that " book in a party bag " idea some CLOT had once

[Frivol]

well it goes down very badly here.
My kids like books.

they like parties

they like party bags

they dont like them mixing.

a party bag BEST case scenario is sweets, with a football keyring( who has keys aged 6?!) if you haev to.

[BalloonSlayer]

Lots of good ideas on here.

I especially like IlanaK's Executioner themed party "I am using black organza pull tie bags and will be putting in a notebook and pencil, a length of rope, a homemade cloth map and a toy swiss army knife (brought over from the US as they are not available over here)" . . . the victim's blindfold doubling as the party bag itself is a stroke of genius.

Fab

[BalloonSlayer]

Staples are selling little keyring calculators at the mo for 78p

[CatchaStar]

Jesus, don't tell me there's a whole unknown parenting competition to see who can give the best party bags that I don't know about?!

DD is having her second Birthday in 2 weeks, having forked out £60.00 for a bouncy castle for 4 hours to keep the little blighters happy, plus the added expense of food and drink, I'll be sending the kids home with cake and nowt else! The can steal whatever sweets they want from the party, but I refuse to buy cheap tat that will end up in the bin. Plus I'm now skint. Damn expensive inflatables!

[fruitful]

You don't need to do party bags for 2yo, they're not expecting it.

DD is 7 next week and has requested a "crafts" party. So I have bought foam bags and lots of stickers and stuff from Yellow Moon. They're going to decorate their own party bags and then make the stuff to fill them. And I don't have to organise games. Obviously my kitchen will be covered in glue and glitter by the time they leave, but still.

[Mumsfruitandnut]

Best success: gun that fired party poppers.

Success with the kids, that is. I am still p.n.g at the school gate.

[BlueberryPancake]

Last birthday I bought 10 pairs of knickers - peppa for girls and thomas for boys. DS was 2 and most of his friends were in the potty training stage and parents thought it was a great idea!!! Along with sweets, and bouncy balls.

This year, I've done the same thing but with socks. Not so popular.

For other DS i put a tub of playdoh, some sweets, and a bag of mini jam dodgers.

[Surfermum]

Bloody hell dd's party on Saturday is being judged here left, right and centre .

Party bags contain seeds (10p), stickers (15p), glow sticks (4p), haribo and chocolate coins and a make your own hand puppet (50p) will be added after pass the parcel as they will each get one there.

And the mums will be too drunk to care as they are being served Pimms and strawberries while I entertain their children.

[LaundryFairy]

Best party bags DS has had were a Charlie and Lola book and a very small lego set. Both were from fairly small parties, so I guess the parents felt they could spend a bit more. DS loved them both and they didn't get chucked after 48 hours like the usual tat.

[hohoba]

oh god surft get the mums OUT

[Surfermum]

No, it's ok! They aren't all staying, just my closest circle. And they're going to help get the food set up and cleared up for me. I don't get an entertainer, I do all the games and stuff myself (with the help of dh and some other friends) so am grateful for their help. Besides we need victims for the dress up the mums game.

[MerryMarigold]

ds1 got a small pink dinosaur in a party bag when he was 1! he still plays with it 2 years on..

[Countingthegreyhairs]

oh yes it has to be unadulterated tat

following on from Seeker's jam idea, an alpha mummmy at dd's school put in tiny 'hotel' pots of honey which she had made from her own bees and labelled with every child's name ..

... I can't compete with that so it's the usual Haribo-bubbles-stickers combination here

love the idea of pants though!

[Stinkermink]

The ultimate party bag should contain, a slice of sticky cake wrapped in a paper napkin so that the child eats the cake and the paper together, 2 paracetamol and a mini bottle of something alcoholic...that would go down well with me. I always whip the bag off DS as soon as he gets it in order to moderate the sugar intake on the way home. So something for me would be nice...I always seem to stay at childrens parties!

[Surfermum]

I like your style Stinker . We did party bags for my friend's 40th and put in avon samples, perfume samples, some tissues and Thornton's chocolate bars. Those little bottles of wine would have been great now you mention it.

[hohoba]

condoms too?!

[MollieO]

Surfermum where do you get seeds for 10p and glow sticks for 4p? Am just planning ds's party bags and clueless on what sort of tat to choose. Last year I managed to get ball games from John Lewis in the sale (the ones with the big velcro mits). This year plastic tat seems to be the party bag of choice.

[LovelyRitaMeterMaid]

I asked DS (5) who appeared downstairs a few minutes ago about what he likes getting in a party bag.

He says cake .

I asked if he likes other things and he said just cake

[Surfermum]

The seeds were on offer, 10 packs for a £1 in our local Poundland type shop. The tube of 25 glowsticks were in the 99p shop today.

[squeaver]

I've posted this before but it's so amusing, thought you all might appreciate it.

Friend of mine's dd was going to a party. She took a Polly Pocket thing (£10-ish) as a present for the birthday girl.

Guess what was handed out in the party bags? Yep, the same Polly Pocket set.

[Poppity]

The Dad of DS friend went to the DIY shop for the party bag and prizes at his boy's 9th.

The boys all loved it. One was the subject of huge envy when he won a hammer, some nails, and a random big lump of wood. Another prize was a paint brush, 2 tester pots, and a piece of mdf.

The party bags were used plastic bags with a mini tool of some sort, a few screws/nails/nuts and bolts, and a small piece of appropriate wood/metal to try them out on.
They still had cake and a balloon though

[sallycinamon]

Wondering what to put in party bags too. DD will be 4 she and most of her friends are very girlie. There will be a few boys there too. I wanted to spend less than £2 per bag maybe closer to a pound really. Where is the best place to get cheap plastic tat / hair clips, jewellery etc?

An idea I am considering is getting them all a magazine to take home - the type with plastic tat stuck on the front! That will be close to £2 per child i suppose.

Any other novel ideas?

[BexieID]

Toms party bags for his b/day had: easter egg, hotwheels car, car keyring, bubbles, little clicking cameras, those fancy straws, water gun and cake. The girls had hair bands and unicorn keyrings instead of the hotwheels/car keyrings. I forgot to put balloons in or give them a helium one i'd bought.

Tom just had a bag from a party we couldn't attend and there was a cup from Cars in it with a straw. And a medal, crayons, magic stars, smarties, flump (which I had) and balloons.

[smee]

Like the idea further up this thread, so party bags for parents. Kids get the cake. Now what to include...

[Hulababy]

squeaver - that reminds me. At DD's birthday party a year ago we gave the girls a Polly Pocket set each - a doll with 3 outfits in the set. They were £1 each in Home Bargains.

[Stinkermink]

smee and Surfermum do you think I should patent it?