Kids’ parties are a big deal. I remember our boys planning their party for 51 weeks of the year. As soon as one birthday party rolled by, they started planning the next. Yet they don’t have the stress of the finer details like party snacks and the other essentials—just the fun stuff and enjoying being the party hosts.
However, today we will look at making DIY party favors for kids. Because it’s all about the party bag, right?
Party bag gifts do not need to be a considerable expense; there’s a lot you can buy from a dollar store or Walmart. But remember, this is a celebration and should be fun, which goes for the goodie bag too.
Birthday party favors should be well thought out and personal. So today, we bring you the best DIY party favor recommendations to add magic to any kid’s party.
The Best DIY Party Favors for Kid’s Birthday Parties
Party favors should be something a child invests in emotionally; the party bag is a big deal. Enable every party guest to be involved in the process.
A great party favor is something a child takes home and wants to show their family, something they either feel excited about or even proud of. Because then you haven’t wasted your hard-earned cash on something that will end up in the back of a cupboard.
You want to give guests a great party with delicious party food, and the best party favors they will discuss in the schoolyard for weeks. That is when you will know they were a roaring success.
Have a Basic Party Favors Bag Ready
Start by having basic party favors bags ready, then create a treat at the party the children can take home with them. This way, you can pop the DIY treat in at the end with a slice of cake, and you’re good to go.
Mini brown paper shopping bags make great inexpensive party treat bags. Print off some themed stickers with the child’s initials, tie ribbons on the handles, and decorate the bag to personalize it.
Pop in a sheet of stickers, make a personalized candy bar, or drop in some popping candy, a cheap notepad and pen, and a thank you note for attending and put them to one side, ready to add the final piece at the end.
DIY Party Favors To Make at Parties
Magical BFG Dream Jars
Decorate small glass jars with colorful paint or stickers. Then fill them with fairy lights or glow sticks like Dream Jars in Roald Dahl’s magical tale The BFG; this can be part of a themed party activity where kids are under strict instructions only to activate the magical light with an adult just before bedtime.
For an added touch, hold a BFG storytelling or movie session to engage the kiddies with the tale’s magic.
Create Customized Tote Bags
Buy plain canvas tote bags from a discount store and let the kids decorate them with fabric markers, paints, or HTV iron-on patches. This way, they can take home their personalized bag. Have a set of templates or stencils ready to save time and procrastination.
If you plan ahead, and for an extra special touch, you can create personalized HTV with party guests’ names or initials and cut it with a Cricut Joy. These can be cut ready for the kiddies to identify their names to take to the iron-on station for an adult to transfer as they watch in amazement.
Make Superhero Capes
Using the same iron-on principle, have heat transfer decals ready cut out and give every child a superhero name. Hold a superhero naming ceremony. All the kiddies are given their superhero name, given a certificate, and have an adult transfer the HTV onto a cape that the mini hero or heroine can wear at the party and take home at the end.
Make DIY Bubble Wands
Create custom bubble wands. Set up an activity table at the party and bend wire or pipe cleaners into different shapes, such as hearts, stars, or animals. Get party guests to label their magical bubble wands and attach them to a small bottle of bubble solution from dollar stores, ready to take home to make bubbles.
You can also have bubbles at the party with pre-made bubble wands for the kiddies to go wild before they make their creations to take home.
Create Personalized Picture Frames
Kids love crafts, and this is one of the best party favor ideas for crafty kids. Cut out cardboard or wooden frames and let the kids decorate them with glitter, glue, shells, paint, and stickers. They’ll be ready to pop into party bags when the party’s over, and the frames are dry.
During the party, take pictures with an instant camera and hang on a line for the kiddies to choose their favorite photos to take home and pop in their party favor frame.
Seed Packets Are Wonderful Party Favors
Design and print personalized seed packets for each child at the party, which is super easy to do with printable sticker paper. Hold a storytelling session on Jack and the Beanstalk and discuss the beanstalk growing into the sky.
Then create your magical seed tub as your child’s party ends; give all the children a seed package and fill it with magical seeds to take home and plant in a tub or the backyard.
Make Mini Coloring Books
Let the kiddies build their personalized coloring books by printing off Alphabet Coloring pages in many different themed alphabets. Allow the kids to select their names or any word they choose in any theme they want, whether it’s soccer, football, ballet, or rocket ships, almost like an alphabet bar of coloring pages.
When they are happy, get an adult to bind the book and pop it in the party favor bags with crayons. These are great learning activities for kids’ birthday parties that help kiddies engage with learning.
DIY Friendship Bracelets
Provide the materials for older kids to make their own friendship bracelets. Include different colored threads and beads, and let the kids create. Teach them how to plait and knot the thread, then let them go wild and be creative.
Make sure you have enough supplies for each child to make two bracelets. Then they can wear one during the party and take one home as a party favor.
Have a Cookie Decoration Station
Kids love cookies, so set up a cookie decorating station. Fill it with colored icing, candies, and sweet treats such as Smarties, candy laces, and M&Ms. Let the kids create their inventions. Start by demonstrating how to decorate three cookie designs for quick inspiration. Then let the kiddies make and design. When they’re done, pop them into a bag ready to go into the treat bags at the end of the party.
A healthier snacks table is a great idea; you will also need a peanut-free zone if you have any guests with allergies.
Customized Water Bottles Make Great Party Favors
Provide plain water bottles and let the kids decorate them with waterproof stickers, permanent markers, vinyl, or glitter. It’s a great way to save on the washing up.
Have a drinks dispenser ready and let the kiddies fill up and stay hydrated throughout the party. Then, they can take the bottle home as a party gift.
Make Mini DIY Terrariums
These are the perfect party bag favors for older kids. Have a station ready with small glass containers, such as mason jars, and let the kids create mini terrariums using soil, sand, small plants, and succulents with decorative rocks or figurines. Some novelty figures to include in the terrarium, such as LEGO characters or mini Disney figures, would be fun.
This is quite an involved activity and could also be a planting competition and a science experiment. Have labels ready for the party guests to name and label their creations to take home at the end of the party.
Create Party Balloon Animals
Making balloon animals was always a huge hit when our kids were younger. Start by teaching the children a few different, easy animals. When you’re done, have animal packs ready with balloons and stickers for the eyes and spots. Let the children choose one and get creative.
Be sure to have a few backups in case of any bursting incidents. Also, pop a surprise kit in each party pack to take home.
Make Handmade Keychains
Make unique keychains with shrinkable plastic sheets. Have a keyring station set up with the plastic cut to size. Let the kids color or paint their party favor designs on magical plastic. Then shrink them in the oven according to the instructions.
When they are cooked and cooled, an adult helps attach the key chains, and their creations are ready. It is so much fun, which could all be part of a magic trick or a fun science experiment.
In Conclusion
We hope these goodie bag ideas have been a help. Creating a successful kids’ party is all about thinking outside the box and being creative, not about toys they won’t use again.
If party guests can take a hand in creating their party favors, then the kids are invested in the final product. They will leave happy and proud of their finished article in their goodie bag. Whether made with glitter glue, cookie dough, paper, or vinyl, the critical thing is having fun, feeling involved, and creating memories.
This article originally appeared on Wealth of Geeks.
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About the author
Sarah Christie
Sarah Christie is a craft, food, cruise, and family travel writer at Extraordinary Chaos, Cruising For All and Mini Travellers. Plus co host of the Magically Cruising Podcast. Known for her unique perspective and ability to find beauty in chaos, Sarah designs and creates craft projects as well as creating recipes for people who want to cook from scratch the easy way. Whilst also exploring family travel and how to navigate it.