Looking at the pile of plastic crap I would be assembling into a kid’s birthday party goody bags one year, I swore I would never participate in this miserable ritual again. Not only does everything end up getting tossed within a day, its extra money spent on more plastic that isn’t good for us or the planet.
That said, the birthday party code mandates children leaving with a party favor. I think the best alternative to a goody bag is having kids make something during the party that they can take home. Not only is this more fun and memorable, it stands in as an activity!
Here are some of the best ideas we have seen or tried ourselves:
- Make stomp rockets. Great for an outdoor party at a park. Check this out for more.
- Tie-dye a t-shirt. Craft stores have inexpensive plain t-shirts and there are tons of kits or directions for tie-dye on the web. You could even have kids bring a t-shirt they’d like to “upgrade.”
- Customize aprons. Great tied in with a cupcake decorating or art challenge. Little aprons can be purchased at craft stores and there are fabric pens (easy!) or paint that kids can use to decorate their aprons.
- Paint a frame or wooden toy. You could also get crazy and construct a frame from popsicle sticks.
- Make bath bombs. There are tons of amazing recipes, and even printable tags, for bath bombs on Pinterest.
What a great opportunity to teach kids to create more and consume less, and have fun in the process!