Calling creative minds--party favor ideas!

[jse107]

DS is having his 5th birthday party next month. We're having it at Bounce U (like Pump It Up). I know some of you are not fans, but DS loves it--so it was his choice.

This year, in lieu of gifts, DS asked for donations for our local Humane Society. They have a wish list that I printed out and put in the invitations. DS is on board with the idea and happy that he will "help the animals have a good home and stay warm and get food and...(well you know how it goes..).

I'd like to do an easy party favor and if it could tie-in with the Humane Society idea, even better. Overall, I'm looking for a kind of "crunchy" type something. I'm trying to avoid the "bag-o-crap" that we gave out last year (and always seem to get). KWIM?

Although it doesn't tie in at all, I thought about getting little clay pots and a pack of seeds for each child.

Help me out! All ideas are welcome!

[billysmommy]

We did a clay pot, a pack of seeds and we stamped a small brown bag with bird stamps, wrote "(Take a bird to lunch" on it and filled it with birdseed. They were big hits with the kids (ages 5-7)

[bubbaray]

I've done plant seeds, with a pot and dollar store watering can. If you want to spend more, you could also add small gardening tools. Depends on your budget. Target usually has cute tools, they might be on sale.

[sariana]

I like your seed idea. DS wanted a WALL*E party, so we provided seeds, soil, and toilet paper tubes. You can plant the tube right in the ground, and it will eventually dissolve. This might be a more economical option for you.

You cut a toilet paper tube half. Cut four slits about halfway up the sides. Fold the edges in as you would fold the bottom of a box (top/bottom/top/bottom). This part was tricky; I had to bend the pieces a little bit. Put some soil in the "cup" you have made and plant a seed or a few in it.

I found lots of information about toilet paper tube crafts online.

The bird's lunch idea is cute, too.

[713abc]

For my DS's 5 yr b-day party last year (at our local Health Museum) we gave out a 99 cent reusable grocery store bag (like from Whole Foods) with a $1 bouncy ball from Walmart inside. We also included a note "from my son" which included this info to encourage kids and parents to bring their own bags to the grocery store:

"Did you know it takes 10,000 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade (that’s a very long time!). And it takes 14 million trees each year to make the paper bags we use (that’s a lot of trees!)."

I'm can't be sure if the kids / parents every used the bags...but I know they loved the balls!
Robin

[Jen841]

I know you want something crunchy, but a frisbee could be their cake plate (with a paper liner) and a form of exercise.

Water bottles? Any good deals on BPA free ones? My kids are addicted.

I love the grocery bag idea. Target just had lunch bags for $1.

Pencils from the Humane Society? My son is obsessed with 'fun' pencils lately. This would have meaning to him.

Animal tatoos? My kids love them. I am not the biggest fan, but they LOVE them.

I have a new criteria for party gifts....
I want something they will consume soon (i.e. animal crackers) or they will use a lot (i.e. ball). School/craft supplies are fun too. I don't want stuff that breaks right away or sits in the bottom of the toys

Speaking of Animal Crackers, Target had the Terracycle pencil bags for $1 yesterday in the office supply (not school supply) section. I bought a few.

[mattiew]

Cookies shaped like dog bones - the kids would think it was funny, they would be eaten (probably on the way home from the party), and not a bunch of little things for the parents to throw away later.

[sarahsthreads]

Cookies shaped like dog bones - the kids would think it was funny, they would be eaten (probably on the way home from the party), and not a bunch of little things for the parents to throw away later.

I like the dog bone cookies idea! DD2's first birthday party was monkey themed and we put those miniature (real) bananas in the goody bags, along with a little monkey bath squeeze toy. We got great feedback about the mini bananas! Pretty much all the kids ate their banana in the car on the way home, which none of the parents minded at all.

Sarah :)

[jse107]

Great ideas from everyone--now I just have to decide what to do. The cookie idea would be great as long as I can get my act in gear to make them! ;)

The bird seed idea would be easy to do also.

So many ideas!

[TonFirst]

I am a strictly-cookies mama when it comes to goodie bags. Kids love them, they can be as healthy as you want them to be, there's no bag o' crap full of lead paint and choking hazards - everyone wins! The dog bone idea is precious.

ETA that I always outsource the cookie-making! Most local bakeries can do cookies in whatever shape you want, and if they don't have a bone-shaped cutter, they'll probably be happy to use one that you supply. We got lucky with my son's party this past December - he had a space theme, and since it was the holidays, we bought a few dozen yellow star cookies. If I had my act together, though, I would have supplied a rocket-shaped cutter.

[Melbel]

You already have some great ideas. A few others to consider...

An inflatable beach ball (ties in with the party location)
Smencils Pencils (these are scented pencils made from 100% recycled newspapers; kids love them; see http://www.smencils.com/ or you may be able to find better prices elsewhere)
trail mix (both "crunchy" and crunchy :D)

For the seeds favor, you may want to check the Target dollar bins. In the past, they have had small potted plant kits.

[DietCokeLover]

Ok, this may just be too weird, but you could buy some "dog bowls" and make Puppy Chow (the chex mix, chocolate and powdered sugar stuff) to fill them up with.

If you don't like the dog bowls, you could use your planter idea and fill it with the puppy chow.

Wrap the "bowls" in clear wrap, tie it up and attach some cute pencils as decor.

[jse107]

I love Smencils! We have some at home! :)