to think party bags are the work of the devil?

[bejeezus]

I've stopped doing them....

Even if they cost £1.50 for contents and you have 10, that's blinkin' £15! But its easy to spend more than that. And have more kids at party

They are invariably filled with crap that is disgarded by child onto pile of discarded crap at home

They are pointless, a needless expense, and irritating

Do you do them? What do you put in them? How much does it cost you?

Haven't read the whole thread, but I like to give the kids an empty bag, and end the party with a piñata, then they can collect their own crap, and if if anyone moans about the contents of the bag, then it's their own bloody fault for being a rubbish collector! My friend tells her kids that they can have a party or 100$. So far mine still opt for the party, but I live in hope......

Ahhh daffodilly your post has made me think.....

It's good to ne reminded to enjoy them

it's about novelty and being a bit creative I think, not money. I used to love collecting fun bits and bobs throughout the year - like parachute men, candy cigarettes (appreciate they're not v tasteful but hey), a mouse shaped or punch balloon, pretty hair ribbons etc. I love thoughtful party bags, and there's tat that kids find interesting (such as a parachute man) and there's tat that is just lazy (like those little packs of shit crayons that don't draw and make your heart sink)

I did wonder about that assumption too stealth! Still, if they didn't, there was always eBay :o

Such a time sink as well, organising party bags. As if parents don't have enough to do, especially when they're hosting a party.

Yy to time sink! If you have to do it cheaply, you have to have the time to find the cheap crap

You either have to have spare cash or spare time. Both in very short supply here

We recently got one that was a little pot of home made play dough wrapped in cellophane. The kids loved it!

YY - what a lovely post daffodilly - Glad yours are making you proud - I'm so proud of my Irish dancing DD and trumpet playing DS now too (proud grin) Mine are pre-teens now so I can already see just where you're coming from and getting nostalgic for those earlier years of party bag madness

They are the work of the devil. Plastic landfil. We now have "making parties" and the children take home what they have made (sew a teddy party and build and paint a lorry). Othewise I would go for something functional - a bucket and spade or a book

The thing I hate more than the party bag is the horrible kid who complains about what they got, don't like having a red balloon, don't like choc buttons, don't like pencils - and there's always one....

Does anyone else here find kids parties drive them to near nervous breakdown?!
Hosting them AND going to other peoples.
The noise.
The plastic shit.
The fights.
The tears.
The heated discussion in car park with child when you confiscate party bag go through remove shitty sweets and hand it back.
Or persuading child NOT to empty the bag until we get home so no bits of plastic tat go AWOL resulting in tears theirs and yours?!
Just me then....

*@! The noise

I don't understand why some parents get so worked up about them. They're nor for you. Why would you like them? That word 'tat'...Seems a mean spririted word for something small that dc like.

Not everything must be worthy, educational or part of your 5 a day. Lighten up.

Some of it is tattier than others though Werthers - some of it is quite cool tat - bubbles, magic fish, transfer tattoos - that's the sort of tat we like here

• can't beat a bit of magic

I love them but then again my eldest is only 3.5. Sure I'll grow to hate them.

I'm just so chuffed when he gets invited to a party! I always felt a bit of an outsider at school and so I get really into it. We have a 'tat basket' at home full of party bag shite and they get it all out now and again. It's fun.

Must admit that for DS's party I tried to steer away from the sweets and went for the dinosaurs you can chuck at the ceiling, whoopee cushions etc. Parents probably hate me but at least I'm not stuffing cheap sweets down their kids' gobs (nothing wrong with that either in my book, but I know some parents get pissed off)

Werthers - landfill. And how old are your kids? I'm sure you will eventually get fed up of a house full of tat!

We discovered at the school fair that the party bag stuff you collect through the year are a great fundraiser. Get your friends to donate all that tat that you get in the party bags that is lying around their houses getting ready for a hoover or cloggin up the toy baskets. Bag it all up into random groups of threes and use as 'lucky dip' bags at the school fair. Just then make sure your kid doesn't do that lucky dip!!!!

Ohhh just been doing ours. Thought I was being one step ahead by smugly ordering bits from internet but arrived today and everything about 10 x smaller than I envisaged it...so now party bags look barely full. Grrr won't do that again.

DD is 6 and its a big deal at that age it seems. We have tattoos, pad and pencil, fairy wand, bouncy ball and ring. Love the T shirt idea upthread thats great.

My dc are 13 and 11 so maybe not as interested as they once were.

I agree with Werthers though. Nowt wrong with a bit of frivolity and tat now and again.

When my kids were little I used to save the party bag -crap- gifts in a box under the stairs and re-use them for my kids own parties.

I've bought packs of cheapo books from the Book People, 10 for £10, & given each child a book & piece of cake to take home. Cheap yet not a total waste of money.

Werthers it's not about not having a sense of humour when the DC get "plastic tat" from others - it's nice that they were given anything IMO, and I've honestly never seen any parents or DC being snippy or horrid about the contents of bags, or whether or not the host has given a bag at all. I buy books or something less "throw away", because that is my choice of how to spend my money (actually I did put lip whistles in too, because I think they are hilarious!). It is a personal choice, not a judgement on others, just as the choice to BF or not, use dummies or not, co-sleep or not etc... is a personal choice, governed by personal circumstances and opinions. Everyone will make their own choices about every aspect of parenting - I don't think every time someone does something different to ourselves, that it should be taken as an affront / inconvenience / criticism. I agree that on that front, some people do need to lighten up! FGS if you don't want to do party bags, don't do them. If you like them, do them. Others will have to live with that. It won't kill them. Life is just too short to worry about it IMO...

Oh, and I stop the contents going all over the car by "looking after" certain items, or the whole bag in the front of the car, then giving it back when we get home. The DDs accept this, because they are used to having an authoritarian old battleaxe for a mother.

Personally, I don't bring my kids up to expect a present for attending a party. Prizes are ok if the child wins a game or something.
Alot of parents I know luckily stopped doing the sweetie junk due to vegetarians and nut allergies. Other plastic junk was negotiated against too. I love it when parents come together.

I love the books instead of party bags idea that a lot of you have mentioned.
Catsy may I join you as authoritarian battle axe for a mother no.2?
My kitchen is full of plastic shite from party bags. Think i shall donate it to school fair lucky dip or jam jar stalls as others suggested.
Think I'll set up a new support group, Mothers Against Plastic Shite.
Who's in?