to minimum. This year it’s little ceramic painting kits, sweets, some stickers, Pokemon card, cupcake in a box and some little puzzle books. The best ones we did were felt animal masks, DD1 still plays with hers now and it was 3 years ago!

Party bags definitely a thing in the 90s. Piece of cake, tooter, balloon, and then some piece of tat.

I agree that you need to do something. Kids love the tat but the plastic makes me anxious so I try to do either things like pencils and puzzle books for sightly older kids. Pokémon cards are a bizarre hit, too.

Also fantastic are those hollow tubes that concertina into themselves and you pull them and they make a brrp noise. Endless joy.

If you think a lollipop is better than this you're a philistine

We just had a party last week- one pack of goldfish shaped crackers, one of those dried fruit roll snacks and one mini toy. The kids all get those snacks at lunch probably but still more exciting in a loot bag. Next year I’ll skip the toy unless the kids are at the shop with me.

No party bags here, have given books when they were little. Hand a slice of cake (wrapped) now leave the party 🤣

Absolute bollocks forever remembered, kids remember the party not the plastic crap.

Other successful bits I've used include:
Tiny cars that you pull back and they zoom forward
Mini fake lego sets
Novelty mini pens with four colours that you click on or off

My dc received a ruler in a party bag once and you can never have too many rulers.

I mean, as another foreigner, it's the nationally accepted symbol to fuck off. I'd concentrate your efforts on making them as un-full of plastic crap as possible. Or hand to DH.

Football party- pack of Match Attax, sweets and cake. I actually loved doing party bags. I bake, so always made individually wrapped cupcakes for the bags; great way to fill them. Plus, if my son didn’t want his cake, I always enjoyed eating ! The last party DS had before he stopped, I gave them all a bottle of Prime (when it was still a novelty).

I’ve never done a party bag and never will. We are at an international school and 90% of the time there aren’t party bag (the 1 exception the mum is America and they are usually theme led and incredible)
I think it’s very school dependant- op are they going into a British state school?

everyone loves those little men with sticky feet that flip flops down the window
This is a true fact. Dd managed to get one to hang from her bedroom ceiling for a whole month. No lollipop has that kind of longevity

Agree with a PP, party bags are the only thing that makes people leave 😂

I have never done party bags and just send them home with some cake wrapped in a napkin.

your money and efforts can be better spent elsewhere

Please don’t put a whistle or recorder it!
ypu can buy the spy pens and note books, sweet cones, tattoos, bouncy ball. Most of those things get used. If only once.
girls are easier as you can buy hair bands and lip balms.
Party bags are fun to do when the kids get older and you only have a few to put together.

I hate them and hate the stupid plastic toys in them.
But one reaosn they came about is because you don't eat the cake at the party.
I have never understood that relaly, in every other context you eat the cake at the party, but not with small children.

My compromise was that I did them but not standard.
It was - cake, balloon (unless I had loads of balloon to decorate and them we gave those away as kids left to get rid of them)
one things connected to the party, so pirate party = one gold coin
and one toy, but something like a pot of bubbles, or one of those twisted straws that kids love but can't be cleaned properly.

When dd was older and did a Bake Off party, they took home stuff they cooked.
When other dd did a spy party they each got a magic ink pen.

This is entirely true.

I totally respect your view,however I would say kids have now come to expect them sadly. I couldn’t bear the plastic tack so I’d give them each a cheap sticker book or similar. The good thing about them is you get to send the children home promptly by giving them out at the exit. I do sympathize with you though, the party should be enough.

Same here and all those cheap books went straight to a second hand shop.

I love a party bag. You don't have to buy crap but everyone loves those little men with sticky feet that flip flops down the window, bubbles and a few sweets. Depending on how much you like the parents you could add a whistle or cheap recorder. As others have said its a good cue for the parents and kids to leave.

When mine were that small I always done picture books 10 for £10. I get a personalised sticker from amazon saying thanks for coming to ??? Party! With a mini packet of haribo. Always goes down well. https://www.theworks.co.uk/c/offers/multibuys/10-for-10-bundles

Although now my ds is 8 i don't bother. Actually just took him and 5 friends to the local aquarium for the day and bought them an ice cream on the way out. One of the boys asked me for a party bag and i told him he was eating it!

i love how mn is fixated on plastic tat

we did party bags - that i made with fabric scraps or whatever - which usually had a cupcake in and maybe a pencil or rubber or both and some sweets.

Once i gave them all a book. Another time we went ice skating so i got them all magic gloves (because, typically, they always forgot gloves)

I love doing party bags. I do my best not to do plastic tat, but DD and DS judge parties by the quality of the party bags 🤣 My DCs have birthdays in December and January so I always had the luxury of post Christmas sales for better quality tat 🤭

Parties = party bags, sorry, thats the actual law - i don't even have little kids and this is the hill I shall die on!

Cake is nice but tbh, most kids are worn out, eat very little and forget it quickly - a party bag of tat to take home though, that marks a party as excellent!

It doesn't have to be a lot - some bubbles, some stickers, shove a slice of cake in there in a napkin so it smushes everywhere, novelty eraser if old enough, that sort of thing.

It's also a good 'time to fuck off' marker for the end of the party, everyone queue up for party bags and slice of cake and then out the door!

Why would anyone feel grateful for plastic tat they didn't ask for?
They say 'thank you' as per the etiquette rules, but they don't have to feel gratitude.