Alice in Wonderland Party: Favors

I am just going to put it out there. When my kids go to a party, I hate them coming home with a bag of plastic crap...or a ton of candy. It is a waste of money. I hate it. Every Mom I know hates it, but at some time or another we all do it. (WHY???????)

Last year, I had an epiphany. I would send home a real favor or none at all. For the Alice in Wonderland party my daughter had (for a post and pictures of that party, click here) I wanted something that went along with the theme that the guests could enjoy long after the party was over...coloring books.

I was able to buy them on ebay from a seller who had 16 (two different designs). I paid $2 a piece for them and $5 shipping.  The last time I did party bags, I spent over $2 per person and this favor will last, not corrode thier teeth and is better for the environment. To make is special, we wrapped them in a light blue gingham paper and put a ribbon bow on the top of each. Each party guest felt they were leaving  with a special gift.

Now, since I am a softy and kids love candy, I did do a candy bar favor to go along with the coloring book...with a twist...this one also doubled as decoration.  Each child found one of these sitting on their plate when they sat down for pizza. A festive Hershey bar.

Again, utilizing an ebay search for "candy bar wrappers" I found a seller who made wrappers to the theme, personalized them and shipped them to me. All I had to do was adhere them to the candy bars and voila!). Here was the before...

On the front they say "Audrey's 7th birthday party" and on the back they say "Thanks for coming to my party"

(These were the most talked about feature of the party by the adults attending.)--note to self to do these again! Cost was $20 for the wrappers and then I waited till our grocer put candy on sale to get the candybars. From ebay sellers I found, you can do these for adult birthdays, baby showers, you can even do versions using the mini candybars for a lower cost! I chose the ebay sellers I used for this party based on price of their item, if they would discount shipping for me (both did) and the highest customer service ratings.

Some other great ideas for more parent pleasing, functional favors are (and my experience is the kids love these cause they feel they leave with a "real present":

• A cardstock card with a thank you for coming message and a nice pencil  or pen adhered to the top (think a pen that is scented or a pencil that has been fancied up with feathers to be made to look like a "plume".--perfect for a French themed soire or a Fancy Nancy party!)
• A little golden book of the party theme (if you did a book themed party). Most barnes and nobles sell them for the $3-4 range; you can usually find groups of them available cheaper than that on ebay.
• A gift certificate for a free sundae or shake if it is a summer birthday. One of my favorite received was when our kids went to a movie themed party and as favors received a free dvd rental coupon and a bag of microwave popcorn!
• handmade hair barrettes (see tutorial here)
• gloves (if it is a winter party or an ice skate party)
• a craft they make and then take home (Michaels and Joann's have a ton to choose from all $1-$3 a piece) and kids love to craft...paint a small flowerpot, decorate a picture frame...so many to choose from!

Think outside the box when it comes to favors. Consider cost and environment when choosing your favors. Make them something of value so your money is not transformed into plastic frogs or empty candy wrappers! Remember, if you have a small group of friends, you can always make a pledge with them there will be NO favors, which is a huge time and a money saver for all of you. Remind your kids the joy is being invited to the party and it is the birthday boy or girl's turn to receive the presents. (you would be surprised how many Mom friends you know would totally go for this--besides that is how parties were when we were growing up, okay me, in the 70s...)...

Are you for or against party favors? What is the most creative favor you have given at a party? Please share it with us in the comments below!  (and remember I am unable to read or reply to comments for another week but will reply to them all when I am back!)

Blessings,