This week, we have the pleasure of having Mary-Lou of Groovy Kids Parties, to share us some tips on some fantastic and memorable party favors.

We all know Birthday Parties are about celebrating the day our children were brought into the world, however they’re also about fun and sharing. A common tradition at birthday parties is to thank your party guests for attending by handing out party favors.

Now, I don’t mean a slice of birthday cake wrapped up in a napkin.  I don’t know how many times I’ve extricated a squishy piece of cake with blue coloured icing from sticky little hands or scrubbed the dried up blue coloured icing from my car seat.

I’m talking about party favors containing something thoughtful, unique, and memorable.

Personally, I don’t like to fill party favors with sweets.  A couple scattered in each favor bag is okay but from my experience, a bag filled with useful momentos lasts a lot longer and so does the memory of the party – not to mention more popular with parents (we all know the after-party sugar highs and lows).

A popular trend for unique party favors are items that can be purposefully used later on, such as colouring pencils, erasers, and colourful stickers, ideally in keeping with the theme of the party.

For instance, if your child is having a fairy party, a great idea is to purchase some pink coloured organza bags and slip inside some fairy stickers, a fairy pencil with a small notepad, some pink wristbands and maybe a small lip gloss.

Alternatively, if your little munchkin is having a swashbuckling pirate party, a brown paper bag filled with a plastic eye patch, temporary pirate tattoos, a colourful bandana and an eraser with a skull and crossbones on it.  Tie the paper bag up with string and it becomes an ideal treasure for the scallywags to take home.

Another popoular idea – if you have a helper handy at your child’s party – is to allocate someone to take photos of the kids playing games, eating cake, opening presents etc.  Upload them to your computer and print them off or download them to a cd to include in party favors; instant memories of a good time had by all.

Finally, encourage your child to write a little “Thanks for Coming” card, including the guest’s name, into the party favor bag.

Involve your kids in their party planning and allocate the very important task of assembling party favors to your eager, enthusiastic party celebrity.

Above all, have fun!

For more groovy party ideas, why not sign up for a free E-Book! Groovy Party Ideas E-book is filled with decoration for your next theme party, free invitations, tips on how to HOST a fantastic party, there’s even a check-list for you! Subscribe to it today!