5 Great Party Favor Ideas

Sometime in the last 30 years, an entire industry devoted to kids’ birthday party favors sprang up. The goal of most sellers appears to be quantity over quality. At best, these favors are forgettable, and at worst, you find them in your car three weeks later, stuck between the seats and wish you had remembered to throw them straight in the trash. You know the kind I mean: weird sticky hands, tiny fidget spinners, bouncy balls, and other tiny plastic toys purchased in bulk.

This makes me rather sad, because picking out party favors is one of my favorite parts of planning a party! I’d rather send kids home with one great favor than 15 favors that make me the least popular person in the school pickup line. After all, party favors are supposed to be a way of thanking your guests—and therefore their parents—for carving out time in the schedule to come to the party, and likely for buying a gift. Party favors also serve as a memory trigger of the party experience in the first place. But the best ones extend the imagination, creativity, and play of the party once the guest gets home.

Whew. That’s a lot to ask of a party favor! But never fear: Streamer Trunk has curated the best, most thoughtful party favors on the market for you—ones that won’t break the bank.

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1) REMNANTS OF THE PARTY

Kids LOVE taking home something that they made, found, wore, or earned during the party itself. I’m talking dinosaur masks, Astronaut training patches, and pirate eye patches.

Kids working hard on their flag craft during a Destination: Moon birthday party. These flags will later be planted on the moon!

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2) CRAFTS

I love simple projects that are self-contained and easy for kids to do on their own. Cotton Twist’s Make Your Own Unicorn Bracelet Kit and Make Your Own Astronaut Peg Doll Kit are great examples. The craft itself is fun, and then you have a bracelet or doll that you can keep and reuse over and over!

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3) ACTIVITIES

The best activity party favors do double duty: a project to complete that also becomes a toy or a game. Cotton Twist’s Make Your Own Pirate Catapult Kit and Clockwork Soldier’s Create Your Own Dinosaur Puppets Kit are great examples! Another great option are Dover Little Activity and Sticker Books, which come in every imaginable theme, are inexpensive, and have a variety of activities, including stickers, mazes, and brain games.

Cotton Twist Make Your Own Pirate Catapult

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4) BOOKS

This is a great way for your child to encourage their friends to become fanatics of whatever they are currently interested in. My son’s fifth birthday was Ninjago themed, so we picked his five favorite Ninjago early reader books and let each guest pick which one they wanted to take home. Check Scholastic or titles from the Disney Book Group.

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5) SWEETS

Sometimes you must include a tasty treat, especially if it is on theme. Astronaut Ice Cream and Pirate Chocolate Coins are clear winners, but simple cutout sugar cookies work, too!

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Don’t forget to have your child assemble the favors with you. For little ones, it’s the closest they might get to actually saying thank you to their guests!

The birthday boy getting ready for his guests!