Tag Archives: party favors

Party Favors/Favours not necessarily lollies!

Party Favors/Favours not necessarily lollies!

My 2nd daughter, Miss 7 just had a birthday in September and usually (not necessarily) the kids at school who have birthdays, would bring something in for the class to enjoy, either cupcakes, cakes, or lolly bags. One Mum brought fruit in, which was a welcoming change! I was stumped on ideas as to what to give Miss 7′s classmates, so I asked up on – Facebook – where else right? Well, got a myriad of answers, but I think some of the Mums I knew were a bit over lollies and honestly, so was I. Then it came to me – bookmarks! Now that the kids in her class are older and more likely to be reading books requiring continued reading, why not give bookmarks? That way they can use it (practical) and I don’t have to worry about allergies! Ding! Ding! We have a WINNER!

wooden ship bookmarkbutterfly bookmark

So Miss 7 got to distribute the lovely wooden bookmarks – in “girl” designs AND “boy” designs. The kids loved it and Miss 7 was also happy that she could give something away to her friends. Problem solved.

Other ideas you can use as party favours besides bookmarks:

Party Favor Ideas

1. Wooden Yoyos

2. Wooden Pencil

3. Bath Fizz bombs

4. Beading kits

Tea Party & Cooking Party Activities

Tea Party & Cooking Party Activities

Girl Chef

Tea Party Activities

This is still a favourite amongst girls between the ages of 7 – 10, but you can make it more exciting by using the Alice In Wonderland theme. Your invitations could either state each child to come dressed as a character you have picked from the story or they could make that choice themselves. It all depends on how pedantic you really are about doubling up, but seriously, it doesn’t matter, there can be as many Alice in the party even. It’s all about having fun.

Games & Activities

  • Decorating Cupcakes – Make your cupcakes before hand. Have some cake decorations, for instance, chocolate icing, plain icing, sprinkles, Smarties, chocolate chips for the kids to decorate with.  Make sure you have a few bowls of icing for a few of them to ice their cupcakes with. Once done, they can proceed to the next activity. Meanwhile, you can place the decorated cupcakes on a stand and use that as a birthday (cup)cake at the end.
  • Croquet – Alice in Wonderland style of course! There are croquet sets out there or a wooden one from Just Us Kids Online.
  • Catch that rabbit! – This is a game I came with myself. Basically a treasure hunt. You might need some little toy rabbits (I think you might be able to find some in $2 shops) or you can make some from cardboard with some sort of stand. Depending on the number of kids you have – if large number, then divide them into groups, if only a handful, give each child a sheet of clues. The treasures are hidden with each rabbit. Each group/child are given a list of things to collect, making sure you don’t double up on each list of course. Each time they get to the hidden spot, they not only have to collect the treasure but also the rabbit. And all as quickly as they can. Once they do, the first team/child to finish will get a major prize (the choice is yours). The treasures found within each group or by the child is theirs to keep. That presents as part of their loot bag. Ideas for treasures can include lollies, stationery, games and lip gloss.
  • After the “Catch the Rabbit” treasure hunt, the kids can then have their party food.
  • While they are having their refreshments, use this time to set up the next game – Pin the heart on the Queen. You can either draw your own Queen and buy heart stickers for the kids to pin on while being blindfolded, or you can try and find an image on the Internet of the Queen of Hearts to print out.  The winner is the one that pins the heart on the left side of the Queen’s chest. You can choose to give the one who did not win some small prize or just one prize for the winner. It’s up to you. By this age, they are usually used to the idea of “not everyone wins”.
  • After that it’s time for the birthday cupcakes with each kid taking their own decorated cupcake. Then it’s loot bag time and home time.

Cooking Party

Need I say more? Well, this is much better in a smaller group and suitable for both girls and boys. You can purchase some aprons from the $2 shops and these can be given as gifts to the kids. Iron-on each kid’s initial to personalise the gift. Below are a range of ideas on what you can cook with the kids.

  • Mini Pizzas – Have a range of toppings, and you can either make the base yourself or buy pre-made mini pizzas for each child to decorate.
  • Sausage rolls- Have some do the mixing, some do the rolling and some brush the egg and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.
  • Fruit Kebabs – Get a few kids to thread the fruits on satay sticks.
  • Mini muffins – These are quick and easy to make. Try making berry, banana or chocolate chip ones. I’ll share some recipes with you in our next post.

Once they food is ready, the kids will be delighted with the feast that they have prepared! Lolly bags can include mini whisks, mini wooden spoons and a small writing pad and pencil for jotting down future recipes.

Fantastic Favors

Fantastic Favors

Fizzy Bath Bombs

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!

Bath time fun

Bath time fun

It’s been a known fact that kids usually LOVE baths, especially if they’ve got fun toys and accessories in the tub to play with. Baths have also been known to relax and calm the child. For me, using the bathtub is like a special treat for the kids, as they normally have showers. I try to make it as fun as possible with toys, fizzers and bubbles. Yes, even a 7 year old still enjoys having playtime in the bath.

Now we’ve got some an interesting range of bath time toys, soaps and fizzers in our E-Shop.  Take a sneak peak at what we’ve got. The bath fizzers also make great party favors.