We also give glow sticks instead of goodie bags for skating parties. Dollar tree has the best selection for the price, and you can look out on the skate floor and know exactly which kids are in your party.
Have him choose some of his favorite music and burn a CD for the boys.
My son and his friends thought it was really cool to get water bottles (as the "bag") that they could use later with candy.
My son turned 10 this year and in lieu of a goody bag we gave each boy a skateboard (I found them for $5.00 each)and they were a big hit!
Not sure how much you are planning to spend on the gift bags, but you could always do a $5 Blockbuster gift card. Then they could go a rent a video game of their choice. Every once in a while you can find some inexpensive hand held games at Target, Walmart, and $1 stores. I found one for my son at Target around Easter. Boys are hard to shop for. My oldest is only 6 and I was worried if he would like his goodie bags for his party this year!! Don't have any girls. Good luck!
Kristi,
I made CD's for my son's party. i just compiled a playlist of his favorite songs and burned it to a cd, then just made as many copies as needed, I named it Jordan's 11th birthday party hits and made a album cover to place inside the cd case. Very easy, and very inexpensive party favor. all the kids loved them. I still have parents tell me that it was a great party favor gift!
Kristi,
I found a lot of cute candy and goodies at Oriental Trading. Their website is orientaltrding.com. I know a ton of parents would cringe at the candy, but it was relly cute and fun! Best of luck!! My little one is younger, so it's an idea to help you in the right direction. Plus, it's CHEAP!
Hi Kristi P.,
Just a thought. I used those little Tech-Decks that you can get at Wal-Mart. They have some that come 10 to a box and I let my son put them together the way each of his friends would like. We also bought hot wheels because all boys old and young love them. You can also buy skateboard stickers. I hope I have helped some. Keep me updated.
Good Luck
My kids birthdays are 3 days apart, we almost ALWAYS have a combined party at the skating rink. I love having all the kids entertained and the mess cleaned up for me lol. The best party favors we've ever had were light up glow sticks, necklaces, and balls. They have all of these things at the dollar general or can be ordered from oriental trading. The kids enjoy them a lot at the skating rink and can then take them home. Another favorite of the kids is a coupon for a free snow cone from a local snow cone stand.
Maybe you can make a cd with songs you plan to have played at the party, some of your son's favorites? A pack of cd's is fairly cheap and it should be easy to do... You can also talk to some places, like the skating rink or one of your son's favorite stores, a movie theater, etc, and see if they sell coupons. Sometimes places will give away or sell coupons if you tell them it's for kids at a birthday party. Other than stuff like that... I would say they may be at the age now where they each get one thing instead of a bag (like they each get a $5 baseball cap or shirt or something that your son picks out...)
Good luck!!
Hi Kristi:
I agree! Boys are a little tougher in this area! What I started to do when my son was about 6 was get rid of the goody bags. Instead, I took the money that I would have spent on a lot of little things and bought each child one 'bigger' thing. Last year for his 8th birthday, we gave each boy a pack of signed football cards and two handfuls of bubble gum (that one was easy for us b/c my husband is a football coach). How about a gift card to Game Stop or Best Buy? Even $10 each is awesome (I'm sure you know how much you can spend on gift bags with lots of loot - not to mention the time you spend searching for the items and putting them together).
Good luck and have fun!
sounds like fun!! Can I come! :) Try Rebeccas Wholesale - it's open to the public and is in South Euless on Euless Main. The website is http://www.rebeccas.com. They have all kinds of wierd stuff! Janet Denton
I remember when my son turned 10 we took him and his buddies to a basketball game and got them all party favors in the terms of a cool hat to wear so we could always see them. (they got to sit on the floor next to the team) We had the hat loaded with "eats"/"snacks". Boys always love to eat. they loved it. It sounds like your son would be good at burning discs of his favorite songs for his friends. Then when they listened to the CD they would remember your son's party and him. We have also given $5.00 blockbuster certificates tied onto a bag of microwave popcorn. Hope your son has a terrific birthday. He already has a terrific Mom. Enjoy him and his friends. My son is now 25 and we are still so close. Have fun.. Debbie
This year my son turned 10 and we gave $5 Blockbuster cards. I wanted to make sure the parents wouldn't have to end up spending more money with MY goodie bag. I have a friend who has given a box of candy (movie theater size) for the past couple of years and the kids love that, too - and it is so much cheaper!! Have fun!
What about gift cards for music downloads? I'm pretty sure I've seen them at the check out stands at Target.
You got some good ideas; I was also going to suggest a music download gift card. My husband got me an I-tunes gift card for Christmas, and he actually bought it at Wal-Mart.
I got one of these for an adult party but i think your son woudl love it....
Have him help you make a birthday mix cd. 'cool' songs funny cut blurbs from his favorite tv shows, his inside jokes or secret boy codes. He can design and print the labels for the cd and the plastic case. You may even find the small cd cloth or vinyl carrying cases at the dollar store. I have seen them for an actuall 1.00. He could paint what ever the 'cool' symbol is or you could hot glue a patch on them to spicy them up. He can do a lot of the work and he could show off his talent as well.
I love to get metal puzzles ( really hard ones), cheap gift certificates ( a meal at a fast food place, for an ice cream cone or a free pass somewhere) Cool, and unexpected candy like things we had when we were little ( cry baby gum, chewing gum in those pouches, personalized M&Ms). Really anything that an adult would find kind of cool would be great.
part of me wants to advise to do away with the goody bag altogether - the party is the event, I hate that it is an expectation!! - most kids throw it away anyway!!
That being said, I always do them!! I had my own party business and I favor 1 nice thing instead of a bunch of little crappy things.
I would not dream of spending more than $5.00 per kid!! I have done some awesome things by finding deals and planning ahead.
Like my dd 5th birthday all the girls got a gorgeous pink dress - that I got at The Children's place on clearance for .99!!! They were GORGEOUS formal dresses that were originally $70!! The girls got to wear them home - and I only spend a little - I think we played games to win jewelery, lip gloss, nail polish and tiaras!!
OK- cool idea if hes into music-
Go online and copy some songs onto cd's- go to staples and get the cool cd covers- viola!-name on the cover-- ta da!
Ck with the skate place- they may offer some coupons for next visit and 10 yr olds always love that goop stuff that's like silly putty (even my 17 yr old would play with it- ha!!) -and maybe a skateboard place may have a cool "sticker" that they usually have near the cash register.
Have fun!
It goes by so quickly
Darlene S
www.partyangelsus.com
[email protected]