Party Bag Business

[MommaTonda]

Hello! I am in the process of setting up a party bag business where I will be selling pre-filled, plastic-free party bags /amongst other things!

I've got lots of ideas for unisex bags and some ideas for more 'girlie' things such as hair clips etc but I'm struggling to think of ideas for more boyish things. I will obviously try and do most of the bags as unisex as poss as I know boys and girls can wear / play with anything. It is just that where I make my own pretty hair clips that I can use for more girlie bags, I need some ideas for a 'boy' equivalent.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks!

Go for it.

I was looking for pre filled party bags and couldn't find anything I liked so I did my own, which invariably ended up being more expensive. There will be a market for it, people have different budgets. I would like to see items that kids can keep, with a few sweets thrown in for good measure.

Good luck!

Not if you cover them in fabric instead. The inside is metal. (Tape measure material basically)

OP I would use a service like this depending on price! I do think less volume and more considered items are better and party bags are still a thing here for pre schoolers at least!

masks go down well for the younger crowd. What about fabric capes for superheroes?
mini wooden peg type 'doll' as a superhero/emergency services character/boy

panpipe whistles sound like the most twee thing ever but my DS absolutely loves one he found at a play group!

Yoyos, wooden tictactoe, marbles

I can’t think of boy specific things. But yo-yos. Cup and ball on a string game. What are those squeeze acrobat things called?

But I agree with PP. Sweets, pencil, stickers, bubbles, bouncy ball. I generally don’t buy much plastic but that kind of thing. Throw in the cake. Done. £2 each including the bag.

Just to say I HATE the cake wrapped in a napkin thing. It gets all over the car, or forgotten about, and if anyone wants to eat it it's been mushed and the icing stick to the napkin.
Party bags when I was (1970s) were: balloon, bubble thing, sweets, stickers, and some other thing. My kids loved getting them even if it was all eaten/broken/spilled by the time they got home! I've seen the trend did not a party bag but something like a book instead. A bit 'worthy', but it pleases the parents.

Its a bonkers idea. I am a lazy person but wouldnt buy these. . Think of something else,

Marbles
yo yo
spinny ufo thing-y
sweets
colouring book & crayons
cats cradle
bath bomb
stickers
chalk
decorate your own (anything)
friendship bracelets
mouse in a box teeny toy
seeds
books
baloons
bubbles
Musical toys that make noise
3d puzzles

Brooches
badges
stamps
toy cars
Also some ideas here
https://thehopefilledfamily.com/50-alternative-party-bag-ideas-which-arent-made-of-plastic/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes&utm_term=792413006_32933050_407936&utm_content=cmp-true

There is a toy charity - the Toy Project - which will collect up bits for party bags - like duplo figures or play mobile figures etc you can ask them to theme the figures, they need a bit of notice.
they charge £1 for the figures
I think a partnership with a charity like this would make me feel good if I were buying party bags as part of a package. I find them quite wasteful, but due to pressure from children I did do them at the most recent birthday party the bag was paper, the gift was a second hand book from charity shop (cost me about 20p each) a couple of chocolates wrapped in foil and I think a row of plastic free stickers in the party theme (pound shop)
i don’t know what the angle of the rest of your business idea is - but the emphasis on plastic free suggests that you’re focusing on ethical or sustainable credentials. I think it’s fairly easy to get decent party bags together that are free of plastic these days 1 so perhaps to increase the value proposition how could you further increase the sustainability/ethical angle? So that the purchases actively do good?

good luck with the venture!

The idea sounds great but the only thing stopping me would be cost. Most parties have a class from school - average of 30 kids let's say. Once you pay for the actual party and food it's normally coming close to £300!! When it comes to party pats I try and keep as cheap as possibly and only want to spend £1 per child - I used to go on wholesale sites to do this and as they have got older just went to bookers for sweets and made my own sweet bags for less than £1 each. Kids loved them!

Just some food for thought as the cost per bag can't be too expensive as most parents will need a lot!

The thing is that everything that a child doesn't want is 'tat' whether it's plastic or homemade sustainable stuff. I think most dc would prefer the plastic crap that costs 30p over a terracotta plant pot that's £3. A party bag is supposed to be a generic bag of tat, that's why it's cheap. If I was paying £7+ per bag I'd want it to be a bit more personalised, I don't want 20 bags with the same crocheted hair clip for all of the girls.

I don't really get why you need it to be gendered, can't you just list the contents of a party bag and let the customer decide what is suitable for their party guests?

I have just looked on. curious caterpillar
They have an odd idea of eco- they seem use it meaning wood or paper but it is still tat mass produced in factories exploiting labour and then shipped half way round the world- nothing at all eco about that !

To answer your question, here is what has been a hit with my 3 boys
Mini compass keyring
Keyrings altogether
Paper swords Google it, it's prob not what you think
Stretchy men
Those sticky things you throw on a wall
Whoopee cushion
Mini magnifying glass