Hi All!

Lucy's birthday party is in two weeks, and I am struggling with goodie bag ideas. We have about 14 kids coming ranging from a couple of months to 9 years. The ages are scattered all over, too. Five infants/toddlers, five preschoolers, and four school-aged kids. There a bunch of "maybes" still lingering out there, too.

I don't want to do the same old, lame, cheap toys that we've done in the past. I want to do something that the kids will love and the parents will thank me for...all while staying within a reasonable budget.

Any suggestions?

*******************************
Thanks for all of your suggestions! We finally decided on something, and I wanted to share for anyone who may need ideas in the future.

[url]http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=56/9143&mode=Searching&erec=1&D=paint+your+own+suncatchers&Ntt=paint+your+own+suncatchers&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&y=0&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&x=0&sd=Paint+Your+Own!+Sun+Catchers[/url]

Paint your own sun catchers!!! Fun, fun, fun!!

_________________
~Courtney
{Lucy, 3, Ds, AVSD repaired 1/08; Brodie, 1}

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!" -CS Lewis

How about making jigsaws. Print some pictures or photo's of the kids and glue onto card and cut into pieces.

I'll have a think about this one.
Do you have a theme?

_________________
Karen- Mum to the world's cutest baby!! Ben

I always do a pinata and fill it with good candy...and that's their goodie bag.

I went to a friends daughters party and she had the kids decorate thei own cupcakes and they got to take them home as their treat. She had cute little boxes to put them in. She had a few different color frosting and all differnt candies and m&m's, sprinkles etc as the toppings. Kids had a good time decorating them.

_________________

Lisa - Mommy to Elayna 10-1-02 and Daniel (Ds) 6-7-05
Always have hope....Without rain, there can be no rainbows.

My daughter loves anything involving lots of candy! She recently had a really nice cup that was filled with candy ( it was wrapped in cellopahane with a pretty bow).......and once the candy was gone Georgia got to use the cup for her drinks!

What about a tiny little plant pot with a packet of seeds for the kids to plant and grow. Also I find putting in homemade treats like cookies a real hit.

_________________
Jo, Mum to Georgia 11/11/03 ( BIG High School Musical fan) and Ethan 16/12/07 (DS)

Those are great ideas! Thanks!

The theme is Dora the Explorer. I already picked up a pinata from Party City. It's shaped like Dora and is pre-filled. (At least I think it is, I should probably check that! hahaha!)

_________________
~Courtney
{Lucy, 3, Ds, AVSD repaired 1/08; Brodie, 1}

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!" -CS Lewis

Have a look on ebay, you'll get loads of Dora stuff.
To be honest most kids prefer candy and noisy toys, there's no point in paying a fortune on stuff they'll discard the next day. Although I love the cup idea Jo had. At least you know a cup will probably be used again. It be better if you could write the kids names on them or something.

_________________
Karen- Mum to the world's cutest baby!! Ben

I usually give one small container of play-doh or bubbles, a pencil and a piece of candy. My daughter has received some treat bags that I swear cost more than I spent on the child's present . Sometimes treat bags seem excessive to me.

_________________
Maureen - Mom to Daniel(21), Brandon(19), Jordan(13)PDD, Thomas(11), Carrie(7), Samuel(4) and Mark (2 - ds, av canal -repaired 6/10/08, pulmonary hypertension)
https://www.carepages.com/carepages/MarkEdwardC32708

The other problem is, this is Lucy's third party, and we had one for Brodie. We invite all the same people for most part. I've done the play-dough, and bubbles, and notebooks, and crayons, and noisy toys. Haha. Part of the challenge is not doing a repeat. I guess I should remember that they're kids and that they probably don't remember!

I found this http://www.amazon.com/Frustrationless-Flyer-Pack-Kite-Made/dp/B001U5R63S on Amazon.com. It comes out to $3 a kid (provided we have seven more kids come. It is possible, with two weeks left.), which isn't too bad. I am sure all the silly chotchkies end up costing near that much anyway.

_________________
~Courtney
{Lucy, 3, Ds, AVSD repaired 1/08; Brodie, 1}

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!" -CS Lewis

That kite idea looks really cool! I like it - unique and fun!

_________________
Maureen - Mom to Daniel(21), Brandon(19), Jordan(13)PDD, Thomas(11), Carrie(7), Samuel(4) and Mark (2 - ds, av canal -repaired 6/10/08, pulmonary hypertension)
https://www.carepages.com/carepages/MarkEdwardC32708

Just remembered Ethan had a really cute door hanger that a mum made all the kids at a recent party for their goody bags......something similar to this.....

http://www.crafts4parties.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=48%2F1445

It has his name and a very sparkly monkey on! All the mums thought they were great. Only downside with this I guess is if your having lots of kids to the party, you'll be having a few late nights making them all

_________________
Jo, Mum to Georgia 11/11/03 ( BIG High School Musical fan) and Ethan 16/12/07 (DS)

I've been buying kites for Anna at Target for about $4 each that are great! We buy a bunch at a time so all of us can fly a kite--they are such fun. The other idea I had was toy binoculars for going exploring--they may have them at Target or Party City or maybe Oriental Trading. Personally I get sick of the goody bags and usually toss them out as soon as we walk in the door. Last year for Anna's birthday we had a cooking party where the kids decorated cake pops (www.bakerella.com) and I had treat bags and boxes for the kids to take them home--along with cook's aprons. It was a huge hit.

_________________
Mary
Mom to Libby 6/92, Alex 9/93, Anna (DS)12/12/03

Please support the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q284/maryc_010/a13-1.jpg[/img]
[img]
[IMG]

We did a knock off build a bear favor for Dillon's birthday. We got 8" bears and different outfits and accessories from Dollar Tree. Each child got to choose a bear, and outfit, and accessories, and a "birth certifcate" I created on the computer. THEY LOVED IT! One little girl carried her bear in her backpack for weeks!

We also gave out frisbees (Dillon loves to spin stuff) and had a pinata with candy n small toys. The water snakes were a hit lol but you have to watch llittle one with them because they eat them!

_________________

Erin-Leigh
Mommy to Dillon James(DJ) 3/15/05 Carter Joseph 10/3/08

I've made a CD of kids songs, you can always gear the songs to different age groups if you have the time. It takes some time to make the first but no time at all to burn the remaining CDs. The CDs only ends up costing about $1 a CD. Kids and parents love it! No candy or little toys to throw away and feel guilty about. And you can then use the CD as a weight for a balloon: )

_________________
~Melissa~ Mom to David (11) and Joey~Ds(6) and wife to Michael