It is birthday season in my home. Such a season brings the ever contentious subject of the goodie bag. If you do not currently have young children, you may not be aware of this sweeping, festering epidemic that has mothers up at all hours of the night. Stamping, cutting, creating, searching on line for the perfect receptacle and all the goods that go into it! There are an astonishing 35 pages on Etsy for birthday goodie bags.
How did this madness begin? I cannot be the only one that loathes their existence. Giving or receiving! I think most modern day mamas, like myself, take the least expensive route to stuff these damn things. $1 Store or Oriental Trading Company treasures are go-to items. Of course, as soon as they are opened-the items break or are forgotten on a playroom floor (perfect land mines for mom to step on with bare feet). On the flip side, if you don’t use the above mentioned discount suppliers, these parting gifts will set you back a pretty penny. There in lies the quandary….
I figured it out. Why not add up the amount you would spend on EVERYTHING you would need to give a goodie bag and add that to what you spend on the party? The kids still benefit, the cost is the same, and the work is minimal. Isn’t that what we should all aim for? Less work, more fun. Who’s on board? (Please say all of you.)
I am totally with you on this! Honestly I basically loathe the whole birthday party thing. I think kids should feel celebrated, but dislike the waste and money spent on goodie bags and gifts, and also find going to bday parties weekend after weekend somewhat ridiculous. We didn’t have a kid party for Noah this year and he survived. 🙂
Get the “green team” on it! I have to say goodie bags equal landfill and I have never made them. Better to give a puzzle book or something the kids can use and trust me every mom at pick up will thank you for less mess to pick up on the playroom floor. With all that said, if it were not for birthday party goodie bags Kate would never have been able to marry Prince William. And, for all of us who lived vicariously through all the pomp and circumstance this spring maybe there is a place for goodie bags after all ;-)!
I think this is something that kids quickly outgrow. My little guy insisted we give them out this year but my older two are more sensible. For my daughter’s party in July we’re giving every girl a cute towel because it’s a beach party. I’ve definitely noticed a trend toward giving one, meaningful “goodie” as opposed to a bag of plastic toys that will break the next day. And I’m fine with no goodie at all. Convincing the kids might be harder.
Goodie bags are the death of me. I HATE THEM!