Puppy Puppet Loot Bag

Who doesn't love an easy, inexpensive, and unique loot bag / party favour? I am so excited to share this fun puppy puppet kit idea with you today. I got the idea from my 12 year old son who started his own business selling these for $6 (with $1 going to charity). The "jar" packaging makes it the perfect party takeaway!

Each jar contains everything necessary to make an adorable sock puppet: 

• a sock (with a piece of cardstock inside to make the puppet stiff and easy to use... and to prevent the sock from sticking together when the pieces are glued on)
• a pom pom for the nose
• brown felt ears
• red felt tongue

Then, you print a cute tag like the one below, and attach it to jar with some twine.

Here is an example of the ones my son assembled and sold. Cute, right?

Then, to make it a loot bag, you can just attach another festive tag that says, "Thanks for coming to my party!"

Isn't this a unique and fun loot bag / goodie bag idea? I love a good, old fashioned craft, and every kid should make at least one sock puppet during his/ her lifetime, don't you think?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS - You can find MANY more easy and inexpensive party favor ideas here.

NERF Party Loot Bag... with free printable tags

Every party needs an adorable party favour, and I am loving the fun loot bags I put together for my boys' epic NERF themed birthday party. I created two simple party "take aways", and today I am sharing the details of both of our NERF party goodie bags.

The first treat that goes with our "NERF battle" theme is a bunch of water balloons that you hook up to the hose (for simple and quick filling). I attached a little tag that says, "Thanks for coming to our party! Let the battle continue". Cute, right?

I love how colourful these balloons are, and I know the party guests will have fun with them this summer.

To download a copy of the tag I designed: right-click on the photo below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4X6 photo. There are two tags on each page. You can add the birthday boy/girl's name before printing, or you can add it later using a Sharpie.

The second treat that we are gifting to our guests is a selection of goodies from a prize punch I created. I have been making these prize punches for many years (using dollar store supplies), and they are always popular with our party guests.

To make a prize punch:

1) Fill plastic cups with treats and trinkets.

2) Use hot glue to cover the tops of the glasses with squares of tissue paper.

3) Use hot glue to attach the cups to pieces of foam core from the dollar store.

You can allow the guests to poke through the tissue to claim their prizes, or you can have them use a NERF gun to shoot through the tissue. Both ways are super fun!

Don't you love a party favour that fits with the theme of the party? My boys are pretty excited about these NERF party loot bags.

♥ 
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Don't miss out on any of the fun... follow me on social media here.

     

Find more NERF party ideas here.

For a closer look, check out the video I made here:

Hockey Team Treats

All three of my boys play hockey, and it is a huge commitment -- in terms of both time and money. However, I am happy to support their endeavours because they are learning a lot of lessons that can only be learned from being part of a team. As our regular hockey season comes to an end, I thought it would be fun to make a few hockey team treats for my 7 year old to pass out to his teammates at his year end party. I designed some adorable printable tags, and you can download them for FREE below.

For my son, I used Picmonkey.com to design custom tags featuring his team logo. I love the personalized tags, but if you aren't comfortable designing them yourself, I made a generic tag that you can just print and use.

Here is the custom tag:

Here is the generic tag:

To download the generic tag: right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4X6 photo.

I put packages of gum in cellophane bags and attached the tags with curling ribbon. Cute, right?

Are your kids on any teams? These team treats could easily be customized for any sport or activity. You could even use them for class treats or loot bags by changing the tag to say, "Thanks for being an 'Excel'lent friend."

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Pool party PARTY FAVOR ideas {with free printable tags}

I love a cute and clever party favor that fits perfectly with a party's theme, don't you? Summer is here, and pool parties are plentiful, so today I am sharing three easy and inexpensive pool party treats that your party guests will rave about. I've even included adorable tags that you can download and print for FREE.

The first idea is to "scoop" some cotton candy onto an ice cream cone, and wrap the sweet treat with a cellophane bag and ribbon.

Another (less sugary) option involves replacing the cotton candy with a dollar store splash ball. This pool party treat is just as cute as the cotton candy, but better for the kids' teeth. ;-)

And for something completely different, putting together summer craft kits for the kids to take home is a fun alternative. To make this adorable paper popsicle, kids will need coloured card stock, a craft stick, tape (to attach the stick), and some colourful stickers.

All three party favor ideas are lovely, and they can all be packaged with the adorable tags I designed. There are three tags to a sheet, and you can punch a hole in the corner of each tag and attach with curling ribbon.

To download the tags for free: right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4X6 photo.

Look how cute they look when they are all packaged up together!

What do you think of these pool party favor ideas? Do you have a favorite? I quite like the cones with the splash balls.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Simple Party Favor Ideas

I love a simple party favor, don't you? Today I am sharing the cute little loot bags that my son will be handing out at his hockey-themed party next week.

My son played on a hockey team called the "X" Men, so I thought it would be a cute play on words to hand out "Excel" gum with cute tags that say, "Thank you for coming to my party. I hope you had an 'EXCEL'lent time!" Cute, right?

I also made a prize punch (which you can read about here), and I filled the cups with hockey cards. Each of the party guests will have a chance to choose a cup of cards, and then he/she can spend some time at the party trading cards with their friends.

I think my son's friends are going to really like the cute party favors I have put together for them. Do you have a favorite loot bag idea?

♥ 
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Hosting a Half Sleepover

I feel like my boys are too young for sleepovers, but that doesn't mean they have to miss out on the fun associated with this type of celebration.  Today I am sharing one of our favorite party themes, and I am giving you all the info you need to host the perfect DIY Half Sleepover.

First, you need to send out an invite that lets everyone know what to expect from a "half sleepover".  Basically, it's like a regular sleepover, but all the kids go home when it is time to go to bed. Here's the invite I made using a free photo editing software called Picmonkey.com.

Then, you need to set up a fun snack table.  We had a movie theme, so our snacks consisted of traditional movie treats.  We also shared glow sticks and mini flashlights with our guests.

You'll also need party entertainment.  We did an outdoor movie, but you could do games or crafts instead.

Finally, you need a cute party favor for your guests to take home.  We used little boxes of cereal, and we added a spoon and a simple "breakfast for tomorrow" gift tag.

To download the tags, right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4X6 photo.

All our guests had a great time, and everyone had a fantastic night's sleep in their own beds.  Do you have a little one that would like to host a half sleepover?  It really is an awesome party theme!

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Easter Bunny Treats {with free printable tags}

Holidays are the perfect time to share treats with friends and classmates, but many schools discourage kids from bringing sugary snacks.  So, this year, my 5 year old will be sharing this non-candy Easter Bunny "treat" with his class.

Cute, right?  I found some inexpensive stretchable bunnies and bunny jumpers at the Dollar Store and Walmart, and I knew my youngest son would love them.

I packaged the bunnies in clear bags, and I designed a simple tag that said, "Some 'bunny' thinks you are a special friend."

To download the tags for free, right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4X6 photo.

I love this little Easter Bunny party favor, don't you?  It's inexpensive, sugar free, peanut free, and totally adorable!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Leprechaun Bait {with free printable tags}

Every year, my boys build a leprechaun trap in the hopes of catching a leprechaun (and his treasure) on St. Patrick's Day.  It is a fun tradition that my boys like to share with their friends, so each year, we make little packages of leprechaun bait for them to take to school to give to their classmates.

This year, I designed this adorable little tag that you can download for free.  To download the tag: right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4X6 photo.

Add these tags to little bags of "Lucky Charms" cereal, and you have adorable packages of leprechaun bait.

Aren't these bags of leprechaun bait sweet?  They are fantastic class treats, and they make fun St. Patrick's Day party favors too! 

Good luck catching a leprechaun!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)