Loot bags—also called party favors, goodie, or goody bags in many places—have an important place in children’s parties. These little bags filled with small trinkets help cap off the day’s events and are given as a souvenir and an expression of thanks to those who took time to attend the party. The party may have already ended, but your guests will be able to remember it for days on end when they use the items in the loot bag.
What to Place in a Loot Bag
Obviously, you want your guests to leave with a good memory of your party, and the contents of your loot bags can help make this happen. How can you put together a memorable loot bag? Here are some great items and ideas that can help you get started.
1. Souvenir items.
There’s no need to fill your loot bags with sweets just to wow kids; you can also give them some non-edible items that they can appreciate. For example, you can bulk order silicone bracelets, lanyards, or cute keychains that are designed especially for the event. Decide early on what the theme of the party will be and ask someone to design the giveaway item with the theme in mind. You can add a few details, like the name of the celebrant and the date of the event, to make it more personal.
2. Arts and crafts materials.
Arts and crafts materials also make for a wonderful giveaway. You can add art supplies to the loot bags, or you can schedule an arts and crafts activity in the party and add the finished products to the bags. Either way, your young guests will be happy to receive something that they can use or something that they have made with their own hands and in the company of their friends.
3. Big-ticket items.
If you’re willing to splurge or if you’re expecting a very small number of guests, then you might want to consider giving away big-ticket items. How much each item costs totally depends on your budget and the theme of the party. You can give away video games, building block sets, or dolls, for example. But if you have more guests than expected, then you can raffle out the big-ticket items to lucky guests.
4. Snacks and edible goodies.
Sweets and snacks can act as filler items to add a bit of weight to the loot bag. At the same time, they can also serve as the main giveaways. It’s easy to fill your goody bags with store-bought sweets and chocolates, but you can also go with better alternatives like yummy yet healthy snacks or home-baked goodies.
5. Cute toiletries.
Encourage good hygiene practices early on by letting your young guests take home sanitizers, creams, or even lip tints and balms in cute containers. Aside from choosing items with eye-catching packaging, check that the products are made of hypoallergenic ingredients.
6. Colorful wearables.
In addition to toiletries, you can also giveaway small articles of clothing, like colorful socks, themed headbands and hair ties, a set of handkerchiefs, or even reusable bags. To make shopping easier, ask the celebrant’s help when picking the design of the items.
While it’s encouraged to come up with a loot bag that fits the theme of the party, there’s really no need to keep everything uniform or consistent. You want a loot bag that everyone can enjoy, so consider the age group and interest of the guests you are trying to cater to when planning the contents of the bag.
Also, don’t go beyond your budget when putting the loot bag items together. Remember that the party itself is the main event and should take up most of the budget; the loot bag, so to speak, is just icing on the cake.
Very colourful post 🙂