to think we should just ban this crap

[Knitwit101]

The world is full of plastic waste and yet we still produce and import this shit to put in party bags. Ds was at a party today with 30 kids, so I assume 30 pieces of plastic crap. It doesn't even work. I bet 28 of them are lost, broken or in the bin by the end of the week.
AIBU in thinking we should ban it all? No-one's life is going to be hugely affected by not being able to buy this any more.

Yanbu, it always ends up broken or lost and will ultimately end up in the bin anyway.
My daughter is having a party next week and I’m not doing traditional party bags, im doing a pick and mix type table where the kids can pick sweeties/treats etc.

Yanbu
This tat makes me feel anxious sometimes and it's everywhere. Kinder eggs, poor quality plastic tat with magazines etc.

I was thinking that in McDonald’s a while ago, they had a sign up saying they were keeping plastic straws behind the counter to avoid waste and I was thinking how does that really help compared to the vast amount of plastic tat in the happy meals :(

Brainfogmcfogface that is a brilliant idea.

Brainfogmcfogface
I did that for my eldest child's fifth birthday party. It went down very well!

Wait until Christmas, and all the plastic crap in crackers. I'm going to try and buy crackers without plastic crap. Wish me luck!

Yup, I was in Maccy D's the other day and was given a paper straw. All good until I pushed it through the plastic lid. There is so much more they could be doing.

YANBU.

I would also like people to get out of the habit of balloon release.

Every year there is a stocking filler thread. Posters recommend a ton of useless plastic crap, from Poundland, which is pointless.

Yes, I used to much prefer a bag of sweets when DC were small but that's not always approved of either.

I once did Easter eggs (March birthday) instead of party bags and that did not go down well at all. I also tried books which was not a hit.

I was never quite brave enough to just send them home with a piece of cake, but I wish I was.

FFS- focusing on reduction in plastic use is great. Bags for life, paper straws etc, but my god- fun police much?!

Do you realise that the vast majority of plastics in the ocean come from LEDCs?

Urgh! Hate this shitty plastic party bag tat! It's a real shame that parents (me included, in the past!) feel somehow like it's an unwritten rule of kids parties to provide a bag of this rubbish for all the attendees! How did that start??

Having said that, my son has been to several parties in recent years where he's either come home with just cake or sweets, which he's not been at all bothered by & I've been thrilled about!!

At his last party, I gave each of his friends (only 8 of them, granted) a cheap white supermarket t.shirt & a few cheap fabric pens to create their own design - didn't cost much & they loved it!!

Well Stylish we’ve all got to do our bit, right? OP isn’t saying don’t have party bags, just don’t fill them with cheap plastic tat. Sounds perfectly reasonable.

We did sunflower seeds and a little cardboard plant pot - went down a treat! Pencils are a good idea too.

Agree that the plastic tat thing needs to end - retailers need to take responsibility.

I agree - there are plenty of things that aren’t plastic tat, but that will be fun for the children, to put in party bags. There are toys - even plastic ones - that will last and be played with, pens or pencils, sweets, craft stuff etc etc.

I don’t think saying that is being the ‘fun police’ as @StylishMummy accuses.

StylishMummy so those of us lucky enough to live in the developed world should just say fuck it and not bother? We'll just blame those who don't have the same level of choice in their lives, or who are only doing what we did twenty years ago and made a huge contribution to the mess the planet is in now.

Of course. We're all right Jack.

I watched that programme the other night about how much plastic is in the sea , it was absolutely shocking . We should all do our bit really .

I think yabu to ban them. I think people are far more conscious of plastic but we still live in a world where we have free choice.

I worry about yoghurt pots I mean you use them once and they get thrown out or put in plastic recycling depending on where you live.

YANBU. I've been guilty of this. I'm mending my ways.

I don't think kids even get that much fun out of them. It's meant to be a thing that you soon round and it makes a noise, but it's so tiny it doesn't even make a noise. The receiving and opening of the bag gave ds fun, the actual toy have him about 15 seconds of fun if that. His life would not be poorer if this stuff didn't exist.

Yes absolutely!

Our actions may not make a big difference but changing the our mindset and that of future generations is the only way out of this mess. We have to start somewhere.

Yanbu - or just stop
And buying enough stuff to fill all the party bags costs a lot even if it’s cheap plastic tat - that will be thrown away

Simple answer OP: yes.

A few years ago I was so fed up of having to find tat and make up party bags I just went to Poundland and bought everyone a big Toblerone instead. Went down an absolute storm.

It's left over from the days when kids didn't have a ton of toys at every junction. I remember getting my first party bag and being overwhelmed by my luck. Not sure many kids think that now.

It is the plastic bottles though. The kids at secondary school get through 1 or 2 a day every day. It's horrific. Despite the fact they all have refillable water bottles that they use as well.