This is not true at all and it has now become expected from kids attending parties to go home with a large gift. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that parents have a really hard time with this part of the party planning. I see way to many scramble to figure out what they will do for the party favors at the last minute and with that always overspend. I know if you are reading this you totally agree and may even be guilty of doing this yourself.
Parents have to remember that Party Favors are only intended to be a small token of Thanks for coming to the party. With just a little imagination you can come up with a Unique Budget Friendly Party Favor that is useful instead of sending kids home with bags of candy and useless toys.
Here is a good rule of mine to follow it is called KISS - Keeping It Simple Saves. That is a great rule to follow when planning any party. Party Favors should be budgeted at anywhere from $1.00 - $5.00 per child give or take. This can be done with just a little imagination and creativity.A lot of times your can also save money by having your party activity double as your party favor. For Instance with a Stuff a Plush Birthday Party Theme the guests will stuff a plush and they get to take that home - so that will double as their favor - and that can be the same with many party activities. Also keep in mind when buying Party Favors if it is something you would not mind your child coming home from a party with. Is it something you will just end up tossing out or not allowing your child to eat?
I do know that kids look forward to the party favors so having nothing is really not the way to go. So I am going to share with your some ideas and some of my favorites I like to use and the kids love.
For simple items all you need to do is make some Thank You Cards - small cut squares with a hole punch and some pretty ribbon to tie onto your favor. Add some funny sayings like for cookie favors - "Thank You for coming to my party is was SWEET of you" etc...
Cookie Favors - Bake some cookies and wrap them up add your Thank You Note and a Juice Box stick them in a Lunch Bag decorated by the Birthday Child for each Guest and you have a great favor the kids will love and enjoy after the party. Add a stick to the cookie and you made a cookie pop.
Water Bottles - You can buy these at your local store for less than $2.00. Take a permanent marker and write the child's name on it - attach a healthy snack and you are good to go.
Jumpropes - Tie your Thank You note to each and that is all you need
Re-usable Take Home Party Cups - A lot of Party Supplies have great matching reusable cups that come with the straw and all. I love these and think they make the perfect party favor.
Beach Pail and Shovel - Customized with the child's name on it and add a bottle of bubbles.
Cupcakes - Send them home with a cupcake just frosted and attach a small bag of sprinkles they can add and a juice box. You can even buy reusable cupcake holder that will hold an individual cupcake and the child can use that over and over again for school.
Theme Coloring Books - You can find coloring pages for almost any theme right on the internet. Find at least 10 pages for each book maybe some fun activities like crosswords and such and print them out. Make a custom cover and it can something like - "Thanks for adding color to my day, Now you add some to yours." Attach some crayons and you are good.
My number one favorite party favor to give is the reusable cups - I usually attach and snack and add a few goodies to the inside of the cup like Stickers and Tattoos and a blow up punch ball (kids love those).
So parents we all need to work together and stop this expensive party favor gift giving and bring party favors back to what they should really be - a small Thank You.
