Birthday party WIBU - party bags.

[LokiBear]

Planning DD's 4th birthday party. Just her nursery class and cousins invited - about 25-30 kids. I've hired a hall (for free as it is part of the school where I work). Food served will be reasonably healthy 'picnic' type food (sandwiches, pasta salad, carrot, cucumber, tomato, peppers, fruit kebabs and a few crisps ). WIBU to just put sweets/edible things in the party bags? I don't want to buy loads of plastic tat, but I'm worried I will annoy parents if I send the kids home with sweets and cake. I'm open to other bright ideas, except not doing party bags because I like to do them. They are a good signal that the party is over. Thanks.

Best party 'bag' gifts: semi-precious stones, fossils, pair of socks with sweets/chocs in

Mine wouldn't mind just sweets in the party bags, and have had plenty of bags like that and been very happy. Their favourite things to get have been seeds, lip gloss, paper fans and novelty pens/highlighters.

My dd would be confused by a lack of sweet stuff at the tea especially as she has been to parties where the food has been brought out in two stages - sensible stuff, then 10 mins later sweet stuff. She would sit there waiting. I would dish out the cake there and then to save wrapping it for bags and to deal with kids like dd wanting cake.

No body expects a party bag full of gifts. Party bags with just sweets and cake is perfectly acceptable. The first thing kids do anyhow is root through for the sweets and the mini pack of crayons and plastic whistle are cast aside and forgotten about after 5 minutes. How about making sweet cones using clear plastic cellophane tied with ribbon? I did these for DD2s birthday and they were a big hit. Also another idea is to buy a big pack of books from online bookstores and gift wrap for each child. This can work out cheaper than lots of plastic toys and crayons for each child.

We once gave a cheap but shiny hoola hoop and a piece of cake instead of bags and that seemed to go down well.

Some really great ideas here. Petal there will, of course be jelly and ice cream for afters. Also a tea and coffee station with scones and clotted cream for the parents.

If there are any particular parents you hate - pop a whistle in their kids party bag

The plastic tat ones with sweets were always the most popular round here. Yoyos and the Parachute men, maybe a whistle or bouncy ball. Happy days.

Sweets and stickers are winners or bubbles, I like the idea of seeds, dd got some sunflower seeds last week and was thrilled to plant them, much moaning till they started to grow but they are already sprouting nicely and she loves watering them and putting the pot out to catch the sun in the day.

I was going to say cake, sweeties and a balloon - and maybe one 'big' thing - so eg one year (shared party) we did a tesco rip off my little pony thing or a car.
Bubbles are good except I have a mountain of bubbles...
or small pots of playdoh & a cutter - you can get multipack things and split them.
(I make my own playdough but use old pots of bought stuff to store it in)

I hate plastic tat - 'party bag fillers' - especially party blowers.
DD1 was at full time nursery in a group of over 30 children. Parents often sent a cake and a party bag in when it was their child's birthday (no separate party). I hated them!!! I had a mountain of tat - especially party blowers quickly hidden away....(did think later I should have hidden them before use and then could have sent them back in DD1's party bags... then realised the fact every bag had one in was probably part of a circle of revenge - suffering parents making sure the giver also suffered ...)

Whoopee cushions went down an absolute storm

Personally, I think sweets and cake are the best party bags to receive.

The contents get used up and you don't have loads of plastic tatt.

Bubbles and stickers are good for the same reason

fake tattoos - cheap on amazon

stickers

glo sticks - poundland about 20 in a pack.

colouring/activity sheets - free to print ones online

When my 2 were younger I got so fed up of the tat, and horrendous cost, on top of the party, I bucked the trend and put the birthday cake in the party bag with a balloon. So many mums told me they thought it was a good idea, and no child ever complained.

I collect loads of lego when the Daily Mail are doing their offer (obviously I don't read it afterwards though ). Sellotape a lolly to the lego bag and job done.

an all-edible party bag is great.
this is one of the few areas on which the DDs and I are in total agreement.