To ask for ideas for party bags for 8 year olds

[Barnybrown]

It is my son’s 8th birthday in November and we can (hopefully) have a party this year. I want to do really fun party bags - but am at a loss for ideas for what to put in them and would really welcome ideas !

Seeds and a plant pot.

Snap @rainbowmum11

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183974515391?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

A Lego minifigure and some sweets!

I've just got all the bits for my son's next week, I've gone with a carabiner (they're going to the local climbing wall), a Lego keyring and a book - one from this set each - www.theworks.co.uk/p/childrens-book-collections/big-ideas-8-book-collection/9781839401824.html

We did those poppet toys, a balloon (requested by the birthday boy) and retro sweets which went down very well,

www.gourmetchocolatepizza.co.uk/little-chocolate-extras-shop/chocolate-lollies

Something like this

A (reusable) curly straw or themed straw - multipacks on eBay

Fun pair of socks was a memorable inclusion in a party bag once. I loved that. Not sure my son did but then he only ever wanted the bag of Haribo!

Please avoid the plastic tat!
A bee bomb is fun!
At my DD’s recent party I gave out paper bags of sweets and the kids were delighted!
Another year, we had a small party and they each got a Lego minifig and a small slab of Willie’s Cacao chocolate.
Lego/ personalised keyrings or small fridge magnets off Etsy.
But I think the sweets this year were the best

My DC are teenagers now and looking back at the party bag stuff I realise that a) kids just want a party bag and b) trying to make it amazing is just trying to impress other parents.

No need for plastic tat, seeds etc will never be planted, buying loads of cheap books just means loads of books will end up in the charity pile. Buy a load of stripped sweet bags from Amazon or ebay, fill with sweets and if you want order 'thanks for coming to my party love xxx' stickers. You could also add bubbles because kids always love them.

Just to add- at first I really went all out sourcing themed colouring books, pencils, rubbers etc thinking these would be great gifts. Looking back most kids have these anyway. Same with books which can be bought in a pack for a few pounds. They are not really exciting for a child to take home. A bag of sweets though.....

In the past I have set up a sweet pick n mix station at the end of parties with paper sweet bags and little scoops. The children can fill their own sweet bags to take home which has always gone down well and also means no filling bags for you.

I theme them. With crafts. So they make about half what's in there.

No plastic tat.

Wow the judgey and the worthy are out tonight.

If you hate party bags - why bother responding

I would get one decent thing eg book from box set/ air dry clay/ key ring/ pack of whatever cards they collect, and then sweets. I can't bear being given the bags with cheap little bits of plastic in them. My children NEVER play with the things in them and are just interested in the sweets/cake. My 3 year old keeps bringing home those ready made ones from amazon (I assume). With guilt, I put them straight in the bin, recycling where I can.

Sorry if it sound judgey, but with 3 children (the eldest now leaving primary), I can not tell you the amount of stuff from these bags that I have had to throw away over the years. I used to try and keep them, but have now accepted the children never play/use the stuff and it gets throw out eventually anyway.

One year I bought some cheap white t.shirts & packs of fabric pens so the kids could design their own. Stuck them in a gift bag with some sweets - big hit!

DS just turned 8. I bought pre-filled dinosaur and fossil party bags from Little Otter party supplies. They're plastic-free, and the kids loved them.

A giant tube of smarties. Job done.

I trawled eBay for cheap Lego kits, the ones that come in a bag that are a car or plane etc. I found some freshly good seaplanes for £2 each. That and some sweets was enough. Nobody wants the plastic tat

Gemstones or tiny fossils
Metal enamelled keyring or bag charm
Recycled notebooks

I second - no tat please.

We saw a lot of waterbottles or mugs filled with sweets, pencils and lego blind bags.

One of the best was a recycled jam jar (Bonne Maman size) filled with the dry ingredients for a chocolate chip cookie and a recipe. Most people have eggs and butter at home to do them quickly. They were baked and eaten the next day. Saying that it was done by a mum who runs a cake making business so I knew the hygiene was ok. But I saw this recently on a website as well.

Books can be difficult as they start to read at different levels at that age.

I like baker Ross for party bag stuff. I also got a box of light up glasses and bouncy balls things like that it had all different stuff from amazon via China cheap and went down well. I do sweets and choc as well of course but my dc love little toys.

Last year we did bingo at home party so I put bingo dabbers in there as well. I got mini pe kit bags from amazon that the dc have used throughout the year since.

Thanks so much for all the ideas. I have gone for :

• a poppit

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09BYNKTT9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_Q7EB13AM0961T0Q9WCYA?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

• super loud popping candy
• a chubba chup lolly
• crackle bath sachets off Amazon

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073WV3CJ2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_DP2ZMPBF2DYFD1MTDERP?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

This has the approval of the birthday boy and hopefully will go down well with kids (without being too much plastic rat!)

Cress seeds