Goodie Bags

Between my daughter and son they have had, collectively, a total of 18 birthdays, which translates to 18 parties (OMG that's a lot!).

Early on I always wanted goodie bags that were jam packed with little toys.   Of course as the years go by and other birthday parties are attended you come to see that the "goodie" toys just end up all over the place unused.  I don't know when I started but at one point I cut back on the toy portion of the goodie bag and focused more on snacks, like cookies, crackers, a few pieces of candy and in this case a glow stick, small bottle of bubbles and mini deck of cards. 

When thinking about assembling the goodie bags I thought about the usual plastic or paper bags, but instead I opted to make draw string goodie bags, as part of the treat.  Who knows, maybe the kids will keep the bags and use them to hold other little treasures they have.

It was a fun project to work on.  We used material I already had in my stash, and me and my daughter assembled 10 in about an hour and a half.  Afterward she was exhausted (I don't know why??). 

This may be my go to idea for other things as well, like gift bags.  I'm not a "Hallmark" card buyer type of person, I'd rather spend the couple of dollars on something else useful or edible so this might be a good idea for gift cards. Throw a gift card in a draw string bag with a bit of candy or other treat (bought with the money you would have spent on a Hallmark card) and voila a cute little gift.