When planning and organizing a children’s party, there are many things to consider to make the event fun, successful, and memorable. Some of these include the theme of the party, decoration, music, food, drinks, invitation, program, games, and more. But aside from these, there is one important thing that you should not forget when throwing a children’s party, which is party favors.
Party favors pertain to small gifts given to guests who attend events such as a child’s birthday party. The types of items given as party favor also vary depending on the occasion and the budget of the host. They can either be handmade or purchased. Giving out party favors is the best way to thank your guests for attending the party. Back then, party favors were given when guests brought a gift as a way of thanking them for their gift and their presence at the event.[1]
Most of the time, party favors at children’s parties are inexpensive. They are also usually given in small plastic or paper gift bags to kids as they leave the party. They can be fun for the kids, and they also allow them to have a gift along with the celebrant. Aside from that, items like hats and horns used at parties are also considered party favors.
If you are throwing a children’s party soon but haven’t thought of what party favors to give out yet, we are here to help you. In this post, we are giving you a guide to the types of party favors for children’s parties.
Different Categories of Party Favors for Children’s Parties
Party favors can be divided into three different categories. There are also times when party favors contain multiple small items, while other times, they are just one larger item. Below are the different categories of party favors:
Consumable
Party favors that are consumable can take any form, from decorative cookies to packs of candies. If you decide to include an edible gift in your party favor, you need to ensure that it is good and that it is not likely to spoil fast or break easily. Most guests want to share their goodies with their families back home. Therefore, if you want consumable party favors, choose delicious ones. These can be chocolate bars, candies, cupcakes, cookies, and more.[2]
Usable
It is also a great idea to give out usable party favors, such as notepads and pens. This way, when your guests absentmindedly doodle on the notepad, they will think back to your event. The best thing about this type of party favor is that it can be used by your guests even after the party is over. Aside from pens and notepads, you can also give away towels, pillows, small alarm clocks, bookmarks, and more.[2]
Decorative
Decorative party favors are also very popular. They are small pieces of items that end up on display in the homes of your guests. If you want this type of party favor for a children’s party, you need to find one that will stand out from other decorative pieces. Some examples of decorative party favors for a children’s party include toys, polaroid photos, figurines, and more.[2]
Things to Consider When Choosing Party Favors
Planning a party for your child is indeed fun, and choosing party favors is among the most exciting parts. The act of picking, buying, and wrapping party favors can bring most parents to reminisce about their youth. The goodies and trinkets can bring back fun memories of the parties you attended when you were young.
Party favors are more than just an expression of gratitude because, as parents and hosts, you are also taking part in creating a memorable childhood for your kids and their friends. Therefore, careful planning is needed when preparing party favors. To help you, below are some of the things you need to consider when choosing party favors:
Guest’s Age Group and Gender
The first thing you need to consider when choosing party favors for a children’s party is the age and gender of the guests. It’s because it is essential to choose age-appropriate gifts for them. It is also great if you can separate souvenirs for boys and girls. Also, if you are unsure of what will interest the guests, you can ask your child about the things that his or her friends will enjoy. You can also ask store specialists for some recommendations.[3]
Match the Party’s Theme
If the party has a theme, it is important to choose party favors based on it. For instance, if it is a cartoon-themed children’s party, it is better to choose items that feature the cartoon characters on the theme. This way, everything at your party will be personalized and match.[3]
Be Creative
Party favors for children’s parties don’t always have to be the usual sweets and toys. It’s because you can also give away useful things like crayons, accessories, bookmarks, coin banks, and a lot more. The possibilities are endless when picking out party favors. The important thing is that you personalize them and add a short note thanking your guests for attending your child’s event. When the party favors are personalized, your guests will remember the party for a long time.[3]
Place Them in Goodie Bags
When it comes to giving out party favors, the packaging is also an important part. It’s because it can add an element of excitement and personality to the items that you are giving away. In fact, based on research, gift wrappers can influence how recipients will feel about the items inside them. Therefore, the more attractive the wrapper, the more positive their feelings and reactions will be about the gift. Therefore, make the kids feel extra special by packing the party favors creatively. There are pre-made boxes, tins, and bags that you can purchase. Don’t forget to attach personalized tags to complete the packaging.[3]
Party Favor Ideas for Different Types of Children’s Parties
If your kids have attended parties before, it is likely that they went home with some goodie bags from the event. It is fun to watch how much kids love digging through grab bags of small treasures. Therefore, when it is time for you to throw a party for your child, giving away good party favors is a must to make his or her guests happy, too. To help you in picking the best party favors, below are some recommendations for different types of children’s parties.
Party Favor Ideas for Christening/Baptism Parties
Show appreciation to your party guests by thinking of Christening favor ideas that will wow them. Since they are helping you celebrate your child’s special day, don’t let them leave the event empty-handed. Below are some ideas that might help you:
- Personalized Chocolate Bars: If you want to give your guests consumables, some personalized chocolate bars are a good idea. You can purchase custom bars at different sites. They can display party colors, themes, and the date of Christening.
- Engraved Coffee Mugs: Personalized coffee mugs are also a great idea for a party favor. You can buy simple mugs and have them engraved with the symbol of a dove or the cross and the date of the Christening. Your guests will be able to use them at home.
- Essential Oil Assortments: In most baptism ceremonies, oils play a part, and you can incorporate the key element into your party favors. You can buy essential oils in bulk and gift boxes or bags and ties. You can place a few oils in each bag and pass them out to your guests.
- Framed Bible Verse: Since Christening or baptism is a religious ceremony, you can also work your favorite bible verse into your party. Print out a few of your favorite readings or quotes from the Bible and frame them in simple picture frames. You can give them away to your guests before they go home.
Party Favor Ideas for Children’s Birthday Parties
Children’s birthday parties are among the most enjoyable types of parties for kids. Aside from preparing fun games and prizes for your guests, it is also essential to have some party favors that they can take home after the party. You can send your child’s guests home with simple but adorable party favors that will remind them of the party long after it is over. Below are some of the best party favor ideas for children’s birthday parties:
- Giant Bubble Wands: If your child’s birthday party is going to be held outdoors during the summer, then giving out giant bubble wands to his or her guests is a good idea. Plus, these also add to the festivities and ambiance of the party when the kids start to use them.
- Art Party Favors: Kids love to do arts and crafts. Therefore, you can also purchase some watercolor palettes and give them out to the kids to use at home for their creative crafts. These are cute giveaways and very useful, too.
- Temporary Tattoos: You can also include some cute temporary tattoos for kids in the goodie bags that you are going to give out after the party. There are also some temporary tattoos that can be personalized depending on the theme of the birthday party.
- Slime Kit: Many kids today are into making and playing with slimes. This makes slime kits great party favors for your child’s birthday party, too. They can use it to make their own slime at home.
- Stuffed Animals Adoption Party Favor: To make the birthday party look cuter, you can also set out a basket of cute stuffed animals. Then, let the kids at the party adopt a new pet from the basket that they can take home with them.
- Assorted Goodie Bag Fillers: In addition to items that match the theme of the birthday party, you can also purchase some assorted goodie bag fillers. This way, the kids will have lots of items in their goodie bags that they can check out when they get home. These can include squishy toys, fidget spinners, candies, little toy cars, and more.
Party Favor Ideas for Children’s Halloween Parties
Throwing a Halloween party for kids is also a fun idea. After they go Trick or Treating, they can all gather in one venue and bond together over different games and snacks. If you are organizing the party, it is also great if you could put together some party favors that the kids can take home. Since they’ve already done the trick or treating, they surely have lots of candies and chocolates with them already. Therefore, thinking of other items to give them is a must. To help you pick, below are some examples of party favors for children’s Halloween parties:
- Halloween-Themed Temporary Tattoos for Kids: Giving out some safe and cute Halloween tattoos for kids is a good idea for a party favor. You can purchase packs of non-toxic tattoo stickers for kids and hand them out to them during the party. They can all be creative with one another while having fun with the designs.
- Light-Up Bracelets: Light-up bracelets are also great goodie bag stuffers for Halloween parties. They usually come in different designs and colors. Kids will surely love wearing and playing with them due to the colorful lights.
- Halloween Jigsaw Puzzles: You can also include mini jigsaw puzzles with a Halloween theme in the goodie bags that the kids will take home after the party. These puzzles will test the memory skills of the kids as they put back the puzzle pieces together.
- Glow Critters: Including some fake bug toys in the goodie bags is also a good idea. There are light-up plastic critters that are fun to look at, especially at night. They are made for kids and are non-toxic. They may include a selection of fake spiders, roaches, beetles, and more, which are all perfect for Halloween.
- Assorted Halloween Art and Craft Stationery: You can also include an assortment of Halloween-themed stationeries in the goodie bag, such as Halloween notepads, stamps, pencils, stickers, bags, and more. These can be useful for school and for doing at-home crafts.
Party Favor Ideas for Children’s Christmas Parties
During the Christmas season, it is also fun to hold a special party for the kids. You can give your child a chance to bond with his or her friends and classmates during the holidays by throwing a simple Christmas party for them. You can plan fun games that they can play and delicious foods they can eat. To make the event more memorable for them, handing out special Christmas party favors is a great idea. If you are thinking of what to give your guests to thank them for spending time with your child, below are some ideas to help you choose:
- Christmas Candy Jars: Giving out candies to kids after a Christmas party is a great idea. You can buy simple jars or Christmas-themed ones and fill them up with delicious and colorful candies. You can attach a special thank you and Merry Christmas note on the jar to make it more special.
- Christmas Cupcakes: You can also bake some delicious cupcakes as party favors and design them with Christmas-themed toppers. You can place them in individual boxes with a Merry Christmas note for the kids to take home after the party.
- Christmas Candy Dispensers: If you do not have enough time to design a candy jar, you can simply purchase a candy dispenser in stores or online that also comes with candies. An example is the PEZ candy holiday character dispensers. Kids will surely love to receive a cute candy dispenser that they can bring anywhere.
- Christmas Glasses: If you want a fun Christmas party favor that the kids can take home and use, you can give them some Christmas glasses. These glasses can be worn during and after the party. They come in various designs, such as Christmas bows, snowmen, Christmas trees, Santa hats, and more.
- Christmas Ornaments Painting Set: You can also buy hanging wooden Christmas ornaments that can be painted by the kids when they get home. There are many designs to choose from. After painting, they can hang it in their rooms or anywhere in their homes during the holiday season.
- Christmas Coloring Books for Kids: If you want to provide something useful and educational for the kids, you can simply give them some cute Christmas-themed coloring books. They can color each page with their parents when they go home.
- Christmas Pencils: You can also include some cute Christmas-themed pencils to your party favors. These pencils can be used by the kids at school.
More Party Favor Ideas for All Types of Children’s Parties
If the occasion for the children’s party you are hosting is not mentioned above, no worries, as we will still try to help you further. Below are more party favor ideas for all types of parties:
- Silly Magnets: Young guests will surely find silly magnets cute and fun to play with. But it is also a useful type of party favor that can come in handy for the whole family. There are 3D pieces that you can purchase today that feature fun designs like food, animals, and more.
- Activity Books: It is always a good idea to make the party favors educational, especially for kids. Therefore, giving out some fun activity books to them is one of the best options. These include coloring books, mazes, crossword puzzles, and other games.
- Play-Doh: Play-Doh is one of the things that a lot of kids love to play with. You can buy mini tubs in different colors. If you want, you can also include some tools and cutters that the kids can use in each gift bag.
- Gummies: If you want to give out some consumables as party favors, gummies are among the best options. They come in various designs and flavors that kids will surely enjoy.
Conclusion
There are indeed a lot of options when it comes to choosing party favors for children’s parties. Your choices depend upon the type of children’s party you are throwing, as well as the age and interests of your guests. Party favors can be as simple or as special as you like. You can make them at home or purchase them in stores. Some are even offering personalized party favors.
But no matter what type of party favor you choose to give to your guests, the important thing is that you remember to give them something to say thank you for celebrating a special occasion with you and your child. It does not matter whether the party favor is big or small. In fact, even a simple thank you card along with a candy bar is enough to make your guests feel appreciated and for them to remember the special day they have spent with you and your child. We hope this post has provided you with useful information and ideas when it comes to picking party favors for children’s parties.
References
[1] Cyprus, S. (2022, October 5). What are party favors? wise geek. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.wise-geek.com/what-are-party-favors.htm
[2] Friedman, A. (2021, January 25). Quick Guide to Party Favors. Friedman Productions. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.friedmanproductions.com/quick-guide-to-party-favors/
[3] Favor Creations, E. (2014, May 30). Four Tips for Choosing the Right Party Favor for Your Child’s Birthday Party. Favor Creations. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.favorcreations.com/FourTips-for-Choosing-the-Right-Party-Favor-for-your-Child%E2%80%99s-Birthday-Party_b_24.html