What was the best party bag your child ever received?

[Homerenonovice]

My 4 year old dd has her 5th birthday coming up and has specifically asked for party bags she can give out to her friends.

I wasn’t planning to do them as they are usually just full of cheap plastic rubbish, so I’m wondering if anyone is willing to share the best ideas your child has ever given or received.

Oh one from soft play, but I can't for the life of me remember what was in it. There was a water bottle, I remember that. No cheap plastic tat. These were huge cloth drawstring bags.

Sweets and random fidget toys

It's the super deluxe party bag here: www.gambado.com/activities/parties/party-extras/36

Some of the favourites were,
A Lego set or mini figure,
A football,
Character socks,
A toy car,
Colouring pens,
A big bar of chocolate with a personalised wrapper,
A t shirt and fabric pens,
Pyjamas,

My worst are sweet cones.

A whoopie cushion and Haribo tangfastics. Always a winner ☺️

Parents love the books, kids don’t.
We do sweets, a slapband, a colouring book, pencils or crayons, paper glider that can be recycled, paper origami that can be recycled, cake…and paper party bags!

Lollipop 701 I really want to put those snaps in DS's party bags, but will it be friwned upon for 6 year olds? DS has them all the time but we live in a very right-on area...

I think the books are hit and miss. One of DS3's favourite books came from a party. Mostly we just had repeats of ones we already had.

Do sweet cones instead, they'll be a huge hit with kids and parents will be happy to not have plastic tat kicking about.
Or anything generally consumable.

I think books miss the joy of looking through a little bag of treasures!

My dc have liked getting a scrunchie, various bits of stationary and stickers.

My DS has only been to a few parties so far and has been very pleased with the usual party-bag 'tat'. I understand and share the wish to minimise landfill and reduce plastic crap but I haven't yet met a child who wasn't delighted with a mini slinky, pot of goo and mini bag of haribo. The question is whether you can reconcile your conscience with it. At the last party, he received a heart-shaped balloon, which he thought was great and there were tears when it inevitably popped.

As a child, the party I remember most was where the parents had set up their own pick and mix and gave us each a little candy-striped bag to fill on the way out.

My friend put cheap recorders in her kids party bags once - I have never really forgiven her! Mine used to like a sweet cone best - but also loved fake tattoos, stickers and novelty pens. I did books a few times but agree with previous posters that the kids are never that keen, I just hated buying tat. I am so glad they are teens now and I no longer have to deal with all the plastic crap!

On thing that I particularly remember in a party bag was plaque disclosing tablets. I was very WTF when I saw them but actually both of my DC had great fun using them. DS was about 8 when he got the party bag, but DD was 5 and she tried them too.

Stickers are great, especially if they come with a scene to stick them onto.

I would say a book/craft.
DC would say sweets, whistles and gliders.

A piece of cake and some sweets. I’m sure mine would say they love all the plastic tat but it’s like for 5 seconds and then they’re bored and it goes in the bin. The ones I’m grateful for are the ones that can actually be enjoyed or used (cake, sweets, little plant, some seeds to plant).

Should say we are in the same boat (party in the next few weeks) and trying to decide what to put in party bags. We're doing paper party bags and will have stickers and a chocolate lollipop, but apart from that, a bit . Might do crazy straws that can be reused.

Bubbles, sweets, and a fluffy pen from Tiger.

Cupcake in a box

Loads of great ideas on here I’d never thought of, thank you!

My DD is on a phase of thinking farting is hilarious, she would love a whoopie cushion!

Cannot believe someone gave recorders!! Why would they subject multiple parents to that level of torture!

I understand and share the wish to minimise landfill and reduce plastic crap but I haven't yet met a child who wasn't delighted with a mini slinky, pot of goo and mini bag of haribo.

The problem is they are delighted for a maximum of 24 hours before it breaks or is forgotten. Is it really worth it for 24 hours? We received 2 mini slinkys first weekend of this month. One is broken and neither child will be able to tell you where the other is.
As adults, we really need to reset our children's expectations for these things and teach them why they are not desirable. I dont mind sweets and pic n mix take home one bit. If a book is not wanted or read by the child, you will most likely pass it on, usually via donation to charity shop/hospital/library etc. When the plastic crap is forgotten, it goes in the bin and contributes to landfill for hundreds of years. Surely there is a better way?!

My DCs got socks in a party bag and they LOVED them. (And they got parental approval for not immediately being broken or adding to the plastic mound)

I went to smiggle and got some bits out of the 5 for £5. They were lovely and practical so not just adding to landfill. There’s another shop though cheaper than smiggle called Kenji and they do novelty pens, those scratch pads etc which are super cheap.

My little girl always likes when she gets nice hair bobbles and things in a party bag

For girls I give small things like hair slides or scrunchies or individual nail varnish or lip balm or small coin purse , a piece of chocolate and maybe some stickers or crayons,

We went to a football party and each child got a soft football. They’re still being kicked around the garden five years later.

Stationery is always a hit although we’re drowning in it.

@morechocolateneededtoday. I agree, but I was just saying what my DS has liked best in his party bags.

Personally, I don't want to contribute to landfill so racking my brains as to what we can put in our party bags to avoid that. The problem is many of the eco-friendly options are expensive and we have 25 children attending (whole class party). I'm thinking we'll mostly do consumables.