More in ArticlesPostage Stamp Price Increase on January 26, 2014!Postage Stamp Price Increase If you're low on your supply of stamps you may want to grab a couple rolls...Diy Lego IdeasLego Room IdeasDiy Lego GiftsLego DiyDiy Lego TraysTray AwesomeAwesome IdeaWood Tray DiyPinterest LeemeeluvsuForwardBuild a Lego Tray - This would be AWESOME! And it means we can move the lego village around with ease Easter Basket, Eggs, and Candy, Just $1 Each › Solid Color Party Supplies Seasonal & Party Themes Gift Wrap, Bags & Accessories Gift Wrap, Ribbon & Bows Party Favors & Games Party SuppliesGift Wrap, Bags & Accessories View all Gift Boxes Square Nested Floral Gift Boxes Minimum Qty: 36 (1 case) Colorful Round Nesting Gift Boxes Minimum Qty: 48 (1 case) Voila Embossed Foil-Covered Gift Boxes, 4.25 in. Decorative Round Cardboard Boxes with Lids View all Gift Bags Voila Baby-Themed Giant Gift Sacks Voila Extra-Large Horizontal Baby Gift Bags with Ribbon Handles
Voila Extra-Large Horizontal Baby-Themed Gift Bags Voila Baby-Themed Zoo Friends Gift Bags View all Gift Wrap, Ribbon & Bows Voila Solid-Color All-Occasion Wrapping Paper, 20-sq.ft. Birthday Wrapping Paper for Kids, 17½-sq.ft. Birthday Celebration Wrapping Paper, 17½-sq.ft. Kids’ All-Occasion Wrapping Paper, 17½-sq.ft. Bulk Voila Large Colorful All-Ages "Happy Birthday" Gift Bulk Voila Tall Elegant Printed Gift Bags Bulk Voila Extra-Large Pink-Themed Gift Bags for Kids Bulk Voila Holiday Foil Wine Bottle Gift Bags NEW To My Blog? We all know that birthday parties have become outrageous and ultra-competitive - that's yesterday's news. The new frontier is the dreaded goody bag. The goody bag has always been the bastard of the birthday party. It's a throw away. Because it's the bastard it's always been full of cheap junk or teeth rotting candy. It's a small token that says, I just paid about twelve to fifteen bucks for your kid to come celebrate my kid's birthday and we appreciate your $12-25 gift so here is your bag of shit.
Thanks for coming and see you next month at your kids' party!Here's your bag of junk! A few years ago I noticed a slight trend where a couple of the parties my kids went to, there was no goody bag. My kids were devastated, but all the moms were thrilled. The few brave souls who ventured into this no-man's land of goody bag-less parties confessed they'd just had enough of spending hundreds of dollars on a party and then another several hundred on shit that would end up in the trash. I loved this idea. But, of course, it didn't catch on. Instead, it appears we've gone the opposite direction. Last week, I was sent this article. It seems that the goody bag is a pretty big deal to a lot of parents and the gauntlet has been thrown down as to what constitutes a "good" goody bag.The goody bag is the bane of my existence. I can barely get it right as it is and now I'm supposed to do better? When I'm throwing a party for my kids I'm too busy trying to find an affordable and fun venue (we have winter birthdays here so the great outdoors is nixed and the hell I'm going to host a bunch of wilding, frosting-covered grade schoolers in my home nor will I ever go to Chuck E. Cheese - my kids think it's just for other kids' birthdays) or cute plates that fit the random theme we've picked that year (Gomer wants NERF
Battle theme this year - yellow plates it is!) that I do not have time, desire or energy to look for the "perfect" goody bag insert(s). Because of this, my party goers end up with a bag of cheap shit and teeth rotting candy. I have seen some really cute, relatively affordable ideas for goody bags that I've been dying to try, but so far they haven't fit my theme. Last year, Gomer was invited to a party at a pottery painting place. The kids painted a ceramic trivet that we kept and they each got a little paint by number set from the dollar bins at Target. I thought it was perfect! I'm trying to convince Adolpha to have a painting party this year so I can do this and look like a semi-over achiever, plus I love to paint my own pottery. Over the summer, both kids were invited to a birthday party at a petting zoo. Lunch was served and it was a picnic. Each kid got his or her own personalized insulated lunch bag (also from Target) with lunch inside. We still use those bags.
It doesn't need to be a tennis racket or an American Girl doll. Your goody bag should not cost what I spent (or more!) on the gift for your child. I know it's hard for the OAMs - and the rest of us really - though, because you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. The mom who said NO to goody bags was called "cheap" behind her back by some of the moms, the mom who gave out a bag of crap was called "unimaginative and boring" and she obviously hates the environment since all that shit will end up in a landfill, the mom who gave out small packages of Legos made me uncomfortable because all I could think at the time was, Crap, Gomer is having a Lego party in two weeks and all I've got are lollipops and gum. At the last minute I found cute printables online that I thought seemed simple and easy enough. I worked on for HOURS to make the boys their own laminated Lego luggage tag. Won't do that again for 21 kids! You see it's tough being a mom and trying to throw a party for your kid.
I've been asked, "What is reasonable then, Jen?" I guess I just think back to what made me happy when I was a kid: celebrating with my friends, having cake and ice cream, opening a few presents and enjoying being the birthday girl. Kids haven't changed that much and I think they're still fairly easy to please. They're usually pretty happy if they get a party with a few family and friends and a balloon for everyone when they leave. This year for my kids' birthdays I'm thinking of doing something even the OA Earth Moms would approve of. I'm going to have a nature party and every kid who attends gets a tree that I'll buy in his/her name and then the kids will help me plant them in my yard (bring your own shovel). They can come and visit their "goody tree" anytime they'd like (parental supervision required). If you like what you read, please follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or Subscribe via e-mail. Check out my BOOKS!My son turned 12 a couple of months ago. My baby is one step closer to being a teenager.
Since Minecraft is the thing among boys his age, selecting a theme for this year’s party was easy. We always host birthday parties at a local entertainment center/restaurant. It is basically a giant arcade that serves awesome food. Think a classy Chuck E. Cheese for big kids and adults. They supply everything, so I never need to decorate, bake, cook, or clean up. So the only thing I ever need to do for parties is the gift bag. I try to do my best to make sure my son’s friends go home happy, without breaking the bank over goodies for 12 kids. Cost: practically nothing since all that is needed is card stock and a printer. These cubes are all over Etsy and Ebay. You can purchase them already personalized and ready to print. I found a free printable cube and made my own. My Silhouette Cameo has a print and cut feature so I didn’t even have to cut them out by hand. I am going to probably irritate some sellers out there, but I am going to give you mine for free, to download, edit and print on your own.
You will need to use a photo editing software such as Photoshop or Paint to edit the image and add your own text. I am a huge fan of DIY t-shirts and am pretty much obsessed with making them. I purchased the shirts from Blank Apparel for only $2.70 each. These are not junk either, they are soft yet durable. The black Creeper face is iron on heat transfer material, purchased from Amazon. It averages out to $1.19 per shirt for the material. Each boy wore his Creeper shirt around the arcade. The bright green made it VERY easy to keep track of them. These cups came from the dollar store. They are nice sturdy plastic in the perfect creeper green. A pack of 3 cups was only $1. I heart our local dollar store. The black Creeper face and the name on the opposite side is sticky vinyl. Each cup used only 10-cents in material. Cost: 33-cents per candy bar Hershey bars were only 3/$1.00 at Meijer. I tried my best to find Minecraft characters online that resembled my son’s friends.