Hellobee

If your child is in daycare or school, they will probably be invited to more and more birthday parties as they get older. With two kids in two different schools it’s double the parties for us, so we’ve attended a birthday almost every weekend the past two months. I even stock up on gifts like popular toys and classic books when they’re on sale so I always have something on hand!

Almost all the parties we attend give out some kind of favor, usually consisting of a grab bag of small toys like crayons, bubbles, a snack, etc. Charlie’s birthday is coming up this month and all the kids in his class get a little party, so I’ve been thinking about what to give out as a favor. I try to give something that is ideally useful and fun, but sometimes they’re just fun. Here are some ideas for things we’ve done in the past, as well as some cool ideas I’ve found around the net!

– Personalized pencil boxes. From about 3 on when kids can recognize their own names, they love anything personalized. And if your kids are anything like mine, they also love containers of any kind! Charlie and Olive have been loving this personalized pencil box favor they received at a recent birthday party. My friend actually purchased these personalized from here, but you could easily DIY this with some pencil boxes from the dollar store. You could freehand the names, or if your handwriting isn’t the greatest, you could type out the text in your font of choice, print it, tape it to the inside of the box and trace with craft paint.

– Mylar balloons. I’ve given mylar balloons as a party favor for both Charlie and Olive’s second birthday at daycare because they’re so easy. Every kid loves balloons, and parents love that you can eventually toss it. And mylar balloons can actually float for up to a month!

– Watercolor palettes. I like to give watercolor palettes instead of crayons because we have more than enough crayons, but we always use all our watercolor palettes. Charlie and Olive absolutely love to paint! This set from Crayola can be divided into 3 separate favors. Pair it with a printable of each child’s name and you have an easy, personalized, and fun favor.

– Personalized t-shirt. I love this idea and definitely want to do it for a future birthday. You can buy plain kids’ t-shirts for a couple of bucks, then print and iron on your character of choice or even each child’s name. I’ve made iron-on t-shirts in the past and they are so easy!

– Legos. You can buy a huge box of Legos and then package them in favor bags, cups, etc. You can easily create Lego-themed favor bags by cutting out circles and gluing them to a favor bag. This classic toy never goes out of style.

– DIY Play dough. We love making play dough to play with and give as gifts. Our DIY version is made with food ingredients, so even younger toddlers who still put things in their mouths can join in on the play dough fun safely. You can also add scents and package play dough in almost any theme you can think of – Elmo, Christmas,Halloween, Easter etc. If you’re pressed for time, you can always purchase it instead of making it, but still add a personalized twist with the packaging.

Some playdoh Charlie and I made last week as a Thanksgiving gift for our dinner hosts.

– DIY Masks, Capes, Crowns, Wands and Swords. Kids love to play dress up and make believe. Olive recently received a magic wand as a gift for her birthday that she loves, and I’ve also given these foam swords out as a favor that kids went absolutely gaga over. You can easily purchase any of these items (we also have a DIY wand tutorial on Hellobee here and here). But a twist is to set up a DIY station where kids can decorate their own wands, swords, masks and capes!

– Personalized Sippy Cup/Water Bottle. Mrs. Tic Tac Toe gave Take and Toss straw or sippy cups filled with a snack and bubbles at Liam’s first birthday party. I love useful favors like this. You could take this idea one step further by personalizing each of the cups with each child’s name using craft paint! (Sharpies eventually erase in the dishwasher).

– Personalized Magnetic Chalkboard. A magnetic chalkboard has so many uses — kids can use it to draw or play school, they can practice letter writing on it, and if you add some magnets, they’re a great travel toy. You can make one very inexpensively with chalkboard paint and a dollar store metal tray. If DIY isn’t your thing, there are plenty of mini chalkboards and whiteboards that you can purchase. Write each child’s name on the chalkboard, and you have a great personalized favor!

– Small pot and seeds. A pot filled with dirt and a packet of seeds is a fun favor kids will love and that teaches them about nature and science. Or you could gift a bamboo plant — they grow like crazy in water and are impossible to kill!

– Flashlight and shadow puppets. I have yet to meet a child that doesn’t love flashlights. You can step it up a notch by cutting out your own shadow puppets that can be used to tell stories, or creating ones that fit over the flashlight to create constellations.

– DIY Cereal Necklace Favor. You can’t go wrong with edible favors, but this DIY Cereal necklace gets the kids involved in using their fine motor skills. They’ll love making the necklace, wearing it, and eating it too! Simply package up some O-shaped cereal and some string in a cellophane bag with a tag, and you’re good to go!

– Great Books. Ok books aren’t really a unique favor, but how could I leave them off this list? I usually give a book as part of a gift for every birthday gift we give. Sometimes we receive books as favors that we don’t really read, so I like to stock up on books everyone loves when they’re on sale. Anything by Matthew Van Fleet for the younger set and anything by Mo Willems for kids that are a little bit older are usually hits. One year we gave a copy of Room on the Broom as Charlie’s birthday favor (bought it on sale on Bookworm for less than $3/each), and many parents told me that they went on to purchase more books from the same author.

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What do you think about these favor ideas? Do you have any unique favor ideas to share?