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Original poster

Party bag nostalgia, what did you love when you were a kid - pics pls

34 replies

trytoignoreit · 17/05/2021 17:12

I'm planning a birthday party later in the summer for my DC (if it's allowed) and started thinking about party bags. I remember getting some of my most magical junk from them.

One of my favourites was the sliding puzzle... what was your best treasure ?

Party bag nostalgia, what did you love when you were a kid - pics pls
OP posts:
DanielODonkey · 17/05/2021 17:20

Bubbles
Fortune tellers (fish things)
Cake in a napkin

LagneyandCasey · 17/05/2021 17:38

I must be very old as I don't remember getting party bags when I was a child. It was just a piece of birthday cake (always home made) wrapped in a napkin 😋

Brissiegirl · 17/05/2021 17:46

Never got party bags either, homemade cake in a wrapper if lucky

Original poster
trytoignoreit · 17/05/2021 17:50

@LagneyandCasey @Brissiegirl
This would of been mid-late 1980's I suppose.

We went to a friends child's party a few years back and they didn't do them, just cake and a balloon each, so I suppose it's maybe if the parents have grown up with it.

Most others party's we've been to do party bags. One gave them a book instead each and one a cake making set ( but those felt more like the gifts you are giving the party boy/girl)

OP posts:
NeedCoffeeToSurvive · 17/05/2021 17:59

I loved those tiny water pistols that you'd get one squirt out of before having to refill them and most of the water would leak out of the nozzle before you'd even tried to get someone with it

takingmytimeonmyride · 17/05/2021 18:02

Those jelly like monsters you put on your finger.

Dollhousedoor · 17/05/2021 18:05

Bubbles!
Birthday cake and candy sticks (the white ones with cartoons on the pack)

MoreRainbowsPlease · 17/05/2021 18:09

I used to love getting the small packs of smarties that seemed to come in every party bag in the 80's (I wasn't allowed much chocolate). 80's party bags seemed to consist of your piece of cake, a balloon, the smarties and maybe a pair of clackers or one of those polystyrene airplanes that came in a paper packet and you made yourself. They always flew really well.

DanielODonkey · 17/05/2021 18:47

Oh yes @MoreRainbowsPlease the little boxes of full sized Smarties, not the teeny mini Smarties they have these days.

I think fewer party bags are given as folk are concerned about plastic waste and just giving bags of tat out. The kids love it but grown ups not so much.

ChiefBabySniffer · 17/05/2021 18:54

I was really lucky as a C kid because my mums best friend had a market stall that sold cheap plastic jewellery and she had her own business so had wholesaler cards for Makro etc. So for our parties she went all out as she represented the DJs /hall/clown and got commission for booking them. So our parties were kind of her way of showing off and trying to get more bookings.

We loved the little jelly cage bags. She would line them with tissue paper and then put plastic jewellery in, maturea headband/bobbles, a mini head purse, a lip balm from her Avon ( I think strawberry shortcake for kids?) , a balloon, some sweets, a blower thing and whatever else she could find. My favourite ever was when we got the plastic bears on a cord necklace. I still remember the smell of the purses too! Boys got a comic, balloon, possibly marbles or jacks. I loved party bags in the 80s!!

Party bag nostalgia, what did you love when you were a kid - pics pls
Party bag nostalgia, what did you love when you were a kid - pics pls
Party bag nostalgia, what did you love when you were a kid - pics pls
Original poster
trytoignoreit · 18/05/2021 12:19

@ChiefBabySniffer loved those purses, classic party back treasure

OP posts:
Original poster
trytoignoreit · 18/05/2021 12:19

@Dollhousedoor the candy's we used to pretend to smoke with 😂😬?

OP posts:
EversoDelighted · 18/05/2021 12:39

A little card drawing thing, it had a grey surface and was inside a card sleeve with a window. You drew with a little plastic stylus then erased by pulling the card out of the sleeve and back again.

Fitforforty · 18/05/2021 12:49

@LagneyandCasey when were you going to parties. I was wondering when party bags became a thing.

I think people are generally moving away from the ‘plastic tat’ party bag fillers which often end up in landfill very quickly.

DaisyDreaming · 18/05/2021 13:11

Sweets that you never got outside of party bags! I loved everything in them, I think it was the excitement of the surprise. I also remember a party where we had a book instead of a party bag that we had to hunt down and that was very exciting. I never had them as a child but like to include paper lasers in party bags I do, the ones you flick and they extend

LagneyandCasey · 19/05/2021 08:05

[quote Fitforforty]@LagneyandCasey when were you going to parties. I was wondering when party bags became a thing.

I think people are generally moving away from the ‘plastic tat’ party bag fillers which often end up in landfill very quickly.[/quote]
I'm 51 so probably early 80s.

DelurkingAJ · 19/05/2021 08:43

Stickers (it never ceases to astonish me that stickers are no longer treasured but just part of normal life)
Mini boxes of Smarties
Slap on bracelets
Mini pens

I’ve recently gone for stationery because it’s still exciting but get used up rather than binned. Smiggle had light up pens a few years ago that went down very well. And sometimes a blind bag if I can find them on offer.

ItsSnowJokes · 19/05/2021 08:52

Smelly rubbers and scratch and sniff stickers were treasured in 80s party bags.

APJ1 · 19/05/2021 09:04

I loved sweetie cigarettes, as we called candy sticks then.

When I was typing that, predictive text suggested I loved 'vibrator '. Confused Not that kind of party!

Kottbullar · 19/05/2021 09:36

I can only remember getting cake and a balloon, sometimes those punch balloons on elastic or the long balloons that you'd put a thing in the end so they scream when you let them go.

Heyha · 19/05/2021 09:42

Oh my I've already had thoughts about DD party bags for when she's bigger. I'm late 30s so grew up with all this!

Paper bag for the outer cos, you know, the environment
Slice of cake in a napkin
Bubbles because these were my favourite
Some sort of age appropriate stationery

LagneyandCasey · 19/05/2021 10:13

One of the best party bag items my dd had was a packet of wildflower seeds.

Original poster
trytoignoreit · 19/05/2021 13:38

@LagneyandCasey

One of the best party bag items my dd had was a packet of wildflower seeds.
@LagneyandCasey really? It's not like a sunflower seed where you get to plant it. You just sprinkle them. It's a nice idea, but it's a bit too wholesome and I'm saying when I have kids that love gardening.

Now even McDonalds have started giving book with happy meals I think there is a small place for occasional tut. I know it's bad for the environment, but so are big plastic toys and sometimes these can be treasured items.

OP posts:
OwlIsBeingAnOwl · 19/05/2021 13:44

I'm all for ditching plastic tat in theory but God I love a party bag - my dc so far has only had one "proper" party and I loved making the (paper) bags up!

It's still quite hard to find decent cheap things that aren't utterly useless but stickers, bubbles, balloons, small puzzle books, ink stamps are all good.

As a girl i loved any tat jewellery or candy jewellery, shiny stickers, bouncy balls...

Heyha · 19/05/2021 14:10

Bouncy ball!! That was the other essential item I was searching for in my memory!

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