As a kid, the joy of being handed a little bag of presents is one of the highlights of a party. Come to think of it, it’s not that different when you are an adult either.
The question is – how do we create great party bags? Party bags that are memorable, classy, and aren’t filled with prizes that will line the bin as soon as your guests arrive home. Look no further, we are here to help!
Firstly, it is always a great idea to keep it simple. Don’t be afraid to give away little decorations from the day. They act as a beautiful souvenir, and can be put up in each child’s bedroom when the family returns home. Paper flowers and balloons act perfectly as cheap keepsakes that provide fun and look gorgeous both at the party, and your guest’s home too.
Say goodbye to bubbles! Whilst bubbles might be one of the most popular gifts to grace your childrens’ goody bags, we would suggest you wave them goodbye. Parents often secretly loathe them, as the kids are bound to spill the foamy liquid on the way home in the car.
If you must buy bubbles (and let’s admit it, all children do get pretty excited when they see that little plastic container come out), try the ‘Everlasting Bubbles’ that sit on children’s fingers and don’t pop. You can stick the bubbles together, and have great fun making models and towers out of them.
Speaking of sticky, one thing never gets old…stickers! There are such a fantastic range of stickers available now, from neon mice to puffy pineapples, you can find something to suit every party theme. Just take a look at all of the options offered at Paperchase.
Paperchase is also fantastic for stationary. Now you can get a range of beautiful, affordable and unique gifts right on the highstreet. We love this Strawberry Ice Cream Eraser and this great Dinosaur Rubber too!
Useful accessories are also a very handy bet. Beautiful hair grips go down a storm with girls, and you can buy a fabulous range of novelty socks in Zara Kids. These Star Wars socks will impress! We secretly LOVE getting classy socks at Christmas. Let’s just face it – you are never too old to wear cat socks. Or shoes. Courtesy of Charlotte Olympia. Can we buy these for our goody bag?
If you have a slightly larger budget, Bonpoint and Tutu Du Monde are also stocking a beautiful range of hair bands that your guests will treasure for years to come.
Add a homemade touch by creating your own playdough. You can pop it in baby food jars and attatch a label that shows the recipe so the parents can recreate at home. There are lots of fantastic recipes for playdough around, and lots of different trends.
We have seen neon dough, glow in the dark mixes, and, of course, ‘Frozen’ sparkle playdough too. Most mixes are made from flour, water, salt, vegetable oil tartar and food colouring, so you are likely to have all of the ingredients ready to go in your cupboards.
Something to eat is also a fabulous idea for party bags. We recommend cake pops. They are very easy to make, are hugely popular, and look gorgeous too. If you want a healthy alternative, try this fantastic recieipe for Raw Peanut Butter Brownie Bliss Balls.
Make sure to finish your presentation wonderfully for the wow factor. Use these gorgeous candy striped sticks for your pops, or beautiful cake wrappers to pop the bliss balls into.
Speaking of presentation, what is also important is how the physical party bag looks! You can go down many routes depending on your party theme, and can tailor the bags to match using clever colour palletes, ribbon, or even hessian string. We also love using old fashioned candy striped paper bags, fastened with a little wooden peg.
Some of the most clever hosts we have seen have used home decorated canvas bags. You could even turn this into a party activity, encouraging children to decorate their bags with stamps and glitter paint to spell out their names. The guest’s each have a personalised bag to take home, that they will reuse.
So there you have it! Simple ways to create memorable gift bags that are beautiful, functional, and contain gifts that will entertain children (and please parents) for a little longer than five minutes.
