Goodie Bags at a 1St Birthday Party

A girlfriend of mine took empty babyfood jars and filled them with m & m's and tied a balloon to each. Cheap and yet cute!

I had the same question. I asked my other mom friends and they told me that I absolutely have to have goodie bags, especially if there will be kids older than the birthday girl in attendance.

Not wanting to buck tradition, I raided the dollar store and found that there was a lot to choose from. I even got the goodie bags there. It was difficult to find things that were appropriate for children under three, but I got rubber duckies, water balls, plastic frisbees, Winnie the Pooh flashcards, and snack cups to put in the bags, all things that kids will actually play with. I even got some crayons and candy for the older kids. I will let you know how well this went over, but if having to constantly move my baby away from the goodies while I was packing the bags is any indication, I'm thinking it will be a good idea. Don't go overboard. After all, they are still babies. Good luck!

S.

We just had my twinkies birthday party. I did do good bags. I got a big bag of mix candy from Costco. Any child 7 and under (i.e. no tweens/teens got it) each got some candy. For a 3 month old I got a onsie at Kohls for like 4 bucks. For the 1 year old, I got a onsie at Kohl's for like 6 bucks. Then for the older kids I went to dollar store... the boys got some plastic dinosaurs/turtles and sidewalk chalk. The younger boys 2.5 and under also got sidewalk chalk but also a book. You could probably skip it if you want but the kids who were 3.5 and up were asking about goody bags towards the end of the party. Good luck.

I agree with the dollar store idea for the kids at the party. They appreciate a little something since they are used to the birthday party routine. Also, for adult friends something fun was the one year portrait picture to be able to give out.

I have to be honest...they are a waste of money! I have a 2 yr old DD and most of the time the items that are given are not safe for her to play with or are items I don't want in the house and I end up throwing away 80-90% of the "toys" or candy she was given.

If you are having a small party and can make the bags for each child (age specific) go ahead but it starts to add up....

I just had my DD 2 yr B-Day party last weekend and it was Elmo theme....I had take home Elmo face cookies I got from the bakery for 1.25 each and I got treat bages from Party City (40 for 2.50) put the cookies in the bag tied with red/yellow ribbon and passed them out at the end of the party as our guests left. (I had a little tag on each that said thank you for coming and sharing in the day...)

These were worth the money and it was something the kids could eat later when Mom and Dad wanted to give them to them.

Hope this helps.....

J.

one-year-olds won't know the difference. I wouldn't bother unless you want to. We went to one party and they gave out little snack packs of those gerber puffs. They were a hit, but I'm sure my son had no idea how or why they appeared in my hand...

For my son's 1st, I gave a copy of the board book "Birthday Monsters" to each of his guests. I bought them cheap (I think $2/ea) from Overstock.com.

I find nothing wrong with goodie bags. We handed out goodie bags at my daughters 1st birthday. Some bags included Gerber puffs- for the little ones,) For the older kids 3+ got pencils, playdough, stickers, finger puppets, rubber duckie toys. & every kid got a balloon or 2 when they left.
To each their own I guess. I think goodie bags are fun!!!

Hello J.

It is a waste to have goodie bags for a 1st b-day party. I would just go and get something from the dollar store to give all the kids and wait until the 2nd or even the 3rd b-day for goodie bags. A coupon from McDonalds for a free ice cream cone or a box of cookies I'm sure that would love!

God's Blessings
D.

They have things at Toys R Us for a dollar...shovel and bucket,boats,water squiters,and a bunch of other things all under a dollar. You can get a few of those items and then get some candy to throw in the bucket. We did this and it was a great hit. I even gave it to some 10 year olds and they have been to the beach and brought their buckets and shovels and had a blast. Its cheap for you and fun for them.

I made coloring packets for each of the kids that came to our twins 1st birthday. I found the coloring pages all online (free). I found Winnie the Pooh crayons at the dollar store. Then I made each child a cd of music. Our theme was Winnie the Pooh. They turned out really cute and the whole thing cost me very little. Good luck. Do what you want to do. If you enjoy making things like that then go for it!

It all depends on how old the kids are that will be coming....if they are 2 or older I say do the goodie bags....small stuff...and only a few items is perfect!

Maybe you could do something different than the usual stuff you get from the party stores so that the one-year-old buddies would really enjoy the items. You could get inexpensive board books and make little bags of Cherrios, goldfish, animal crackers, or Puffs. But of course you don't have to have goody bags. Have a fun party!

The kids really love the goodie bags. I like to do them but I am picky about what I put in them. I make sure they are age appropriate first of all. The older kids, at least mine, love getting pencils with designs on them. I also would consider MCDonald's gift cert. The kids love those. Buy a multi pack of Play doh and give out individual ones to the younger kids. Hope this helps.

Hi J.

Waste of money. i went through that- my son is 13 years old. Invest in one thing that your baby can use and will have fun with- something the two of you can do together. I am single mom- save your money and just enjoy the baby. simple is good.

God bless.

L. K.

It's really up to you. A good place to get good stuff for cheap is Oriental Trading.com. Maybe take a look at the website and decide from there. I hope this helps!

I think goodies bags are nice for older kids, but for a 1 year old it seems silly. Older kids seem to expect to come home from a party with a goody bag now. I guess going to a party where someone else gets all the gifts is not so fun...

I recommend having a basket full of goodies that your guests can select from. For instance, $1-2 items, like cars, bubbles, little balls, post-in notes (for adults), etc. I have done this for my sons 1st & 2nd birthday parties and it has been a big hit. The cute part is that some of our friends took toys and when we visit their house, they always have at least one toy that our son can play with! :-)

If I could go back and do mine over I would get little stuffies and a gift cetificate for ice cream (scoop at baskin robbins) it is for a one year or two year old , so something they would like and who doesn't like ice cream.