To beg you not to buy cheap rubbish from Temu for party bags?

[Nescafeneeded]

They’re toxic and horrible, end up in the bin, total waste and the parts are a danger around toddler siblings.

So I speak to Mums on benefits on my school run who have only been able to afford an outfit for themselves for the first time in a decade thanks to Shein.

I don’t judge them at all, they are really struggling. I do think our own retailers here should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves and disgusted at what they try to charge for 1 item of clothing these days. They have far more to be ashamed of for sure.

People buying stuff from these sites are also happy to buy from companies who have been reported in documentaries for using child labour but the people ignore that to buy stuff for other kids

So our party bags contained a packet of chocolate buttons, hairbands, a novelty pen where you can click to change the ink colour, a small notebook and bubbles. I’m sure somebody will now pop up to say how that all would’ve ended up in their bin but I think they’re slightly more practical choices than a weird key ring from TEMU for kids who do not own, and have no use for, keys.

Surely the costs it would take to replicate designs and manufacture the parts for the product in their own factories etc would be ridiculously high?
Surely you have a manufacturer/factory in China. Designs a toy. Makes the toy. Then they distribute it to the 1000s of companies who will sell it - sometimes in different packaging. That could be generic packaging, lots of different languages, some with own brand names on for different retailers (So Walmart for America, B+M for UK, Carrefour for France etc).
One of those sellers might be Temu.

It was a topic for amusement in the playground for weeks after

Re the "give books" people.... I've noticed Temu sell books now.
Ordinary ones like Enid Blyton box sets etc.

My kids like the keyrings to put on their bags etc.

Small notebooks never get used, nor do the little bubbles (decent size ones are good though).

I agree that the seeds and cheap books are totally pointless too.

Bouncy balls and anything that makes a noise are always popular in my house, as well as craft kits.

My DD's both love reading and have bookshelves absolutely chock-full in their bedrooms. Both were still distinctly unimpressed when offered a book in lieu of a party bag a few months back. Ditto when youngest went to a party where the Mum proudly handed out tiny ceramic pots and seeds at the end.

I'm sorry to say it but kids love plastic tat after a party. The seeds/books crowd are too busy desperately virtue-signalling to other parents to consider what the kids might actually enjoy.

Making the party bag is part of the fun for my DDs - choosing stickers, toys and sweets their friends would like. They spend ages doing it, and then writing the names the bags.

Environmentally unfriendly tat
Designs blatantly stole from artisans and craftspeople all over the world

Support Temu and you're supporting the Chinese juggernaut that has already decimated our self-determination as a nation.

Most kids like stickers. Stickers and sticker book, bag of sweets (non choking type) and a piece of cake. Job done.

Temu don't manufacture goods though.
They're the distributor.
You can buy knock off fakes from Amazon too (not saying that's good obviously).

im very much a temu party bag giver.

however I’m appalled at you saying most kids find seeds and books boring!! No they really don’t. Kids love seeds and books.

also your list of alternatives is literally the tat stuff off temu that this thread is referring to. It’s easy, cheap, and actually does get used for ages. So I have no objections to it.

I don't buy this argument when Vinted exists and is (in my experience anyway) amazing - I get 90 percent of all my family's clothes from there including my own. It's not hard and it's certainly not pricey. No excuse to buy from Shein or Temu when there's enough clothing on the planet to clothe seven generations of the human race already.

You don’t have to buy it, you have one opinion, they have another. You’ve added to my point that most big name retailers charge way too much per item, hence why people are also turning to Vinted. I don’t know any adults who would have used either 20 years ago, as they could afford to shop in actual shops in town.

“Support Temu and you're supporting the Chinese juggernaut that has already decimated our self-determination as a nation”.

I mean buy basically anything and you’re doing that 😂 not to mention the Chinese influence over our pensions, real estate, banking and investments. Temu tat is party bags is really nothing if you’re trying to avoid the Chinese

I agree - but you might be surprised about past prices, I was looking at some teen magazines from 1995-7 in my aunt's house last week and was shocked that the high street clothes prices were about the same as what they are now...

Your logic is very flawed. Retailers don't charge too much. Clothing is (relatively) cheaper than ever before. Charity shops, car boots and consignment stores etc have been around yonks. There has always been a market for used clothing. Cheap clothing is very much the new phenomenon.

Sorry but the party bag full of tat is here to stay.
admittedly this year I’ve got stuff to be used during the party (think reusable plastic cups, curly straws, headbands and blow up props) but it’s so much more fun.

I'm not bothered about plastic tat, I'd rather it didn't make it into the house but the dc love getting tat in parry bags. The problem with temu is that they are shipped directly from China in small quantities so the toys do not has to pass the same safety standards. You can't guarantee that they are not unsafe or toxic.

Can't stand when dcs get seeds. It's another Job to do. If it doesn't grow they're disappointed. Inevitably the books are from the works which are always pretty crap versions of cinderalla etc.

Dcs had party bags today. All the items were temu. Bubbles. Little surprise bags with mini animals which are actually cute they've used these as barbies pets. Snap bands , silver charm bracelets, multi color biro , fidget keyring. All the kids absolutely loved it. Keyring they put on their bags , biros always get used. Only thing that may not be used is the snap bands.
Spares we hand out for trick or treat.
The mum said she did 30 party bags for £15 .

I've purchased party bag fillers on amazon before ( forgot the day prior so had to prime it) cost £40 and was pure shite. Little clackers that snapped , yoyos woth 10cm string pure rubbish.

I agree with this. It's your job as a parent to check the bags given to your child and remove offending items if you're concerned about danger to younger siblings, or don't want the things in your home on principle.

Just because they use photos of Enid Blyton box sets or Lego or Playmobil on their site does not mean you're getting the same product you'd buy in an actual shop.

It's dangerous to buy unregulated, untested toys from Temu/ebay/Amazon.
Children do get badly injured and die from things like unsafe electronics, button batteries, strong magnets.
Even things like ribbons on baby toys - Argos or Smyths have to meet safety standards to ensure the ribbon isn't so long as it could strangle a baby.
The 'exact same product' at 10% of the price from Temu will not have had any safety testing.

I agree on button batteries. I won't give anything with button batteries. I did have to chuck some light up stuff away because it had button batteries inside and looked as if it could break easily. Anything with button batteries needs to be robust and have a screw-on cover as a minimum, and even then I usually keep it up high and used only under supervision. Some parts of quite mainstream games sold in the UK for children have button batteries in them.

I don’t think it’s that hard to not fill bags with complete rubbish that will never be used.

We’ve done the £1 packs of crayola chalk in the summer, playdoh do pretty reasonably priced party packs for younger children, Rex London do matchbox jigsaws for £1 each.

For our 6 year olds last birthday party I picked up a load of Mimi and Lula hair clips for £1 a pack in the sales, a lipsmacker lip balm, some sweets and a friendship bracelet my daughter made for each of them. They all seemed thrilled and are wearing them nearly a year later.

I don’t recall main high street names charging upwards of £60 for staple items of clothing 10 years ago. Let’s agree to disagree.