Party bags have become an engrained part of children’s parties, as inevitable as the cake, the balloons and the end-of-party-sugary-meltdown from the birthday boy or girl. Children have come to expect them to the extent that when I tried to do without last time, I was reprimanded by a disgusted seven-year-old.
But nine times out of 10, they really are the most environmentally-unfriendly little packets of pointlessness.
Parents hate them because they scatter bits of plastic rubbish all over the house and usually contain a lollipop, which will be found three weeks later stuck to the sofa. Kids lose all interest in them five minutes after they get home and they suck up natural resources to make and dispose of.
Their only redeeming feature is that they’re a great way to close (“Oh, here’s your goodie bag” is mother-speak for, “please go away now, I think we’ve all had enough”).
So how do we avoid the horrors of the party bag without looking like the stingiest parent in town? Here are some ideas for swag beyond the bag that will round off your party properly.
Ban the bag
You could of course simply say to yourself: “I’ve baked a birthday cake, entertained 10 children for two hours, played pin-the-tail on the donkey and musical chairs, twice each. Going home without a goodie bags will be character building for them.”
Good luck with that one though; the kids are expecting them and they’ll let you know about it.
Bag a book
At the end of a recent party, my friend opened up a huge cardboard box. In it was a battered array of second-hand books. They were mostly those ghastly Disney tomes but there were a few earnest, early readers thrown in there too. Naturally the kids loved them, dived in and were perfectly happy to go home clasping a dog-eared version of Dumbo.
If you’re not cut out for charity shop wares, an alternative solution is to spring for new books; try the Euro shop or check out Amazon, which is selling four children’s book for €13 and also sells sets of books cheaply, which you can break down and give out separately (for example, six Peppa Pig books currently cost just €4 as part of a set).
Get seedy
Make your goody bag part of the party, by putting out small terracotta plant pots for the kids to paint and decorate. You can provide glue, glitter, bits of ribbon and so on. When the party ends, put the pots into a paper bag, which would also contain a packet of seeds and instructions on how to grow them.
Kids lose all interest in them five minutes after they get home
Make your own
Little craft kits are usually a big hit. The website www.findmeagift.co.uk offers sand art picture-making kits for €5, but the second kit is half price and shipping to Malta is just €8. They have the same deal on mug painting kits (€6.30) and a fashion origami set (€5). You can also make your own stained glass sun catcher (€5). If these are too pricey, then find some medium-sized, round pebbles and get the kids to paint them as bugs or insects. All you’ll need is the paint and perhaps some glitter and googly eyes. The kits will either keep them busy at the party, give them something to take home or both.
Go nuts
Fill a very large Tupperware with a homemade trail mix of nuts, chocolate chips, granola and seeds. Then give each child a recycled jam jar to decorate. Once they’ve finished, they can scoop in the trail mix, screw on the lid and, behold, the goodie jar of reasonably healthy produce is born. If you’re feeling very creative, you can separate the different ingredients so that they can make the mix themselves. Popcorn is great to bulk things out a bit so it costs less.
Japanese paper balloon
These gorgeous fish-shaped balloons are made of environmentally friendly paper. You just blow through the hole in the mouth to inflate them and then kids can take them home and hang them from a string in their rooms. They also deflate, meaning that they can be used over and over again. Available at www.notonthehighstreet.com, they cost €4 each (the shipping to Malta is pricey though, so you might want to buy some other products at the same time to make it worthwhile).
Put a rock in it
What could be cooler than getting your very own geode, imported from Morocco? These look like lumps on uninspiring rock on the outside, but partygoers get to hit them with a hammer (which will make your kid’s day). They break apart to reveal brilliant natural crystals, the perfect addition to any bedside table. The website www.etsy.com has lots of options for sale from around €5 each.
Chalk it up
Buy a large box of pavement chalk and then break it up into three or four pieces per child tied with a ribbon. They can use it at the party or take it home to mess up their own pavement.