Super-cute Party Favor {Breakfast for Tomorrow}

Here's one last post for 2013... a really quick party favor... breakfast for tomorrow.

I filled a plastic cup with cereal, added a colorful plastic spoon, and tied it up in a clear loot bag with some ribbon and a cute tag.  (You can download the tags here.)  Isn't it sweet?  

It is a great favor for a New Year's Eve party, but I think it would be adorable for a sleepover too!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

DIY Honeydukes Sweet Shop

Check out the "Honeydukes Sweet Shop" I put together for my oldest son's Harry Potter party.  Isn't it the cutest?

I made the sign using a piece of (dollar store) foam core trimmed with pink duct tape.  Then, I printed some letters onto cardstock and used double sided tape to secure them in place.

For the treats, I bought some jars at the dollar store, and added some labels I made using Picmonkey.com. 

Here are the treats we had:

Bott's Every Flavor Beans - no-name gourmet jelly beans
Ollivander's Edible Wands - black liquorice
Fizzing Whizbees - popping candy
Mad Eye Moody's Eyeball Gum - eyeball gumballs
Chocolate Frogs - chocolate frogs made from frog-shaped chocolate molds
Remus' Werewolf Fangs - candy corn

I also made some "Golden Snitches" by hot gluing feathers onto gold foil wrapped chocolates.

What Harry Potter fan wouldn't love shopping at Honeydukes Sweet Shop?  It's a fantastic loot bag idea.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Fabulous & Fun Loot Bag Ideas

Did you know that I have an entire blog dedicated to DIY party planning? If you LOVE DIY party planning, you can check out my website at DIYParties.ca.

You can also find 40 fabulous and fun party favor ideas here.

Do you have a wonderful party favor idea? I'd love to hear all about it. Leave your favourites in the comments below.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

40+ {Unique} Loot Bag Ideas

Say good-bye to junky party favors.  I've got you covered with 40 unique loot bag / party favor ideas that are sure to please your little party guests. If you have ever assembling goodie bags for a child's party, you are going to want to read this!

{Here are 15 loot bag ideas for specific party themes and 15 loot bag ideas that can be used for any party.  And I have included lots of links to party details and tutorials.}  

15 loot bags ideas for specific party themes:

1) Art Party - Dollar store canvases, paints, and paint brushes. 

2) Baking Party - Containers filled with treats the children made at the party or packages of cookie mix with cute cookie cutters.  Also, guests can take home their very own homemade chef hats.  {Click on the link for a full tutorial.} 

3) Book-themed Party - When a party is planned around a child's favorite book or author, the loot bag can be a book that fits with that theme.  {e.g. Plan a party with a Dr. Seuss theme or A Hungry Caterpillar theme.}   

4) Circus/Carnival Party {Click on the link for all the fantastic Circus party DIY ideas.} - Clown noses, ring master mustaches on sticks, and face paints.   

5) First Birthday {e.g. a Monkey Party} - Loot bag ideas for "baby" guests:  bibs, rubber duckies and wash cloths, books, and stuffed animals.

6) Movie Party - Popcorn buckets full of popcorn and "movie" treats.

7) Music Party {Click on the link for all the fantastic music party DIY ideas.} -- Back stage passes, homemade instruments and/or dollar store instruments.   

8) Pirate Party {Click on the link for all the fantastic pirate party DIY ideas.} -- Handmade pirate treasure chests filled with treats or Pirate Booty (with cute printable tags you can find here).  

9) Pool Party - Cute beach towels or buckets and shovels.

10) Princess Party - Handmade princess wands.  {Just paint dowels pink and add hand-stitched felt stars to the top.}

11) Race Car Party - Driver's Licences {which you can see here} and matchbox cars.  {Click on the link for all the fantastic race car party DIY ideas.}

12) Sledding Party - "Make your own snowman" kits.  {Get all the supplies you need at the dollar store:  hats, scarfs, and some big buttons.}  Attach notes that say "Just add snow!" or... give out some Snowman Soup or Snowman Parts.

13) Sleepover Party - Homemade pillow cases, or chemical free nail polish.

14)  Star Wars Party {Click on the link for all the fantastic Star Wars party DIY ideas.} -- Pool noodle light sabres.  {They are really fun, easy to make, and you can find a full tutorial here.}  

15) Super Hero Party {Click on the link for all the fantastic Super Hero party DIY ideas.} -- Handmade no-sew super hero Capes & Masks.  {Click on the links for full tutorials.}

15 loot bags ideas that fit any party theme:

16) Homemade Playdough - You can find my favorite {no cook} recipe here.

17) Coloring Books, Crayons & Stickers -  You could even make your own crayons in shapes that go along with the party theme.  {You can find the tutorial for recycled crayons here.}

18) Personalized Clip Boards - You can use scrapbook paper to match the theme of the party, and you can find a full tutorial here.

19) Bubbles - You can give big bubble wands with recipes for homemade bubbles or give "make your own bubbles" kits that include everything they need to make their own bubbles.

20) Cupcakes - Individually packaged cupcakes are delicious and fun.  Adding trinkets {like plastic rings} just makes them better.


21) Cookies - Who doesn't like cookies?  Make your own or purchase them.  {Check out these ones from Noelle's The Custom Cookie Company.  They are super cute!} 

22) Frames - Guests can decorate frames, and pictures of guests can be taken at the party and delivered at a later date.  {You could write something like.... "The content of this frame is currently hollow, but a really cute picture is certain to follow.  Thanks for coming to my party."}

23) Balls - Bags can be filled with balls, and tags can be attached that say "Thanks for coming.  I hope you had a BALL at my party."

24) Labels - Who doesn't love a practical gift... like personalized name labels?  {"Loot bag" packages can be ordered from places like Olivers labels for around $5/person.}

25)  Cookie cutters - Cookie cutters that fit with the theme of the party make great loot bags when you package them with a favorite cookie recipe or cookie mix in a jar.

26) Homemade Hair Clips - Handmade gifts are always a little bit more special than stuff you buy.  Hair clips are easy and inexpensive to make.  {I have a great tutorial for monkey and frog clips that you can find here.}

27) Bookmarks with a picture of the birthday boy/girl - We made bookmarks for Valentine's Day, but they would work for a birthday too.  {You can find the tutorial here.}

28) Journals - Dress up plain journals with cute personalized labels.  {You can find an example of one we made here.}  You could also include homemade flower pens for an extra bit of fun.


29) "Make your own sidewalk paint" kit - Wrap up all the supplies needed to make sidewalk paint, and include paintbrushes and full instructions.  {You can find the "how to" here.}

30) Mugs and hot chocolate - Fill mugs with packages of hot chocolate and some marshmallows, and include notes that say, "It warms my heart to have a friend like you.  Thanks for coming to my party."

More:
click on the links for additional info and free printables...

31) spy kits for a spy party {click link for additional info}

32) LEGO cupcakes for a LEGO party {click link for additional info}

33) pixie dust for a Peter Pan or Jake and the Neverland Pirates party {click link for additional info}

34) special treats for a pool party {click link for additional info}

35) hockey card prize punch for a hockey party {click link for additional info}

36) treats from Honeydukes sweet shop for a Harry Potter party {click link for additional info}

37) breakfast favor for a half sleepover {click link for additional info}

38) midnight kisses for a New Year's Eve party {click link for additional info}

39) bowling party favours {click link for additional info}

40) sock puppet kit party favors {click link for additional info}

41) NERF party favors {click link for additional info}

A fun party favor is a great way to end a party and show your guests how much you appreciate them attending. Do you have a favorite idea for an easy and inexpensive loot bag? I'd love to hear about it.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

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

     

Pool Noodle Lightsabers

For my son's 7th birthday, I made all of the guests {20 of them} lightsabers out of pool noodles.  I have seen a ton of different versions floating around on the web, but today I am sharing my version.

Aren't they so cute?

Here is how I made them:

1)  My husband cut all the pool noodles in half using a utility knife.  Then, I used silver duct tape to create a handle.  I made a "criss cross" on the bottom.  Then, I wrapped four separate pieces around the noodle. 

2)  Then, I made a simple design using black electrical tape {see below}, and I added a little red sticker for a power button.

The pool noodles are great for little ones because they are so soft.

I think these the lightsabers were the highlight of our DIY Star Wars party.  I would highly recommend them for any Star Wars celebration.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

5 Unique "Loot Bag" Ideas

Children love "Loot Bags", but as a parent they are something I struggle with.  I am always on the lookout for fun alternatives to the "traditional" loot bag. Today I am sharing five of my favorite easy party favor ideas.

Here are five things I think are easy, inexpensive, and unique:  

   

1)  Something Personal/Handmade:   

• These cute "treat jars" {see below} can be easily put together using a picture of the birthday boy/girl, an old baby food jar, some paint, and some Modge Podge.  Super easy!

• Frames can be painted/decorated, and a picture of the guest can be taken at the party and delivered at a later date.  {You could write something like.... "The content of this frame is currently hollow, but a really cute picture is certain to follow.  Thanks for coming to my party."}

•  Bags can be filled with balls, and a tag can be attached that says "Thanks for coming.  I hope you had a BALL at my party."

2)   Something Practical:

Check out these personalized labels from Oliver's Labels.  What a fantastic idea!  For $4.99 (with a minimum order of 6), each party package contains: 5 original labels, 5 mini labels, 2 shoe labels, and a mini bag tag.  Fun and practical... it doesn't get much better than that.

3)  Something Yummy:

Who doesn't like cookies?  ... and these ones from Noelle's The Custom Cookie Company are delicious and fun!  For $5.25 each, you can get custom cookies to match the theme, colours, or decor of the party.  I love the idea of a number with the birthday boy/girl's name on it.  The Pirate happy faces are also adorable, and would be popular with my boys.

4) Something Girly:

Full disclosure... I make these Personalized Princess Wands {and sell them here}... but I had to include them because I think they are so really cute.  The Wands are $10 each, but you could make your own if you wanted to keep costs down.  I painted a dowel pink and added a hand-stitched felt star to the top. 

5)  Something Educational:

I love books, and so do my boys!  I really like the idea of letting the birthday boy/girl give out their favorite book to their friends.  

Now aren't each of these things better than a bag full of candy?  What are some of your favorite loot bag ideas?  

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (I have a great list of 30 unique loot bags ideas that you can find here.)