This post will provide you with 10 budget and eco friendly party bag filler ideas. These items are better quality and hopefully less wasteful than the average kid’s party bag filler. I have chosen a range of items that would appeal to most 5-9 year olds.
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10 Eco Friendly Party Bag Filler Ideas:
- Wildflower Seeds
- Cardboard Puzzle
- Mini Notepad
- Pencil
- Spinning Top
- Scratch Art Bookmark
- Book
- Origami
- Handmade Playdough
- Friendship Bracelet
Read on for links for where you can buy these items, or click on one of the ideas in the list above to jump to the relevant section.
At the end of this post I also include links to paper party bags and pre filled party bags.
Being intentional when it comes to party bags
I don’t know about you, but when my daughter gets handed a party bag at the end of a birthday party I always hope that maybe this will be the one that isn’t just filled with sweets, a piece of cake and a load of random plastic tat.
My heart sinks just a little bit as she empties it on to the living room floor and spends a couple of minutes marvelling over the tube of bubbles, snap band, stickers, mini slinky, tiny marble maze and pot of slime. Only to then disregard the whole lot just a few minutes later.
Now what are we supposed to do with all this stuff?! Most of it can’t be recycled so that must mean it’s destined for landfill. For someone that hates waste, that makes me really sad. Surely there’s got to be a better way of doing things?
I get that it’s etiquette to give a party bag or favour to your guests, to say thank you for attending, but surely we can let go of the idea that it needs to be a load of plastic junk. No one really wants it cluttering up their home, or to feel guilty about throwing it away.
Being intentional when choosing items to include in your child’s party bag could look like giving fewer items that are better quality and promote sustainability.
What is the best thing to put in a party bag?
I’ve been to some kids parties where they’ve just given a cone shaped bag of sweets, instead of a party bag. Granted the sweets are not usually great quality and it’s wrapped in cellophane, but overall it’s an improvement on the random plastic junk.
Read on for details of my go to party bag fillers.
Wildflower Seeds
Any excuse to get kids out in garden is great in my opinion. Let them get their hands dirty and rake up some soil, sprinkle the seeds and then give them some water. Plant them in a sunny spot and hopefully in a few weeks time (between spring and autumn) you should start to see some seedlings form.
Cardboard Puzzles
These 3D Cardboard Puzzles would make a great addition to any party bag. They are plastic free and can be recycled once your child is done playing with them. My 7 year old daughter really enjoyed putting these together.
Mini Notepads
We really liked these colourful mini notepads too. I like that they are stitched instead of spiral bound and they come in a lovely range of colours.
Pencils
Pencils are a pretty common party bag favour. My daughter really likes these multicoloured pencil crayons.
Spinning Tops
Amazon sell wooden spinning tops in bulk for a reasonable price. The quality isn’t amazing, but they’re still a nice addition to a party bag.
Scratch Art Bookmarks
These scratch art bookmarks are not my favourite item on here, as they can produce a fair bit of mess when the black surface is scratched away with the wooden stick provided.
However, my daughter loves them, they are a nice creative activity and I would take one of these any day over a plastic tub of slime!
They are one of the most inexpensive items I have found and are a good option if you are hosting a party with lots of guests.
Books
At one birthday party my daughter attended the hosts gave out a book instead of a party bag. I thought this was a great idea! Books don’t take up loads of space and can be donated once you are finished with them.
If you are in the UK then books can be bought relatively cheaply from The Works. If you’re hosting a larger party, say for the whole of your child’s class, then their ‘10 books for £10’ offer is a quite a cost effective option.
If you live in the US then Amazon also sell some children’s books in bulk. This set 18 of Disney books works out at less then $2 per book.
Origami
These animal Origami sets are a lovely activity for your guests to master when they get home. I like that they are low waste and can be recycled. There are a huge range of different designs to choose from, depending on your child’s interests.
Handmade Playdough
I love buying handmade playdough from small businesses on Etsy. These pots of playdough don’t have that distinctive plastic playdough smell, but they’re often scented and made with natural ingredients.
The playdough comes stored in a metal tin and can be put in the food waste bin when it’s past its best. These small pots of playdough from Etsy are great for party bags.
Friendship Bracelets
These ‘make a wish’ friendship bracelets go down well across a wide age group. They were very inexpensive at only 60p each (plus postage). Great if you have lots of guests to buy for. They are a lovely keepsake and arrived with no plastic packaging, which is definitely worth mentioning!
Paper Party Bags
Finally, you’ll need an actual party bag to put all of your lovely gifts in! There are so many gorgeous paper bag options out there now, hopefully that means we’ve seen the last of the single use plastic party bags.
In previous years, when hosting larger parties, we have opted for these colourful rainbow party bags, which were also great quality.
This year we included a packet of wildflower seeds, cardboard puzzle, friendship bracelet, pencil, mini notepad and bookmark in our guest’s party bags.
Along with the paper party bag from Sainsburys and the postage for the bracelets, each party bag ended up costing about £3.50.
Pre Filled Party Bags
If you live the UK then these pre filled eco friendly party bags are another great option. At £4.50 each they may not be the most cost effective option if you are hosting large numbers, but I love the look of the items included.
Please note that the prices shown are correct at the time of publishing and may be subject to change.
I hope this blog post has inspired you to include some more eco friendly items in your party bags and has illustrated that it can still be a budget friendly option.
This year we hosted a Koala Theme Birthday Party, if you want to check out my post for details.
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