Party bags without the plastic crap

[QuilliamCakespeare]

DS is having a birthday party soon. I'd like to give the kids a little something to take away with their cake but, as a parent, I cringe when I see the party bags full of plastic crap come out. 90% of it ends up in the bin within half an hour of getting home. It's a waste of money and I don't really want to contribute to landfill.

Any ideas of cheap but non-plastic-crap stuff I could put in them instead? I can only really think of books but suspect that'll end up quite expensive for 30 kids and might come off as a bit wanky. Help!

Nope. That’s why everyone else ends up giving plastic tat. There are no solutions! Bubbles? Stationery from Baker Ross? I gave each a drawstring bag last time which can at least be reused. It had a torch and some stickers in. No one cares. No one remembers.

Watching with interest as also have this problem! One party we went to have out sweet cones - seemed very popular and although they come in cellophane bags probably overall less plastic than random toy stuff.

I do jelly beans, stickers and a scented eraser usually. One year we made a batch of home made slime too, and put it in recycled washed out soy sauce pots that come with takeaway.

And I buy colored paper craft bags by the dozen to stick it all in

The book people do packs of 10 books for £10 ish - I got some of them and just gave everyone a book, pencil, little notepad and some cake

Sweetie cones?

They’ve always gone down well with my DC and there’s minimal waste.

I picked up a stack of sticker/activity books one time highly reduced in Lidl so £1 each for decent ones - they went down well, but they’re not there normally.

My son just brought home a little cone of sweeties from his most recent party. That went down well.

I am thinking the same for DDs birthday in the spring. She went to one recently where they each got a phonics book - they are year 1(if you buy a series from the book people etc it can work out coat effective), a bag of sweets and cake. I thought it was good and i was pleased not to have to throw it away. I saw Baker Ross do packs of 8 make-your-own bookmark for about £4.50 so think i may get a couple of packs. They can then at least keep it. Can't think of anything else apart from bath bombs or sweets that disappear!

This is probably a bit wanky too, but are they young enough to like a bulb they could plant in the garden or a pot? even if it's one daffodil bulb!

Or since it's the Big Bird Watch weekend - some bird seeds?

Just do sweet cones no party bag.

How old are these kids?
The best party bag DD ever got contained cake, sweets, and one Schliech- type plastic dinosaur, a Parasaurolophus - see, it is possible to have something memorable and durable. The mum said they'd been on sale, and it wasn't for that large a number of children.

I have decided to do a Lucky Dip for DD's party. It will be plastic tat but only one small toy per child!

We have been to some very inventive parties and have been given a gift worth a £1 or so rather than a party bag
sword bubble tube
Bucket and spade
Craft kit
Seeds and a little pot
Selection box
Chocolate rabbit
Pot of Slime

Slime was probably the best as far as the children were concerned.

Packets of mustard seeds and cress seeds and cotton wool with photocopied instructions? Or fill pots with soil and plant a seed for activity during party?

Something practical like pants/socks/toothbrushes?

Wrap up tiny presents of magnets/erasers/hair slides or bobbles etc and put in large "lucky dip tub" filled with sawdust for DC to dip in to when they leave!?

Make tiny pots named jam or individual wrapped cookies with names piped on?

Scratch cards?

We just do sweets and cake. DD came back from a party recently with one of those jelly sweet pizzas in a little box. I've also been to ones where the mum has ordered books from book people and the kids choose one each.

Ds was at a party before Christmas where everyone got a Christmas t-shirt. From Asda so probably not massively expensive.

Books are great from the book people but it sort of devalues books as gifts a bit IMO. A deck of paying card and a pack of sweets have worked really well for us in the past. By the time you add up cost of bag, tat etc it can be cost effective.

We went to a party on Saturday and got a craft kit to decorate the mouse from the Gruffalo - thought it was an excellent idea

Oh yes forgot to say DD went to a party once where each child had choice of a coconut or a pineapple to take away! (Parents of birthday child were restaurant owners so assume fruit bought wholesale.)

How old is your dc. if older you could do a Terrys Chocolate orange or something similar and just give that with the cake

Have previously spent a fortune buying a playmobil figure per child, but it's madness.
They really just want sweets and cake. I learned how to make balloon swords (v easy), so this year just sweets and a balloon model.

Bloody love the idea of pineapple v coconut though!

Go with the sweet cones - fill 1/3 with marshmallow sweets to keep the cost down. Kids love them.

I have always tried to avoid both the plastic tat and the sugar! I got complaints (‘where are the sweets’) from DS’ friends last year . This year for DD I’ve so far got wooden spinning tops from Amazon, unicorn note books and unicorn pencils. I will probably cave on the sugar front and at least put some boxes of smarties in.