Hi,
My son really wants to have a pinata at his birthday party. I don't want to put candy in the pinata, because it's too much sugar for the kids. And I really don't want to put those small plastic toys in there either. Any suggestions for healthy or safe goodies to put inside the pinata?
Thank you!
Thanks everyone for all the great ideas!
Toys:
Stickers? Silly Bandz? Tops? Bouncy Balls?
Snacks:
Bags of Goldfish? Bags of pretzels? Fruit snacks? Fruit roll ups? Boxes of raisins?
Everyone who said stickers, bandaids and raisins...yeay! We did stickers instead of candy for a church egg hunt years ago and the parents LOVED us. Kids love band-aids so much--get some boxes of silly character ones, and let them just plaster themselves in them for fun. I once gave a three year old two boxes of band-aids for her birthday and she was thrilled...came out of the bathroom one day just festooned with them. They are especially desired because, well, you usually have to be bleeding to get one if you're a kid!
stickers, cute fake tattoos, sugar free candy, little packets of raisins, little packets of healthy popcorn or animal crackers, mini bubbles, little bags of granola, kid toothbrushes
Some available in stores: Boxes of raisins, stickers, glow in the dark bracelets, and mini bubble bottles.
If you have the time to bag/wrap items, then it really opens up the possibilities to homemade snacks like granola or cookies.
We just had a pull-down pinata at my daughter's 2nd birthday and it worked great. I did mix in some bouncing balls and packets of M&Ms, but the toddlers were more interested in the bubbles, stickers, and balls.
* How about one dollar bills? Costly, I know but better than candy or plastic toys? You could just do two $1 bills per child or just one $1 bill per child.
I'd say a few tiny deck of cards but they are heavy.
* small comic books
* fruit roll ups
* Quaker oat bars
* small bouncy balls (depending upon their age group)
* tiny sunglasses if they are little
Have fun!
there are "natural" candies that don't have as much if any refined sugar in them. also, peanuts in the shell, tiny pencils and markers or packs of crayons, erasers, cheap jewelry (doesn't have to be plastic - go to the thrift store for "real" cheap jewelry), little games in a pack like "jacks," seed packets that kids can plant later, cheesesticks, fruit rollups...
good luck!
pennies, dimes, nickles, quarters
coins for Chuck E. Cheese
Hi Mama-
A couple of thoughts:
You can get snack size single serve baggies of pretzels. Also, any of those 100 calorie snacks are pretty low in sugar.
Healthier ones could be the fruit strips/leathers at Trader Joe's. They are pressed, dried fruit in a strip, and pretty cheap.
I am also pretty sure you can buy nuts (check for allergies) in single serve bags, too. Oh, and granola.
If it were me, and I was steering clear of candy (except I have this terrible need for black licorce and candy corn all the time. Luckily, halloween only comes once a year), this would be my list:
1. 100 calorie packs
2. Granola bars
3. Single serve packs of granola
4. popcorn balls (mini, make 'em yourself, use as little sugar as possible)
5. Fruit strips/leathers
6. Single serve bags of nuts
7. Single serve bags of pretzels
8. Fun mini pens or pencils (dollar store?), erasers, etc.
I hope that helps. Good luck and have fun!!!
when we did a pinata a few years ago, it was close to halloween so I stuffed it with some halloween-theme erasers that had jack-o-lantern and spiderweb designs, little bottles of bubble liquid, and mini size granola bars
How about some cute temporary tatoos that match your party theme?
temporary tattoos, stickers, fruit snacks or roll-ups, mini bubbles, stamps
We did one for my oldests 3rd bday and used the temp tattoos and all the kids loved it. We also added in some fruit snacks and small candies, but the kids loved the tattoos.
Hope you have an awesome party!!
Try little boxes of raisins, cereal etc. I use to have little soaps but depending on the age of the kids; you'll have to remind them that they're soaps and not candy. (Use to label them as well.) Check for stuff in the $1 bins at Target/Joann's/Michael's. Little pads of paper, erasers, pencils, etc.
Another good idea is to have things portioned out in ziplock bags. There is a tendency for the bigger kids to push and grab the most stuff. If there are bags, everybody gets an equal portion. Have fun.
