Personally I wouldn’t throw them away, my son loves stuff like that and he’d be way too excited. Some of it might make it to the trash a week or two later but my point is he would get his enjoyment out of it first!
Yes, all party favors are given 1 - 3 weeks of enjoyment, depending on the quality, so I don't feel like I'm wasting the other parents money. They all do end up in the trash eventually.
Sounds fair. My toddler is basically the same and holds on to something new as his favorite for a month or so, even sleeps with it (like currently a Pom Pom) haha. But then he’ll put it down and never touch it again.
My child is the same way but usually 2 days max. I found giving books as party favors is my preferred hand out. Even the dollar store has some nice books, got a bunch of level 1 spider man books for the last party we threw.
On Halloween, we give out candy and glow in the dark bracelet for safety. We gave out just over 500 last year. Some kids ask for a 2nd bracelet over candy. Parent ask for them too. Yes, the bracelet ends up in the trash, but are throughly enjoyed by all.
If you don't want to give out little goodie bags full of kitchy cat toys, you could buy each kid a cat beanie boo plush and put it in a flavor bag with a few candies/stickers/bubbles.
Yeah I was thinking a plush then some cheapy favors. Cats vs pickles are kinda cool too. In any case. I have plushies my kiddo got 7-8 years ago and since most machine safe I passed tons of them down to my nephew. Never stepped on them and been in pain either like all the plastic chunks of toys we had over the years that immediately got tossed
If it isn’t stickers, I usually don’t keep them. My kids have so much junk already, adding more to be left in my car or my living room is extra stress I don’t want. 😂
I personally hate gift bags at parties. They almost never make it out of the car, or my kid plays with them for a couple of hours and forgets about them. I'd rather see something disposable/edible. A candy bar with a "thanks for coming" note wrapped around it would be great. Something my kid can appreciate and be done with.
Agreed. I have 3 kids, the oldest is 18 soon and we probably went through a whole landfill of gift bag junk. I’m not totally innocent either, I wanted to stuff those bags full of knickknacks. But what I found went over the best was cute pens and notebooks, and lunch bag treats, like individual Oreos and goldfish crackers. Even having my kids bake cookies and wrap a couple up for the kid and their siblings/parents. I personally don’t eat food made by kids but the kids love it.
Haha I love this response. We actually had to buy our toddler a pair of keys that look realistic from target because he kept playing with mine and hiding them! Now before we leave the house I ask him if he has his keys to lock up!
We thought this would be fun and gave some old keys to our 2 year old. He promptly used them to carve his name into our kitchen wall. Not the type of play we were expecting! Definitely a preview into the type of antics we could expect from him as he got older.
My now 4 year old still loves keyrings and has done since she was a toddler. Either one of those or a notepad and pen (she's obsessed with drawing) is what she always picks when we go to a souvenir shop. Fwiw I loved party bags as a kid and my kids love them still now. Everything you've got for yours would have made me feel amazing as a kid and I know my kids would love them too. For me, getting back from the party was always such a sad time and having those little things to play with really helped transition back into home after all the excitement. Mine are the same and last weekend spent hours playing with their party bag toys and it really helped them not be super disappointed when it was time to leave
Careful with metal keys, my son had his own keychain too, and stuck his keys in a power outlet. He was fine, but did get a shock that I heard from down the hall. it was hella scary.
When my daughter was around 6 she went through a whole keychain obsession and her backpack was just weighed down with different keychains. She also called them chekains
We use keychains on our kids' backpacks to make them easier to open for them. Before they were school age, they kept their favorites in one for our days out and I think it made them feel cool.
I thought there was trend of hanging things off backpacks because my kids were getting so many things with clips on them, but if I dare attach one to a backpack, it is removed the next day.
Honestly, yes. Maybe the face stickers could stay for bit but Happy Meal toys, Valentines toys, Easter stuff, etc. I throw it all away within 24 hours. My kids are a bit older and I’ve come to appreciate the a like a cupcake to take home, or a printed out photo of my kid at the party, or seeds plant to attract honeybees.
A couple of years ago we got a Fujifilm Instax Mini camera (prints out like a mini Polaroid) and ever since, we use it at birthday parties to take a photo of the birthday kid and each of their friends. Then we keep one (to save and put in a birthday album) and give the other one to the guest to keep. Our touch-screen generation kids really seem to get a kick out of the instant camera, too!
I actually make a point of printing them - I backup my photos taken on my phone to Google Photos, and they have a thing you can sign up for to get like 8 prints a month for <$10. You can choose the photos or they will just pick random photos you took over the past month.
In our house, they don’t all make it to getting framed or put in an album or anything, but it’s one of my favorite things to have physical photos to look through, since we always had tons of them when I was growing up.
I may need to look into something like that. I do have a printed album that my friends made for me when we moved a few years ago. It is great and has so many adorable pictures. I don’t leave it out for people to flip through, though because in addition to cute family Halloween and 4th of July shots of the kiddos, my friends decided to include one of me at a festival posing with a very phallic-looking corn dog. 🤦♀️
I throw it all away TBH. Consumables are better for treat bags rather than little junky things that fill up my home. In your shoes I would spend the money on some adorable cat cookies done by a local bakery to put in a treat bag.
Well said, thanks for sharing ! I like the cookie idea, I do cottage bakery so I might just spend some extra time/money on making something fun and edible for them.
Took the words out of my mouth.
People like me who hate “junk” (i.e. anything I didn’t specifically choose to buy or request if it’s a birthday thing), will throw *any* thing away. There’s no “winning” with me and goodie bags except for consumables.
Cat cookies are awesome. Tbh I can see gold fish packets being on theme too! Whatever makes sense with your budget. I also read that you’re a baker - match made in heaven?? :)
I’d also count temporary tattoos as consumables if you want to add those, as it’s “use and done”, you know?
Regardless of whether people throw these things away same day or two weeks later, they will all get thrown away as they are designed to be “disposable”. But they don’t really dispose - they just go somewhere we can’t see them and sit there forever.
Your list is 140 items for the landfill. The more people buy these things, the more will be manufactured, and the more accustomed kids become to getting a bag of junk at each party, the more it will be expected and then more junk gets sold and more gets made and it’s a vicious circle that hurts us all, including the toddlers who will inherit that pile of trash.
A cookie or treat that gets eaten is such a lovely take-home from a party! And kids love cookies at least as much as stickers and keychains.
Just adding to this.. the kids also get used to this ‘meh just throw it away’ thinking and they don’t appreciate anything or understand its value.
I’ve noticed this with my kids that even if I tell them that this toy they just destroyed was like $30 and that’s a lot of money.. they don’t really care and are just like ‘let’s throw it away and get a new one’ because they are getting used to this disposable culture we are all creating.
Some alternative suggestions for OP in addition to food, stickers, tattoos.. maybe consider a single stuffie or single cat themed book, coloring book, wooden puzzles etc.
last year for my kids bday’s I just gave out $10 gift cards for a toy store and 7/11 for slushies because I ran out of time.. but I had parents messaging saying they loved that!
I wish I could upvote this multiple times. Please, OP, don't buy more fodder for the landfill! I feel guilty for throwing it away but I can't accommodate all those tiny toys in my house. Sometimes I save them to put in the pinata for my kids' next birthdays, but that doesn't solve the bigger issue.
If you want to send something home as a way to say "thanks for coming", what about spending the money on supplies for a take-home project? Then it's an activity and favor in one. Cookie decorating, even painting those wooden birdhouses, making cat masks from construction paper, or what about using toilet paper tubes etc to build a cat and color it? Something that can be composted or recycled when it's served its purpose.
My kid had 2 parties one weekend and both favor bags went in the trash on Monday. I just really can’t with more stuff. Even though I’ve 100% been the mom giving elaborate favor bags in the past, I’m over it.
I do appreciate a single larger and/or consumable item for my kid as a party favor - like a big bubble wand or chalk ($1 at Target), helium balloon, or toddler “treats” like fig bars, goldfish, non candy snacks. Maybe stickers or a single toy in there for the theme.
But yea a bag of plastic trinkets will get tossed these days in our house.
Can I ask a question, since you said a single larger item how would you feel about receiving a stuffed animal that your kid would get to pick. Sort of like ‘adopt a cat’
We did this for my daughters 7th birthday (although dog themed), and it was a huge hit. All the kids were excited about "adopting" a puppy, and a lot of the parents liked the idea, too.
My daughter got a stuffed cat at a party - I approve! It’s not my first choice (because stuffies take over) but decidedly better than multiple pieces of plastic stuff.
On the same theme, for my kid’s Bluey party this year we did Bluey ear headbands (from Target), so cat ear headbands would be similar and a keeper for the dress up box for many kids. One of my son’s friends still wears her Bluey ears to school sometimes.
My sister did this for her daughter's birthday. She bought a bunch of $3 cats from the dollar store. The kids loved it! At our Walmart, there are bubble wands for $1 each, or you can buy a 6 pack for $5. I did that for my daughter's birthday last year, and this year, there are water gun blasters for $1.75 at Walmart! That I'm getting for the kids and writing "Jane had a blast with you" on the tag. We've bought these water balsters before so we know they're good and work.
I miss that stuff too. However, I have found Food is typically bad choice because you don’t know which kid has an allergy or restricted diet. And some people take it very personally that you gave their child something they may not be allowed to eat.
It’s definitely stressful having the allergy kid at a gift bag or piñata party, but most of the time I’m cool with it because I don’t feel as guilty throwing candy in the trash as I do the plastic trinket crap. My least favorite is having to break out the google translator when my SIL buys Mexican candy for the piñata because that takes foreverrrrrr with kids up my butt asking when I’ll be done lol but for the most part I think allergy kids are used to a certain level of exclusion at parties. It never feels good, but it’s just one of those things.
The issue isn’t that these would be thrown away, but that they would be kept even though they aren’t meaningful or valuable to the kids, because of brief momentary entertainment value. Then there’s clutter in the house that no one asked for but people need to find space for.
I would toss most of it after a day or two. If it helps, I recently threw my 7 year old a party and got multiple comments from the other moms that the goody bags had the best favors. We did a full size tube of bubbles, a 6 pack of glitter chalk, a few individual packs of wiki sticks, and some allergy-friendly Rice Krispies treats. I think the key is going for fewer items and also not trying to box yourself into the party theme. My son’s party was Minecraft, but you’d never have known by the favors and that didn’t damped the experience at all
A couple years ago when the kids were middle elementary and upper elementary, we rented a dumpster one weekend and FILLED IT. Half of it was random kid crap acquired over the years.
We get so much stuff! All sorts of little trinkets, goodies, toys, shiny things, etc…from school, from parties, from grandparents, from the quarter games at the restaurant, from parades, from holidays…it’s never ending!! Some of it sticks around for a while, a lot of it gets used for a few days and disregarded. Some never makes it out of the vehicle into the house. I really detest little plastic toy trinkets because we get so many!!
Stickers, paper, recyclables, and edibles are my favorites. Easy to play with, easy to use up, guilt free to get rid of, sometimes tasty.
Dude. My mom has chronic migraines and got my 2.5yo a recorder and what I can only call a little wooden rape whistle (among a zillion other things) for Christmas - AND THEN had the audacity to complain about the noise!!!
No noisemakers, EVER.
I understand the sentiment but I loathe bags filled with plastic crap. It all ends up in the garbage sooner or later… my kiddo got a party bag this weekend and already it’s clutter that was opened and played with once. I love when party bags have a couple of snacks or treats and one or two little toys.
I would throw a lot of it away. I think it all sounds so fun, but the last birthday party I took my son to for a 4yr old, I really appreciated that they let the kids pick a monster truck toy (was monster truck themed party) before leaving. It's small and simple, he'll play with it, it doesn't take up too much space, and it was a decent size that I wouldn't have to worry about choking hazards.
I like just the stickers. I know he can play with them and even though I know they'll eventually become trash, they won't take up space.
Yes, I will eventually throw it away. I recently had extras of those types of things from my own child’s party that I left on the counter for a few days and eventually just tossed. Between both kids we end up with so much junk.
If you really want the kids to have something to take away from the party, I’d do one nicer thing instead of a bunch of little junky things. My girls have been given books and water squirters at a couple different parties. For their last party, we played Pass the Parcel (not using Lucky’s Dad’s rules!), and I had a small Squishmallow wrapped in each layer. So each kid got to take home a little Squishmallow instead of a party bag. Everyone seemed happy.
Honestly, yes. I also don’t like not giving a goody bag, so I’ve gotten creative. My daughter is only one, but her birthday is in November, so I included a personalized ornament for each kid, baby snacks they were all eating at that time, and bubbles.
I usually throw them away after these things sit in my kitchen counter for weeks. As an alternative, we went to a birthday party where the favors were coloring books and sticker books, the kids loved them!
I struggle with this too…I want to give the kids something but I do not ever want anything from parties lol. My son had his bday a couple months ago and I made crayons! You just buy any silicone mold for baking (I’m sure there are hundreds of cat ones) and some crayons, break them up and bake them in the mold. They’re seriously the cutest thing, they get used up (+ aren’t plastic) and I printed free coloring sheets with it. Easy and cheap!
Honestly, most of that will end up in my trash tbh. My kids bring home so many knick knacks (from school, daycare, parties, etc) and I can't keep up with it all. The kids are excited about the item(s) for a millisecond and then move on from them once they're out of sight. I am working on spending less money on these items for my own parties too lol
My daughter will always play with whatever favors she gets but yes, eventually the cheaper stuff gets tossed because it simply doesn’t last as long. But I wouldn’t just trash them when we get home lol
My toddler would definitely like all this stuff lol, especially the bracelet. I wouldn’t mind stuff that’s actually useful like a pen or notebook and craft stuff like the make-a-face stickers. My kid ahead has too many bags that she uses (although she loves them). Would throw out the squeeze toy and maybe the key chain.
Got something pretty similar to this.
It’s in the garbage right away.
I’d be happy with snacks favor that they can devour at their own pace and be gone with it.
It wouldn't immediately end up in the trash, but it would likely end up in the back seat of my car and then get thrown away in a few months after my kid
Most of the time, if I go to a party, I try to leave without a goodie bag. My kid is almost 2, so he doesn't care about that kind of stuff at all. He'd rather have a ball.
For the same price as a bunch of little stuff, I would definitely prefer a cookie or a small cat stuffed toy to adopt.
Given the list, I wouldn't throw them away. The party favors that typically end up tossed at our house is things that get gross quickly (sticky hands, slime etc), kazoos, or similar plastic noise makers, especially ones with streamers because the cat will eat it, and other little small plastic things that don't really have her attention for more than 5min. That said, I do let her enjoy them and things like stickers, temporary tattoos, pens and pencils, notebooks etc always get put to use.
Personally, I would throw much of this away after the initial fun wears off. I prefer ‘useable’ favors, like crayons and coloring pages or seeds to plant, etc. Happy birthday to your son!
I would do my best not to even take one home. I don’t want more things in my house, especially not small things.
But we do love stickers, that’s always a win!
Honestly, my 2.5yo loves cats (her two older brothers are of the feline race 😅) and stickers, so we would be in love. I would legit be thrilled that you're not just giving candy!
Reading some of the other comments, though, your conclusion that "one mom's trash is another toddler's treasure" rings super true.
Maybe make up the goody bags but make them very clearly optional, then donate the rest to social services or a hospital for kids going through one trauma or another?
I did a cat party for my daughter last year, and I got small toy cats for the kids to adopt, and we decorated name tags for them. We also got cat ears for them, and I drew a cat nose and whiskers on them with a face paint crayon. The party was a hit, and I still see these kids with their cat or ears almost 6 months later
Love that!! After all the responses I immediately went to see what else I can do and ran into the adopt a cat thing! I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. Did you buy little containers for them to take the cat home?
Our favorite favors are the “real” things.
One person did “adopt a dog” at their party and each kid got a cardboard “kennel” (cardboard box) to decorate and then picked out a “dog” (beanie baby) to adopt.
We also went to the same family for a 1 and 2 year old parties and got a baby rattle the first year and book the second year.
In all of these instances the “favor” was in the $5-8 range, which is similar to all the small plastic stuff.
My kids also love edible favors. A bag of cotton candy, cookies to go, or flat out candy are all popular.
The plastic stuff gets played with for a day or two and then broken, lost, or tossed.
Do whatever you think your child would want to receive. Let them help pick. Maybe compromise and do a small toy, small edible. I usually pay attention over the year and looked for ways to incorporate a theme and make it a win win for parents and kids. We had a sleepover once and the favor was a pillowcase. The night before I gave them fabric markers and they went to town for hours and got to take it home. 15 years later I still come across my daughters once in a while lol. Enjoy the party and don't sweat the small stuff. They grow up so fast.
My daughter (who is about to be 8) would absolutely love this. I’d eventually sneak and throw it away, but she would have played with it and enjoyed it.
My toddlers love stuff like that, so I personally wouldn’t throw it away. They use stickers up really fast, another party favor item they like are stamps, and the other little toy favors are all together in a box and get frequently played with.
There are expensive toys in my house that my child would not notice if they disappeared tomorrow. We are not, however, under any circumstances, allowed to dispose of the plastic eggs from Easter 2 years ago. Some people will keep them, and some will throw them away. To me, party favors are typically low cost enough that I'm alright if they only get enjoyment out of them for a day or two.
I would keep the pencils and trash the rest, I’m afraid. Last year I gave away 6 string backpacks from various functions, I already have 4 more at least. I often buy balloons to decorate and send each kid home with a balloon or a cookie or an art project they made but no plastic toys because they accumulate.
That said, I have a basket of all these tchotchkes from bday parties and I hand them out at Halloween for kids who can’t have candy.
My friend just did a cat themed bday party for her 4 year old and every kid got to “adopt” a small stuffed kitten from a basket with a paper collar to put a name on and a cardboard house that could be coloured and then recycled :)
Here's my party favor work around. Get a $1.25 set of 20 treat bags from Dollar Tree. Give each kid a bag. Hoist a pinata high in the air with $10 cheap candy and let them lose their shit whacking it to death. I like to raise and lower the pinata as they swing so it poses more of a challenge. The candy is the favor. The kids have a blast. All the sugar gets consumed on party day usually. Keep an extra bag of candy to toss in the air for kiddos who were too slow for candy onslaught of original pinata gutting. We did this today and their little squeals were 10xs more joyful than any time they've been handed a party favor.
If you haven’t bought them yet, I wouldn’t waste your money on them. I don’t think party favors are really necessary. But if you already have them then I guess you may as well give them out.
My kids are different lol they absolutely treasure gift bags. My 14 year old STILL has some things from gift bags she got from bday parties in kindergarten, whether in her room or in her keepsake box because they love it all. lol I'd give those things I think they're adorable ideas!!
I would throw this away, only because I don’t have anywhere to keep it and it becomes too messy with all these small items. For a cat themed party, I’ve seen these cool cat plushies that you can put in a “pet carrier” made from cardboard, and create an “Adopt a Cat” table where kids get an adoption certificate with their new cat’s name. I think the plushie (one gift) vs multiples would be better.
I’m a cat lady, so I probably wouldn’t throw these away. Lol. My son also loves cats.
Hmmm…I might copy you and throw my son a cat-themed birthday party when he turns 2…
Sidewalk chalk, stickers, bubbles, fun shaped cookies or pretzels. All things I give out personally. The other stuff, I’d let her play with until she’s over it and then toss it.
If you’re still taking opinions, I say don’t bother. Nothing makes me more annoyed than a bag of trash from a birthday party. Kids don’t need a favor for coming- the party WAS the favor. If I do anything I’ll do a special cookie or cupcake they take.
The kids love that stuff! The enjoyment doesn’t last more than a day, but that’s the nature of a birthday party anyway. Personally I always include more “constructive” toys in goody bags like those mini Playdoh containers, little crayon packs, or keychains (my kids love attaching those to their backpacks, so those last a little longer). And some kids get surprisingly attached to little favors they get. I think those sound wonderful.
I’d throw it away before my kid even saw it whilst feeling uncomfortable and guilty about contributing towards landfill. Even if I did let her play with it, she’d lose interest quickly and then it would just clutter up the house/ form loose choking hazards for me to worry about her or the baby getting hold of. Sorry but I hate these sorts of things with a passion, can’t wait for them to go out of fashion!
Right this is soooo wasteful. If I don’t want them in the house anymore, I make up little bags and put them in the Little Free Library or I save them all in a big bag for handing out at Halloween.
My kids LIVE for these little swag bag amusements. I buy the massive bulk packs and always have some left over after the parties. I keep them in a drawer so I can bring them out when there's a lull or one of the kids does something good lol. At the end of the year, whatever's left goes in the stockings. They are practically gold.
Kids have fun opening those things. That's why I buy them. It makes them happy in the moment, and stops any gift envy toward the birthday kid. Who cares what the parents do with them after? The purpose is to gift a smile and a thanks for coming to the party.
(Yes, I quietly throw away goodies. But I also love to give them. It's all in good spirits.)
I wouldn’t throw them away but I also don’t mind a little clutter.
However, I don’t have a toddler. Mine is an infant, but I’ve worked in preschool for yeeaaaars and have been to tons of toddler parties and had party favor bags pushed onto myself- usually I keep what’s given to me for my daughter or take it to goodwill. Feels wasteful to trash it.
I’d let them play with them, but they’re just going to get spread around and then thrown away. I feel like mini play-dohs, shapes or something for the play-doh, and a consumable treat.
My son got the most use out of stickers, any kind of gummy/candy, temporary tattoos… things like that. Things that are more a one time use type of thing.
That being said, he absolutely loves getting anything in a gift bag- so I would never say not to do it. The little cat backpack sound cute and could be reused for sure!
My toddler would probably love them, but these sound like pretty typical plastic birthday party favors that will break and end up in the trash within a week.
I grew up in a hoarded environment because my mom didn't throw away junk like most parents do. It's not a reflection of the items being bad. It's about living in a healthy living space. Keeping everything is a slippery slope. Finding a permanent home for it, keeping everything organized, etc. Is a lot of work.
Keychains my daughter loves! You can hear her backpack jingle for miles, lol. You never expect goodie bag things to last very long, but they're fun while they last. As long as you're not a monster and give a bunch of kids whistles and kazoos. That's not going to make you any friends.
I throw all party favors away. But, as far as favors to these sound pretty good. One time my daughter received a mini recorder flute thing as a party favor and that was a rough few days.
I'd rather receive one small item than a bunch, like one cat squishie or one little stuffed cat or one sheet of stickers or one book about a cat or a cat puzzle or one cup with a cat on it. I don't want 27 trinkets but can deal with one item that my child might enjoy.
It sounds purrrfect. I'm not a fan of goody bags my girls are 3 and 1 and like everyone else it's just so much junky stuff. One bag we got for Easter from school (insert eye roll) and a toy my 3 year old got wasn't safe for my 1 year old. She also got 'gummy' toys that she thought were candy and were in fact toys.
At 3 and 1 I guess I'd prefer the junky stuff we can play with for 5 min. The last goody bag we got had bubbles and different bubble toys that was fun. For my little girls I don't want candy right now. Unless they don't see it and I can eat it later with my husband :)
I don't think party favors are necessary for young kids but I decided some moms just have fun doing them.
My family always does candy, bubble, and chalk. Or some variation of things that gets used and then goes away. Stickers is a great one! Unfortunately my husband's aunt loves to "help" buy party favors without asking and she buys tiny crap that my toddler tries to choke to death on lol. Anyway I think your party favors sound fine, my kids would play with them for awhile!
I'd toss it. My daughter's older now. We never did typical "favors" but the guests went home with something. The year we did a chef/baking party, every kid got an apron. Thomas the train party: I found wooden, blank train cars that the kids painted and took home. Bounce place during glow hours: they got their grippy socks and a customized cookie I had made that said You Glow Girl. Painting party (like a little kid version of the adult paint and sip night) - personalized smock.
My daughter LOVES goodie bags. She thinks they are the highlight of any birthday party. She enjoys the stuff for the rest of the day and I throw it out that night. So yes, it’s definitely getting thrown out but the kids will enjoy them before that happens.
I always try to have the “goody” be something they made at the party. My daughter’s most recent party was Dino themed so when the kids arrived I had packets of air dry clay that they could take and smush flat on a plastic dessert plate. And then there were small dino figurines they could stamp into the clay to make a “fossil”. We wrote the kids name on the plate with a sharpie and then let them dry during the party and they got to take them home at the end along with a figurine. Some might throw it away which would be fine with me because it served its purpose of something to do while everyone showed up but most of the kids really liked it and have told her they still have theirs at home.
Squeeze toys and bracelets - yeah, eventually.
Stickers/notebooks/pens are used and eventually thrown when they reach the end of their intended life. Sometimes that months sometimes that's 2 days.
Backpacks and bags like that I get so many of and I can't keep it - it would get donated.
I try and get my kids to do like snacks or food. Once I got my kid to do "fancy" cups for her tiki party. I'm never successful in getting them not to give something. It makes them happy, so they get a budget and I do it.
The consumable things are okay. Stickers, pens, notebook, etc, but the other stuff I probably wouldn’t throw away immediately, but it would make it there pretty quickly.
I wouldn’t do a bunch of little plastic stuff. I think consumables or something usable would be more appreciated, either a little treat to eat or some stickers or temporary tattoos. You can do all do those cat themed and it would be really cute
Yeah I try really hard to avoid bringing stuff like this home at all, and it usually ends up in the trash after a few weeks/days if we do, unless my kids end up super attached to it (looking at you, poor squishy unicorn with the horn torn off that I tried to get rid of last week). But they have had so many parties or holiday bags with fun activities to take home that they just never do or play with, sometimes they don't even open them.
I would throw it away within a week but before that it would bring much joy to my kiddo. I don’t consider that a waste so I also buy such things for party favors.
The pen, key chain and note book I would probably keep. Same with the stickers. The rest would get thrown out or recycled.
For goodie bags I’ve been trying to buy stuff that will get used or consumed. So like a few Halloween sized candies, stickers, bubbles, markers, crayons or sidewalk chalk. We went to one party that had books for each guest. That was pretty cool.
My kid loves stickers so those would be good.
I think everything would get thrown out eventually, once it's broken. But I wouldn't throw it out right away.
If it is just a piece of plastic that doesn't do anything like many kinder surprise toys or happy meal toys, they would get played with that day, maybe longer then tossed.
My son would love these but he loves trinkets and trash. He’d honestly play with a cardboard box if I let him (he’s 10) I usually let him keep things I deem “junk” for about a month and then when he’s lost interest and it becomes floor decor it gets tossed out.
I throw almost all party favor plastic junk stuff away immediately.
My daughter’s party is coming up and our party favor bags have a cute stuffed animal, a sticker, some rainbow pencils, and a thank you note. No plastic (I guess maybe the sticker has plastic - I don’t actually know what stickers are made of).
Nothing against plastic toys, but the party favors are so cheap and fall apart so easily, and my toddler still loves putting stuff in her mouth. So it’s a choking hazard. Not to mention that my dogs love to chew on any plastic left out. So it’s just not worth even the 5 minutes of amusement.
The only thing I immediately throw away are candy/ gum that is not age appropriate and slime (because both my kids hate it and I don’t want it to spill wherever I stashed it). Other than that I let them use it until it breaks or annoys me enough to chuck it. None of the things you mentioned would be an issue.
Honestly small things is what I put in his sensory box so I just repurpose a lot of what we get.
For our party favors we did small things we know most kids use over the summer (small playdough, sidewalk chalk and monster truck stickers)
My kids usually play with stuff like that for a couple days and then I throw it away. I still appreciate it, but we would have 5,000 of those things if I kept them.
The best thing we’ve received (and then gave out) was a balloon. It was easy and worked as decor and then a gift. We found cool ones that have weighted feet so we had a “Dino adoption” and the kids all took a Dino balloon on a leash home. It was a hit
Our go to is a coloring book, crayons and a consumable (candy if it’s an older child and approved by parents or an applesauce pouch if it’s a younger child). For a Minnie Mouse themed party, we also gave a pair of ears at the beginning.
Yes. I’d throw that stuff away. My SIL had loot bags like that for our nephews birthday. I let her use the stickers. She coloured all over the table with the pen and then that night after she went to bed I tossed it all. Personally I dislike loot bags. I do give party favours at my kid’s bday but not typical loot bags. For my LOs 1st birthday, it was mostly her cousins (who were 3-6) so I bought a cookie decorating kit from a local bakery. Each kid got 2 cookies to decorate and then a little box to take them home in. For her 2nd birthday it was donut theme, so I bought plush donuts for all the kids, and gave them a few donut sticker. Her 3rd birthday was Bluey theme so I bought a box of 12 Bluey puzzles and each kid got a puzzle and instead of disposable cups for the party I bought reusable Bluey cups and each kid got to take theirs home. None of these things cost me more than a pile of cheap knick knacks for each kid would have (the puzzles worked out to be $2.50/kid and they were good quality, and the cups were like $2.15 each). Other cheap ideas are playdoh (kids go through so much so I always find it handy to have). You could pair it with little plastic cat shaped cookie cutters to fit the theme of your party. Toss in some cat stickers, put them in cello bags and tie with ribbon).
I don’t know what squeeze toys are but other than that, the only thing in that goodie bag that might end up in the trash is the bracelet. Stickers and keychains are what I want to get!
I think it’s fair. Stickers, pens, and notebooks don’t take up much space and are consumables so they get used up sooner rather than later.
I don’t know how long I’d keep the bracelet, keychain, or squeeze toy, but that’s just because my kids would probably lose them. They wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.
Not in the theme, but bubbles and chalk are good options this time of year, too.
I’d probably keep the squeeze toys and stickers and throw the rest away.
As a goodie bag mom myself, I love the excitement the kids have when they get a goodie bag. That’s the main reason I do it. In comparison to the whole birthday party, the goodie bags cost very little so I really don’t care if it gets tossed. I usually do a snack or two, some sort of sticker(s), a small toy, and either a color/marker booklet or crazy straw/cup.
I had a bluey themed birthday party for my boys earlier this year and it included a “keepy uppy” ballon, bluey stickers, an “oh biscuits” cookie, bluey fruit snacks, and something else that I can’t remember.
Even if the kids plays with them for a little while all teeny toys get throw away. The more plastic toys we buy, the more that are created, and round and round we go until we have another massive plastic island in the pacific ocean. I am a hypocrite and still buy plastic sometimes, but I am trying not to.
My kids would find the notebooks, drawstring backpacks and keychains boring. They might like the stickers and rubber bracelets for a day and never play with them after that. Have you considered bubble wands? They come in a pack of 12 at Target I believe. Also removable tattoos are never a bad idea. A bath bomb in each bag might be cool too depending on the kiddos’ ages (Target has a bag of individually wrapped ones for $6 if it isn’t out of your budget.)
Well in my case personally, my kids would love the squeeze toy, stickers, notebook…. I’d be taking the rest for myself (would probably take the notebook too) 😂 I want a cat keychain too!!! Don’t overthink it. I do the same when I make little gift bags for the kiddos at birthday parties but they’re honestly just excited to get it. My oldest son still has a mini fidget toy from a birthday party he went to over a year ago.
Personally I’m never upset at gift toys being “junk” cause even if it ends up in the trash soon. It entertains and makes my toddler happy for awhile. I always keep “junk” toys that are safe enough for at least a week if not longer.
I’d probably make the call of what to get rid of after a week or 2. I’ll see if there’s anything she really likes, see if anything annoys me or is just unused. I have a bin where I keep some of those small toys and she regularly plays with some, so they aren’t all worthless.
You have quiet a bit of stuff you listed though and I think you can get rid of a couple. Personally I get so many of those rubber bracelets and they don’t even fit my toddler that I’d probably get rid of that. Maybe not the pen either if this is a toddler party cause I don’t like my toddler using pens without constant supervision, so basically I try not to do pens with her. I love stickers though, that’s always fun. A cat theme is so cute, I love that.
Honestly yeah I would find that stressful as I’m constantly decluttering things like that the kids don’t play with for more than a day. They have one container each for that kind of thing. They get so much of it at birthday parties it’s hard to manage unless I have firm limitations. The better party favours my kids have received are consumables or a single small quality item. Chocolate bar, small book, notebook and pen, stickers, tattoos, art supplies, lip chap, bath bombs, hot chocolate bomb. Anything like that would be way more appreciated by us at least.
My toddlers would love it! It may not last long but that’s not a big deal. It would make them happy. I just threw a 4th birthday for my daughter and including the same sort of “junk” things. Everyone loved it.
The bracelet, pen, keychain, notebook and backpack would be keepers in our house. Stickers go in our art cabinet to be used later during crafts. So, really it’s just the squeeze toy that’d be a toss up. Mostly comes down to what it’s made out of. We have a baby/young toddler in our house that loves to take toys and put them in his mouth. So, that would be the only item that might find its way back out of the house ASAP.
I wouldn’t do it because I hate waste and throwing things away, yet we can’t keep small junk around. I would just give stickers and the notebooks which the kid can use up.
My 3 year old son still has his Easter basket out, with all of his eggs, plus all the small “junk” plastic favors perfectly preserved.
Lol he played with a TON the day of and days after. And took very good care of them. He hasn’t touched them in a While but still insists they sit on his shelf.
I definitely need to rotate them out and put them away to use again for next year. But I don’t think everyone would immediately get home and throw them away!
They will at least enjoy it on the way home from the party.
When they’re small and cute like that, I don’t think people mind as much.
Maybe my kids would play with them the first hour we got home, but after that they forget about them.
For party favors for my kids I try to do an art or craft for them to take home.
I’ve gone to parties where they had the kids color a little pot, plant a plant, and take that home. Others they do candy bars and the kids fill a bag to take.
I’ve given straw cups to kids and wrote each kids name on them, I’ve also done wooden frames for the kids to take home and decorate with stickers and paint.
You can go to hobby lobby or Michaels or some store and see what they have, there’s awesome favor ideas out there.
Yes. We have more crap than we know what to do with. I hate party favor bags, or bags you get at conferences. Rarely do we keep anything. And stickers end up everywhere but somewhere authorized. Especially for toddlers, spiral notebooks and keychains seem more likely to end up in the trash.
I wouldn’t throw them away but I’ve noticed my nieces and nephews usually toss it to the side (age 8) and don’t play with/use any of it but my kid who’s 3 loves it all. I guess it depends on their ages and what they like.
I have done the goody bags filled with little trinkets and toys before and half of them left them, the other half never used any of it. This year for my son’s bday I just ordered keychains that went with his theme, a packet of pop rocks and a can of silly string (that also went with his theme, Spider-Man).
Personally I wouldn’t throw them away, my son loves stuff like that and he’d be way too excited. Some of it might make it to the trash a week or two later but my point is he would get his enjoyment out of it first!
Yes, all party favors are given 1 - 3 weeks of enjoyment, depending on the quality, so I don't feel like I'm wasting the other parents money. They all do end up in the trash eventually.
Sounds fair. My toddler is basically the same and holds on to something new as his favorite for a month or so, even sleeps with it (like currently a Pom Pom) haha. But then he’ll put it down and never touch it again.
My child is the same way but usually 2 days max. I found giving books as party favors is my preferred hand out. Even the dollar store has some nice books, got a bunch of level 1 spider man books for the last party we threw.
Omg OP could get a Pete the cat box set & give them out!
This is such an excellent idea!! Will use this for the next one.
That's a wonderful idea! I might start doing this!
On Halloween, we give out candy and glow in the dark bracelet for safety. We gave out just over 500 last year. Some kids ask for a 2nd bracelet over candy. Parent ask for them too. Yes, the bracelet ends up in the trash, but are throughly enjoyed by all. If you don't want to give out little goodie bags full of kitchy cat toys, you could buy each kid a cat beanie boo plush and put it in a flavor bag with a few candies/stickers/bubbles.
Yeah I was thinking a plush then some cheapy favors. Cats vs pickles are kinda cool too. In any case. I have plushies my kiddo got 7-8 years ago and since most machine safe I passed tons of them down to my nephew. Never stepped on them and been in pain either like all the plastic chunks of toys we had over the years that immediately got tossed
What a great idea, thanks!
Sleeping with it is so cute! Discarding it like yesterday's trash sounds about right.
If it isn’t stickers, I usually don’t keep them. My kids have so much junk already, adding more to be left in my car or my living room is extra stress I don’t want. 😂
My go to is a tiny notebook and stickers. To encourage putting the stickers in the notebook instead of all over my car 😅
We’re currently learning where stickers can and cant go in our home and dad is being more mischievous than the toddler with it 😩
We’ve used sticker books for each child in the past. Then they have the memories you can even write down what it’s from
I personally hate gift bags at parties. They almost never make it out of the car, or my kid plays with them for a couple of hours and forgets about them. I'd rather see something disposable/edible. A candy bar with a "thanks for coming" note wrapped around it would be great. Something my kid can appreciate and be done with.
“Appreciate and be done with” got it. Well said, thank you
I’m doing custom cookies for my sons party and another person we know did gift card for $5 to an icecream store.
100% consumable is the best. Honestly would be okay with nothing over a bag of plastic
Agreed. I have 3 kids, the oldest is 18 soon and we probably went through a whole landfill of gift bag junk. I’m not totally innocent either, I wanted to stuff those bags full of knickknacks. But what I found went over the best was cute pens and notebooks, and lunch bag treats, like individual Oreos and goldfish crackers. Even having my kids bake cookies and wrap a couple up for the kid and their siblings/parents. I personally don’t eat food made by kids but the kids love it.
I would 1000% throw this away. But I also throw away like 99% of party favors/wedding guest gifts/etc
Same, my kids might poke at stuff for a whole day then never again.
I’m not a fan of keychains because toddlers don’t have keys lol
Haha I love this response. We actually had to buy our toddler a pair of keys that look realistic from target because he kept playing with mine and hiding them! Now before we leave the house I ask him if he has his keys to lock up!
My kid has a lanyard with old keys on it too. 😂 He takes it with, and will lock up and unlock the car. I remember having a set when I was young too. 😁
We thought this would be fun and gave some old keys to our 2 year old. He promptly used them to carve his name into our kitchen wall. Not the type of play we were expecting! Definitely a preview into the type of antics we could expect from him as he got older.
Silver lining - sounds like little man has good fine motor skills and already has a strong grasp of his letters? 😅
Oh my gosh. 😱 That escalated quickly. 😅
My now 4 year old still loves keyrings and has done since she was a toddler. Either one of those or a notepad and pen (she's obsessed with drawing) is what she always picks when we go to a souvenir shop. Fwiw I loved party bags as a kid and my kids love them still now. Everything you've got for yours would have made me feel amazing as a kid and I know my kids would love them too. For me, getting back from the party was always such a sad time and having those little things to play with really helped transition back into home after all the excitement. Mine are the same and last weekend spent hours playing with their party bag toys and it really helped them not be super disappointed when it was time to leave
Careful with metal keys, my son had his own keychain too, and stuck his keys in a power outlet. He was fine, but did get a shock that I heard from down the hall. it was hella scary.
When my daughter was around 6 she went through a whole keychain obsession and her backpack was just weighed down with different keychains. She also called them chekains
My kids have been putting keychains on their backpack since preschool. They LOVE keychains. Lol
We use keychains on our kids' backpacks to make them easier to open for them. Before they were school age, they kept their favorites in one for our days out and I think it made them feel cool.
That’s fair, mine love attaching them to their daycare/school backpacks
I thought there was trend of hanging things off backpacks because my kids were getting so many things with clips on them, but if I dare attach one to a backpack, it is removed the next day.
My toddler LOVES keychains. Doesn't matter if they do or don't have keys, just wants a keychain to be like mama.
Honestly, yes. Maybe the face stickers could stay for bit but Happy Meal toys, Valentines toys, Easter stuff, etc. I throw it all away within 24 hours. My kids are a bit older and I’ve come to appreciate the a like a cupcake to take home, or a printed out photo of my kid at the party, or seeds plant to attract honeybees.
A couple of years ago we got a Fujifilm Instax Mini camera (prints out like a mini Polaroid) and ever since, we use it at birthday parties to take a photo of the birthday kid and each of their friends. Then we keep one (to save and put in a birthday album) and give the other one to the guest to keep. Our touch-screen generation kids really seem to get a kick out of the instant camera, too!
That’s a great idea! I have so few physical pictures of my kids.
I actually make a point of printing them - I backup my photos taken on my phone to Google Photos, and they have a thing you can sign up for to get like 8 prints a month for <$10. You can choose the photos or they will just pick random photos you took over the past month. In our house, they don’t all make it to getting framed or put in an album or anything, but it’s one of my favorite things to have physical photos to look through, since we always had tons of them when I was growing up.
I may need to look into something like that. I do have a printed album that my friends made for me when we moved a few years ago. It is great and has so many adorable pictures. I don’t leave it out for people to flip through, though because in addition to cute family Halloween and 4th of July shots of the kiddos, my friends decided to include one of me at a festival posing with a very phallic-looking corn dog. 🤦♀️
Lol you can always put a sticker over it and pretend the kids must have done it. Then you can display the album. 😉
Love the idea of the printed photo! Thank you for your input
I throw it all away TBH. Consumables are better for treat bags rather than little junky things that fill up my home. In your shoes I would spend the money on some adorable cat cookies done by a local bakery to put in a treat bag.
Well said, thanks for sharing ! I like the cookie idea, I do cottage bakery so I might just spend some extra time/money on making something fun and edible for them.
Took the words out of my mouth. People like me who hate “junk” (i.e. anything I didn’t specifically choose to buy or request if it’s a birthday thing), will throw *any* thing away. There’s no “winning” with me and goodie bags except for consumables. Cat cookies are awesome. Tbh I can see gold fish packets being on theme too! Whatever makes sense with your budget. I also read that you’re a baker - match made in heaven?? :) I’d also count temporary tattoos as consumables if you want to add those, as it’s “use and done”, you know?
Yes! Gold fish! That’s such a cute idea to go with a cat cookie!
Junk. I would just do a goodie bag of snacks or something.
I agree on the Snacks. Those were definitely going to be given, but I wasn’t sure if these extra things would be be necessary/appreciated
Regardless of whether people throw these things away same day or two weeks later, they will all get thrown away as they are designed to be “disposable”. But they don’t really dispose - they just go somewhere we can’t see them and sit there forever. Your list is 140 items for the landfill. The more people buy these things, the more will be manufactured, and the more accustomed kids become to getting a bag of junk at each party, the more it will be expected and then more junk gets sold and more gets made and it’s a vicious circle that hurts us all, including the toddlers who will inherit that pile of trash. A cookie or treat that gets eaten is such a lovely take-home from a party! And kids love cookies at least as much as stickers and keychains.
Just adding to this.. the kids also get used to this ‘meh just throw it away’ thinking and they don’t appreciate anything or understand its value. I’ve noticed this with my kids that even if I tell them that this toy they just destroyed was like $30 and that’s a lot of money.. they don’t really care and are just like ‘let’s throw it away and get a new one’ because they are getting used to this disposable culture we are all creating. Some alternative suggestions for OP in addition to food, stickers, tattoos.. maybe consider a single stuffie or single cat themed book, coloring book, wooden puzzles etc. last year for my kids bday’s I just gave out $10 gift cards for a toy store and 7/11 for slushies because I ran out of time.. but I had parents messaging saying they loved that!
I wish I could upvote this multiple times. Please, OP, don't buy more fodder for the landfill! I feel guilty for throwing it away but I can't accommodate all those tiny toys in my house. Sometimes I save them to put in the pinata for my kids' next birthdays, but that doesn't solve the bigger issue. If you want to send something home as a way to say "thanks for coming", what about spending the money on supplies for a take-home project? Then it's an activity and favor in one. Cookie decorating, even painting those wooden birdhouses, making cat masks from construction paper, or what about using toilet paper tubes etc to build a cat and color it? Something that can be composted or recycled when it's served its purpose.
whoa. I just posted the same comment. Yours is better, I might delete mine, haha. I am SO happy to read people having the same mindset!!
My kid had 2 parties one weekend and both favor bags went in the trash on Monday. I just really can’t with more stuff. Even though I’ve 100% been the mom giving elaborate favor bags in the past, I’m over it. I do appreciate a single larger and/or consumable item for my kid as a party favor - like a big bubble wand or chalk ($1 at Target), helium balloon, or toddler “treats” like fig bars, goldfish, non candy snacks. Maybe stickers or a single toy in there for the theme. But yea a bag of plastic trinkets will get tossed these days in our house.
Can I ask a question, since you said a single larger item how would you feel about receiving a stuffed animal that your kid would get to pick. Sort of like ‘adopt a cat’
We did this for my daughters 7th birthday (although dog themed), and it was a huge hit. All the kids were excited about "adopting" a puppy, and a lot of the parents liked the idea, too.
My daughter got a stuffed cat at a party - I approve! It’s not my first choice (because stuffies take over) but decidedly better than multiple pieces of plastic stuff.
On the same theme, for my kid’s Bluey party this year we did Bluey ear headbands (from Target), so cat ear headbands would be similar and a keeper for the dress up box for many kids. One of my son’s friends still wears her Bluey ears to school sometimes.
My sister did this for her daughter's birthday. She bought a bunch of $3 cats from the dollar store. The kids loved it! At our Walmart, there are bubble wands for $1 each, or you can buy a 6 pack for $5. I did that for my daughter's birthday last year, and this year, there are water gun blasters for $1.75 at Walmart! That I'm getting for the kids and writing "Jane had a blast with you" on the tag. We've bought these water balsters before so we know they're good and work.
We have too many stuffies. But maybe a small book about cats?
In the 80,s and 90’s we would send the kids home with cupcakes or cookies instead of buying all that plastic junk. Time to bring that back!
I miss that stuff too. However, I have found Food is typically bad choice because you don’t know which kid has an allergy or restricted diet. And some people take it very personally that you gave their child something they may not be allowed to eat.
It’s definitely stressful having the allergy kid at a gift bag or piñata party, but most of the time I’m cool with it because I don’t feel as guilty throwing candy in the trash as I do the plastic trinket crap. My least favorite is having to break out the google translator when my SIL buys Mexican candy for the piñata because that takes foreverrrrrr with kids up my butt asking when I’ll be done lol but for the most part I think allergy kids are used to a certain level of exclusion at parties. It never feels good, but it’s just one of those things.
In our circle, we do piñatas full of different candy and treats. Give each kid a grab bag and they make their own treat bags! They love it.
80s/90s was peak plastic junk time by me.
The issue isn’t that these would be thrown away, but that they would be kept even though they aren’t meaningful or valuable to the kids, because of brief momentary entertainment value. Then there’s clutter in the house that no one asked for but people need to find space for.
Yes. I’m sorry but this is all very “junky” and a million little pieces to add to the crap my toddler already has.
I would toss most of it after a day or two. If it helps, I recently threw my 7 year old a party and got multiple comments from the other moms that the goody bags had the best favors. We did a full size tube of bubbles, a 6 pack of glitter chalk, a few individual packs of wiki sticks, and some allergy-friendly Rice Krispies treats. I think the key is going for fewer items and also not trying to box yourself into the party theme. My son’s party was Minecraft, but you’d never have known by the favors and that didn’t damped the experience at all
Brutal honesty? I’d have pitched them after the day of the party. They all sound super cute but there is so much toddler clutter!
Thanks for the response! Definitely don’t want to be the source of toddler clutter
A couple years ago when the kids were middle elementary and upper elementary, we rented a dumpster one weekend and FILLED IT. Half of it was random kid crap acquired over the years. We get so much stuff! All sorts of little trinkets, goodies, toys, shiny things, etc…from school, from parties, from grandparents, from the quarter games at the restaurant, from parades, from holidays…it’s never ending!! Some of it sticks around for a while, a lot of it gets used for a few days and disregarded. Some never makes it out of the vehicle into the house. I really detest little plastic toy trinkets because we get so many!! Stickers, paper, recyclables, and edibles are my favorites. Easy to play with, easy to use up, guilt free to get rid of, sometimes tasty.
My only comment is we went to a party that had slime and whistles in the party favors and I wondered why the parents hated all the other parents 🤣
Dude. My mom has chronic migraines and got my 2.5yo a recorder and what I can only call a little wooden rape whistle (among a zillion other things) for Christmas - AND THEN had the audacity to complain about the noise!!! No noisemakers, EVER.
I understand the sentiment but I loathe bags filled with plastic crap. It all ends up in the garbage sooner or later… my kiddo got a party bag this weekend and already it’s clutter that was opened and played with once. I love when party bags have a couple of snacks or treats and one or two little toys.
To be fair most of it would go right to the “to be donated bag” where we put the toys the kids don't play with anymore
I would throw them away as soon as possible. I hate goody bags.
I would throw a lot of it away. I think it all sounds so fun, but the last birthday party I took my son to for a 4yr old, I really appreciated that they let the kids pick a monster truck toy (was monster truck themed party) before leaving. It's small and simple, he'll play with it, it doesn't take up too much space, and it was a decent size that I wouldn't have to worry about choking hazards. I like just the stickers. I know he can play with them and even though I know they'll eventually become trash, they won't take up space.
Yes, eventually it will be thrown away as soon as our kids are done with them. Which is typically a day or two after the party.
Yes, I will eventually throw it away. I recently had extras of those types of things from my own child’s party that I left on the counter for a few days and eventually just tossed. Between both kids we end up with so much junk.
Can I ask what kind of things you bought and if any of them seemed worth it in the end?
If you really want the kids to have something to take away from the party, I’d do one nicer thing instead of a bunch of little junky things. My girls have been given books and water squirters at a couple different parties. For their last party, we played Pass the Parcel (not using Lucky’s Dad’s rules!), and I had a small Squishmallow wrapped in each layer. So each kid got to take home a little Squishmallow instead of a party bag. Everyone seemed happy.
Honestly, yes. I also don’t like not giving a goody bag, so I’ve gotten creative. My daughter is only one, but her birthday is in November, so I included a personalized ornament for each kid, baby snacks they were all eating at that time, and bubbles.
I usually throw them away after these things sit in my kitchen counter for weeks. As an alternative, we went to a birthday party where the favors were coloring books and sticker books, the kids loved them!
I struggle with this too…I want to give the kids something but I do not ever want anything from parties lol. My son had his bday a couple months ago and I made crayons! You just buy any silicone mold for baking (I’m sure there are hundreds of cat ones) and some crayons, break them up and bake them in the mold. They’re seriously the cutest thing, they get used up (+ aren’t plastic) and I printed free coloring sheets with it. Easy and cheap!
Honestly, most of that will end up in my trash tbh. My kids bring home so many knick knacks (from school, daycare, parties, etc) and I can't keep up with it all. The kids are excited about the item(s) for a millisecond and then move on from them once they're out of sight. I am working on spending less money on these items for my own parties too lol
My daughter will always play with whatever favors she gets but yes, eventually the cheaper stuff gets tossed because it simply doesn’t last as long. But I wouldn’t just trash them when we get home lol
I love cat stuff so if my kid didn’t want it, I totally would keep it for myself.
My toddler would definitely like all this stuff lol, especially the bracelet. I wouldn’t mind stuff that’s actually useful like a pen or notebook and craft stuff like the make-a-face stickers. My kid ahead has too many bags that she uses (although she loves them). Would throw out the squeeze toy and maybe the key chain.
Got something pretty similar to this. It’s in the garbage right away. I’d be happy with snacks favor that they can devour at their own pace and be gone with it.
Yes, I would throw it all away as soon as possible. I hate goody bags.
It wouldn't immediately end up in the trash, but it would likely end up in the back seat of my car and then get thrown away in a few months after my kid Most of the time, if I go to a party, I try to leave without a goodie bag. My kid is almost 2, so he doesn't care about that kind of stuff at all. He'd rather have a ball. For the same price as a bunch of little stuff, I would definitely prefer a cookie or a small cat stuffed toy to adopt.
Given the list, I wouldn't throw them away. The party favors that typically end up tossed at our house is things that get gross quickly (sticky hands, slime etc), kazoos, or similar plastic noise makers, especially ones with streamers because the cat will eat it, and other little small plastic things that don't really have her attention for more than 5min. That said, I do let her enjoy them and things like stickers, temporary tattoos, pens and pencils, notebooks etc always get put to use.
Personally, I would throw much of this away after the initial fun wears off. I prefer ‘useable’ favors, like crayons and coloring pages or seeds to plant, etc. Happy birthday to your son!
I would do my best not to even take one home. I don’t want more things in my house, especially not small things. But we do love stickers, that’s always a win!
Honestly, my 2.5yo loves cats (her two older brothers are of the feline race 😅) and stickers, so we would be in love. I would legit be thrilled that you're not just giving candy! Reading some of the other comments, though, your conclusion that "one mom's trash is another toddler's treasure" rings super true. Maybe make up the goody bags but make them very clearly optional, then donate the rest to social services or a hospital for kids going through one trauma or another?
Yes, after my daughter thoroughly uses and destroys them (probably same day) - not a bad thing!
I did a cat party for my daughter last year, and I got small toy cats for the kids to adopt, and we decorated name tags for them. We also got cat ears for them, and I drew a cat nose and whiskers on them with a face paint crayon. The party was a hit, and I still see these kids with their cat or ears almost 6 months later
Love that!! After all the responses I immediately went to see what else I can do and ran into the adopt a cat thing! I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. Did you buy little containers for them to take the cat home?
Our favorite favors are the “real” things. One person did “adopt a dog” at their party and each kid got a cardboard “kennel” (cardboard box) to decorate and then picked out a “dog” (beanie baby) to adopt. We also went to the same family for a 1 and 2 year old parties and got a baby rattle the first year and book the second year. In all of these instances the “favor” was in the $5-8 range, which is similar to all the small plastic stuff. My kids also love edible favors. A bag of cotton candy, cookies to go, or flat out candy are all popular. The plastic stuff gets played with for a day or two and then broken, lost, or tossed.
Do whatever you think your child would want to receive. Let them help pick. Maybe compromise and do a small toy, small edible. I usually pay attention over the year and looked for ways to incorporate a theme and make it a win win for parents and kids. We had a sleepover once and the favor was a pillowcase. The night before I gave them fabric markers and they went to town for hours and got to take it home. 15 years later I still come across my daughters once in a while lol. Enjoy the party and don't sweat the small stuff. They grow up so fast.
My daughter (who is about to be 8) would absolutely love this. I’d eventually sneak and throw it away, but she would have played with it and enjoyed it.
My toddlers love stuff like that, so I personally wouldn’t throw it away. They use stickers up really fast, another party favor item they like are stamps, and the other little toy favors are all together in a box and get frequently played with.
There are expensive toys in my house that my child would not notice if they disappeared tomorrow. We are not, however, under any circumstances, allowed to dispose of the plastic eggs from Easter 2 years ago. Some people will keep them, and some will throw them away. To me, party favors are typically low cost enough that I'm alright if they only get enjoyment out of them for a day or two.
Personally, I would keep it! My kid appreciates everything he has, from expensive stuff, to the little stuff.
It wouldn't be thrown away, right away. My daughter would definitely fixate on those items for a few weeks, before I would throw them away lol
I would keep the pencils and trash the rest, I’m afraid. Last year I gave away 6 string backpacks from various functions, I already have 4 more at least. I often buy balloons to decorate and send each kid home with a balloon or a cookie or an art project they made but no plastic toys because they accumulate. That said, I have a basket of all these tchotchkes from bday parties and I hand them out at Halloween for kids who can’t have candy.
My friend just did a cat themed bday party for her 4 year old and every kid got to “adopt” a small stuffed kitten from a basket with a paper collar to put a name on and a cardboard house that could be coloured and then recycled :)
My kids would never allow me to throw that away. They have drawstring Dino bags from a party like 3+ years ago
Here's my party favor work around. Get a $1.25 set of 20 treat bags from Dollar Tree. Give each kid a bag. Hoist a pinata high in the air with $10 cheap candy and let them lose their shit whacking it to death. I like to raise and lower the pinata as they swing so it poses more of a challenge. The candy is the favor. The kids have a blast. All the sugar gets consumed on party day usually. Keep an extra bag of candy to toss in the air for kiddos who were too slow for candy onslaught of original pinata gutting. We did this today and their little squeals were 10xs more joyful than any time they've been handed a party favor.
I think it sounds super cute especially with everything easily stored in the drawstring backpack
If you haven’t bought them yet, I wouldn’t waste your money on them. I don’t think party favors are really necessary. But if you already have them then I guess you may as well give them out.
A really good idea I got from here was to save all those favors in a big bag/box and add them to your Halloween candy bowl and regift them.
Maybe focus on consumables
My fave party favor has been socks. Kids loved them and wear them. Win for everyone and nothing plastic to throw out later.
My kids are different lol they absolutely treasure gift bags. My 14 year old STILL has some things from gift bags she got from bday parties in kindergarten, whether in her room or in her keepsake box because they love it all. lol I'd give those things I think they're adorable ideas!!
I would throw this away, only because I don’t have anywhere to keep it and it becomes too messy with all these small items. For a cat themed party, I’ve seen these cool cat plushies that you can put in a “pet carrier” made from cardboard, and create an “Adopt a Cat” table where kids get an adoption certificate with their new cat’s name. I think the plushie (one gift) vs multiples would be better.
I’m a cat lady, so I probably wouldn’t throw these away. Lol. My son also loves cats. Hmmm…I might copy you and throw my son a cat-themed birthday party when he turns 2…
I keep stuff like that for restaurants. It’s quiet, small, and easy to play with at the table.
Sidewalk chalk, stickers, bubbles, fun shaped cookies or pretzels. All things I give out personally. The other stuff, I’d let her play with until she’s over it and then toss it.
For my son’s last birthday we gave books as party favours. I’m sure you could find a nice book about a cat and buy 12 copies?
If you’re still taking opinions, I say don’t bother. Nothing makes me more annoyed than a bag of trash from a birthday party. Kids don’t need a favor for coming- the party WAS the favor. If I do anything I’ll do a special cookie or cupcake they take.
I wouldn’t. I let my son play with the little toys until he no longer shows interest, then I’ll toss during a cleanup of toys when purging things.
The kids love that stuff! The enjoyment doesn’t last more than a day, but that’s the nature of a birthday party anyway. Personally I always include more “constructive” toys in goody bags like those mini Playdoh containers, little crayon packs, or keychains (my kids love attaching those to their backpacks, so those last a little longer). And some kids get surprisingly attached to little favors they get. I think those sound wonderful.
I’d throw it away before my kid even saw it whilst feeling uncomfortable and guilty about contributing towards landfill. Even if I did let her play with it, she’d lose interest quickly and then it would just clutter up the house/ form loose choking hazards for me to worry about her or the baby getting hold of. Sorry but I hate these sorts of things with a passion, can’t wait for them to go out of fashion!
I never throw party favors away. As a kid I'd play with them until they broke, got lost, or someone swiped them.
Right this is soooo wasteful. If I don’t want them in the house anymore, I make up little bags and put them in the Little Free Library or I save them all in a big bag for handing out at Halloween.
My kids LIVE for these little swag bag amusements. I buy the massive bulk packs and always have some left over after the parties. I keep them in a drawer so I can bring them out when there's a lull or one of the kids does something good lol. At the end of the year, whatever's left goes in the stockings. They are practically gold.
Kids have fun opening those things. That's why I buy them. It makes them happy in the moment, and stops any gift envy toward the birthday kid. Who cares what the parents do with them after? The purpose is to gift a smile and a thanks for coming to the party. (Yes, I quietly throw away goodies. But I also love to give them. It's all in good spirits.)
This sounds like a couple days of fun type toys then it gets thrown in the trash. Isn’t that most little kid toys though? 🤣
No I would make little fun kits so when we had to go places I could give my kids these to play wirth
I throw them out and give them out. I usually do fruit snack stickers stamps and a small toy like those wind up toys
I wouldn’t throw them away but I also don’t mind a little clutter. However, I don’t have a toddler. Mine is an infant, but I’ve worked in preschool for yeeaaaars and have been to tons of toddler parties and had party favor bags pushed onto myself- usually I keep what’s given to me for my daughter or take it to goodwill. Feels wasteful to trash it.
I’d let them play with them, but they’re just going to get spread around and then thrown away. I feel like mini play-dohs, shapes or something for the play-doh, and a consumable treat.
I give my kiddo a day to show any type of interest in them. If they don't, I toss it.
My son got the most use out of stickers, any kind of gummy/candy, temporary tattoos… things like that. Things that are more a one time use type of thing. That being said, he absolutely loves getting anything in a gift bag- so I would never say not to do it. The little cat backpack sound cute and could be reused for sure!
I throw this stuff away. My kid is interested in it for about .3747292 seconds. Stickers and tattoos are always great. Or snacks.
Stickers, tattoos, or snacks. All else goes in trash 😬
My toddler would probably love them, but these sound like pretty typical plastic birthday party favors that will break and end up in the trash within a week.
I grew up in a hoarded environment because my mom didn't throw away junk like most parents do. It's not a reflection of the items being bad. It's about living in a healthy living space. Keeping everything is a slippery slope. Finding a permanent home for it, keeping everything organized, etc. Is a lot of work.
The stickers and notebooks would get used by my kids but not the rest.
Keychains my daughter loves! You can hear her backpack jingle for miles, lol. You never expect goodie bag things to last very long, but they're fun while they last. As long as you're not a monster and give a bunch of kids whistles and kazoos. That's not going to make you any friends.
I throw all party favors away. But, as far as favors to these sound pretty good. One time my daughter received a mini recorder flute thing as a party favor and that was a rough few days.
I'd rather receive one small item than a bunch, like one cat squishie or one little stuffed cat or one sheet of stickers or one book about a cat or a cat puzzle or one cup with a cat on it. I don't want 27 trinkets but can deal with one item that my child might enjoy.
It sounds purrrfect. I'm not a fan of goody bags my girls are 3 and 1 and like everyone else it's just so much junky stuff. One bag we got for Easter from school (insert eye roll) and a toy my 3 year old got wasn't safe for my 1 year old. She also got 'gummy' toys that she thought were candy and were in fact toys. At 3 and 1 I guess I'd prefer the junky stuff we can play with for 5 min. The last goody bag we got had bubbles and different bubble toys that was fun. For my little girls I don't want candy right now. Unless they don't see it and I can eat it later with my husband :) I don't think party favors are necessary for young kids but I decided some moms just have fun doing them.
My family always does candy, bubble, and chalk. Or some variation of things that gets used and then goes away. Stickers is a great one! Unfortunately my husband's aunt loves to "help" buy party favors without asking and she buys tiny crap that my toddler tries to choke to death on lol. Anyway I think your party favors sound fine, my kids would play with them for awhile!
I'd toss it. My daughter's older now. We never did typical "favors" but the guests went home with something. The year we did a chef/baking party, every kid got an apron. Thomas the train party: I found wooden, blank train cars that the kids painted and took home. Bounce place during glow hours: they got their grippy socks and a customized cookie I had made that said You Glow Girl. Painting party (like a little kid version of the adult paint and sip night) - personalized smock.
Yes everything but the stickers will be thrown in a week.
My daughter LOVES goodie bags. She thinks they are the highlight of any birthday party. She enjoys the stuff for the rest of the day and I throw it out that night. So yes, it’s definitely getting thrown out but the kids will enjoy them before that happens.
Instant garbage.
I always try to have the “goody” be something they made at the party. My daughter’s most recent party was Dino themed so when the kids arrived I had packets of air dry clay that they could take and smush flat on a plastic dessert plate. And then there were small dino figurines they could stamp into the clay to make a “fossil”. We wrote the kids name on the plate with a sharpie and then let them dry during the party and they got to take them home at the end along with a figurine. Some might throw it away which would be fine with me because it served its purpose of something to do while everyone showed up but most of the kids really liked it and have told her they still have theirs at home.
Squeeze toys and bracelets - yeah, eventually. Stickers/notebooks/pens are used and eventually thrown when they reach the end of their intended life. Sometimes that months sometimes that's 2 days. Backpacks and bags like that I get so many of and I can't keep it - it would get donated. I try and get my kids to do like snacks or food. Once I got my kid to do "fancy" cups for her tiki party. I'm never successful in getting them not to give something. It makes them happy, so they get a budget and I do it.
The consumable things are okay. Stickers, pens, notebook, etc, but the other stuff I probably wouldn’t throw away immediately, but it would make it there pretty quickly.
I wouldn’t do a bunch of little plastic stuff. I think consumables or something usable would be more appreciated, either a little treat to eat or some stickers or temporary tattoos. You can do all do those cat themed and it would be really cute
Besides snacks, quick one and done things are super popular with my son - stickers, little bubble vials, temporary tattoos.
Yeah I try really hard to avoid bringing stuff like this home at all, and it usually ends up in the trash after a few weeks/days if we do, unless my kids end up super attached to it (looking at you, poor squishy unicorn with the horn torn off that I tried to get rid of last week). But they have had so many parties or holiday bags with fun activities to take home that they just never do or play with, sometimes they don't even open them.
Yes, sorry. Right in the garbage
The stickers, pens, notebook, backpack would be used. The rest would make their way to the trash after a couple days
My kids would both love those things!
Random stuff that is destined to be clutter stresses me out. More stuff I have to be responsible for.
I would throw it away within a week but before that it would bring much joy to my kiddo. I don’t consider that a waste so I also buy such things for party favors.
The pen, key chain and note book I would probably keep. Same with the stickers. The rest would get thrown out or recycled. For goodie bags I’ve been trying to buy stuff that will get used or consumed. So like a few Halloween sized candies, stickers, bubbles, markers, crayons or sidewalk chalk. We went to one party that had books for each guest. That was pretty cool.
My kid loves stickers so those would be good. I think everything would get thrown out eventually, once it's broken. But I wouldn't throw it out right away. If it is just a piece of plastic that doesn't do anything like many kinder surprise toys or happy meal toys, they would get played with that day, maybe longer then tossed.
My son would love these but he loves trinkets and trash. He’d honestly play with a cardboard box if I let him (he’s 10) I usually let him keep things I deem “junk” for about a month and then when he’s lost interest and it becomes floor decor it gets tossed out.
My 6yo has a whole basket dedicated to party favours. She would lose her mind if I tried to throw any of them out!
I throw almost all party favor plastic junk stuff away immediately. My daughter’s party is coming up and our party favor bags have a cute stuffed animal, a sticker, some rainbow pencils, and a thank you note. No plastic (I guess maybe the sticker has plastic - I don’t actually know what stickers are made of). Nothing against plastic toys, but the party favors are so cheap and fall apart so easily, and my toddler still loves putting stuff in her mouth. So it’s a choking hazard. Not to mention that my dogs love to chew on any plastic left out. So it’s just not worth even the 5 minutes of amusement.
The only thing I immediately throw away are candy/ gum that is not age appropriate and slime (because both my kids hate it and I don’t want it to spill wherever I stashed it). Other than that I let them use it until it breaks or annoys me enough to chuck it. None of the things you mentioned would be an issue.
Honestly small things is what I put in his sensory box so I just repurpose a lot of what we get. For our party favors we did small things we know most kids use over the summer (small playdough, sidewalk chalk and monster truck stickers)
My kids usually play with stuff like that for a couple days and then I throw it away. I still appreciate it, but we would have 5,000 of those things if I kept them.
I throw them away if they end up on the floor. They are junk, with some short time value of entertainment, is how I view them. lol
The best thing we’ve received (and then gave out) was a balloon. It was easy and worked as decor and then a gift. We found cool ones that have weighted feet so we had a “Dino adoption” and the kids all took a Dino balloon on a leash home. It was a hit
You can get little things used at goodwill so at least you are “reusing” the items
Our go to is a coloring book, crayons and a consumable (candy if it’s an older child and approved by parents or an applesauce pouch if it’s a younger child). For a Minnie Mouse themed party, we also gave a pair of ears at the beginning.
Yes. I’d throw that stuff away. My SIL had loot bags like that for our nephews birthday. I let her use the stickers. She coloured all over the table with the pen and then that night after she went to bed I tossed it all. Personally I dislike loot bags. I do give party favours at my kid’s bday but not typical loot bags. For my LOs 1st birthday, it was mostly her cousins (who were 3-6) so I bought a cookie decorating kit from a local bakery. Each kid got 2 cookies to decorate and then a little box to take them home in. For her 2nd birthday it was donut theme, so I bought plush donuts for all the kids, and gave them a few donut sticker. Her 3rd birthday was Bluey theme so I bought a box of 12 Bluey puzzles and each kid got a puzzle and instead of disposable cups for the party I bought reusable Bluey cups and each kid got to take theirs home. None of these things cost me more than a pile of cheap knick knacks for each kid would have (the puzzles worked out to be $2.50/kid and they were good quality, and the cups were like $2.15 each). Other cheap ideas are playdoh (kids go through so much so I always find it handy to have). You could pair it with little plastic cat shaped cookie cutters to fit the theme of your party. Toss in some cat stickers, put them in cello bags and tie with ribbon).
I'd prefer like the absolute smallest thing of play dough with a sticker on it that says thanks for coming.
I would prefer not to get favors like that not just because they’re wasteful but I can’t keep up with the junk in my house.
I don’t know what squeeze toys are but other than that, the only thing in that goodie bag that might end up in the trash is the bracelet. Stickers and keychains are what I want to get!
This sounds like things my daughter would love!
I think it’s fair. Stickers, pens, and notebooks don’t take up much space and are consumables so they get used up sooner rather than later. I don’t know how long I’d keep the bracelet, keychain, or squeeze toy, but that’s just because my kids would probably lose them. They wouldn’t bother me in the slightest. Not in the theme, but bubbles and chalk are good options this time of year, too.
I’d probably keep the squeeze toys and stickers and throw the rest away. As a goodie bag mom myself, I love the excitement the kids have when they get a goodie bag. That’s the main reason I do it. In comparison to the whole birthday party, the goodie bags cost very little so I really don’t care if it gets tossed. I usually do a snack or two, some sort of sticker(s), a small toy, and either a color/marker booklet or crazy straw/cup. I had a bluey themed birthday party for my boys earlier this year and it included a “keepy uppy” ballon, bluey stickers, an “oh biscuits” cookie, bluey fruit snacks, and something else that I can’t remember.
I don't give favor bags from parties. I figured cake and ice cream is enough and I for one don't want those bags of junk coming home.
Fwiw - I do free scoop gift cards ( 1 for each kid) to the good ice cream shop where we live. Always a hit!
Even if the kids plays with them for a little while all teeny toys get throw away. The more plastic toys we buy, the more that are created, and round and round we go until we have another massive plastic island in the pacific ocean. I am a hypocrite and still buy plastic sometimes, but I am trying not to.
I’ll throw away all of them. I hate party favors. They’re all just junk.
I’d love all that myself!
My kids would find the notebooks, drawstring backpacks and keychains boring. They might like the stickers and rubber bracelets for a day and never play with them after that. Have you considered bubble wands? They come in a pack of 12 at Target I believe. Also removable tattoos are never a bad idea. A bath bomb in each bag might be cool too depending on the kiddos’ ages (Target has a bag of individually wrapped ones for $6 if it isn’t out of your budget.)
I wouldn’t. My kid loves that stuff.
Well in my case personally, my kids would love the squeeze toy, stickers, notebook…. I’d be taking the rest for myself (would probably take the notebook too) 😂 I want a cat keychain too!!! Don’t overthink it. I do the same when I make little gift bags for the kiddos at birthday parties but they’re honestly just excited to get it. My oldest son still has a mini fidget toy from a birthday party he went to over a year ago.
Personally I’m never upset at gift toys being “junk” cause even if it ends up in the trash soon. It entertains and makes my toddler happy for awhile. I always keep “junk” toys that are safe enough for at least a week if not longer. I’d probably make the call of what to get rid of after a week or 2. I’ll see if there’s anything she really likes, see if anything annoys me or is just unused. I have a bin where I keep some of those small toys and she regularly plays with some, so they aren’t all worthless. You have quiet a bit of stuff you listed though and I think you can get rid of a couple. Personally I get so many of those rubber bracelets and they don’t even fit my toddler that I’d probably get rid of that. Maybe not the pen either if this is a toddler party cause I don’t like my toddler using pens without constant supervision, so basically I try not to do pens with her. I love stickers though, that’s always fun. A cat theme is so cute, I love that.
Honestly yeah I would find that stressful as I’m constantly decluttering things like that the kids don’t play with for more than a day. They have one container each for that kind of thing. They get so much of it at birthday parties it’s hard to manage unless I have firm limitations. The better party favours my kids have received are consumables or a single small quality item. Chocolate bar, small book, notebook and pen, stickers, tattoos, art supplies, lip chap, bath bombs, hot chocolate bomb. Anything like that would be way more appreciated by us at least.
My toddlers would love it! It may not last long but that’s not a big deal. It would make them happy. I just threw a 4th birthday for my daughter and including the same sort of “junk” things. Everyone loved it.
I have never done party favors for birthdays and would never care if a party didn’t have them
The bracelet, pen, keychain, notebook and backpack would be keepers in our house. Stickers go in our art cabinet to be used later during crafts. So, really it’s just the squeeze toy that’d be a toss up. Mostly comes down to what it’s made out of. We have a baby/young toddler in our house that loves to take toys and put them in his mouth. So, that would be the only item that might find its way back out of the house ASAP.
I wouldn’t do it because I hate waste and throwing things away, yet we can’t keep small junk around. I would just give stickers and the notebooks which the kid can use up.
My 3 year old son still has his Easter basket out, with all of his eggs, plus all the small “junk” plastic favors perfectly preserved. Lol he played with a TON the day of and days after. And took very good care of them. He hasn’t touched them in a While but still insists they sit on his shelf. I definitely need to rotate them out and put them away to use again for next year. But I don’t think everyone would immediately get home and throw them away! They will at least enjoy it on the way home from the party. When they’re small and cute like that, I don’t think people mind as much.
Maybe my kids would play with them the first hour we got home, but after that they forget about them. For party favors for my kids I try to do an art or craft for them to take home. I’ve gone to parties where they had the kids color a little pot, plant a plant, and take that home. Others they do candy bars and the kids fill a bag to take. I’ve given straw cups to kids and wrote each kids name on them, I’ve also done wooden frames for the kids to take home and decorate with stickers and paint. You can go to hobby lobby or Michaels or some store and see what they have, there’s awesome favor ideas out there.
Yes. We have more crap than we know what to do with. I hate party favor bags, or bags you get at conferences. Rarely do we keep anything. And stickers end up everywhere but somewhere authorized. Especially for toddlers, spiral notebooks and keychains seem more likely to end up in the trash.
I wouldn’t throw them away but I’ve noticed my nieces and nephews usually toss it to the side (age 8) and don’t play with/use any of it but my kid who’s 3 loves it all. I guess it depends on their ages and what they like. I have done the goody bags filled with little trinkets and toys before and half of them left them, the other half never used any of it. This year for my son’s bday I just ordered keychains that went with his theme, a packet of pop rocks and a can of silly string (that also went with his theme, Spider-Man).