Do you hate birthday party favors as much as I do? Here are some great birthday party favor alternatives to choose if you can’t fathom the idea of ditching them altogether.
I am currently in the throes of planning a 4th birthday party for my youngest, so I’m thinking about all the birthday party details 24/7. We are just having family come to our house for this one, but that includes quite a few kids from 6 years to 6 months old. That means I still need to do actual planning. You know all the things that you need to consider: food, activities, decorations, and (my least favorite) favors.
Almost without fail, I’ve been staunchly anti-birthday party favors. I did it once for my son’s 5th birthday party and immediately regretted it. The kids broke the toys I included in their favor bags before they even left the party and they all fought over who got what color of everything. This experience cemented my anti-birthday party favor stance. I firmly believe that the best birthday party favor is no favor at all.
But if you’re uncomfortable fully ditching birthday party favors, you probably don’t want to waste your money and time on making bags full of junk no one wants. That’s where birthday party favor alternatives come in. These are small tokens of thanks for attending that are either edible or useful. You won’t feel wasteful giving these birthday party favor alternatives and your guests (more specifically, their parents) won’t groan about more junk entering their homes.
Birthday Party Favor Alternatives
Edible
If you insist upon giving birthday party favors to your guests, the best option is to send them home with something edible. The kids will love the treat, and it won’t result in extra junk that will just get thrown away during the next clean-out.
Cupcake
Kill two birds with one stone and make the birthday cake the party favor by packaging cupcakes to go. I’m not suggesting you skip the cake and singing altogether at the party. Have a small cake or cupcake handy that you can stick a candle into and sing Happy Birthday at the end of the party, but then pass out cupcakes in little cupcake containers that the guests can either eat there or take home.
Cookie
If you want to keep the cake tradition sacred but like the idea of sending your guests home with a sweet treat as a birthday party favor, consider cookies. You can go a few different directions if you choose cookies as your birthday party favor. You can make homemade cookies and package a few up and give to each guest. If it’s in the budget, you can hire a baker to make those cute, themed decorated sugar cookies and give each guest one as a parting gift. Or you can get simple sugar cookies (buy them or make them) and set out a bunch of supplies for decorating them. The kids can decorate them as an activity at the party and take them home to enjoy their hard work.
Candy
Another fun way to give your guests a sweet birthday party favor is to set up a candy bar. Go to the bulk candy store and get a few types of candy, set them in jars, and provide bags for your guests to make little candy assortments they can take home.
Snacks
If I have learned anything in motherhood, it’s that kids live for snacks. Salty snacks, sweet snacks, doesn’t matter. They love all the snacks. Pick a snack or two that your kid likes best – snack mix, goldfish, raisins, applesauce, veggie straws – and make that your birthday party favor. The kids will be thrilled!
Fruit
Another edible item that kids seem to love across the board is fruit. Lean into this truth and make a giant fruit salad and split it up into small containers for easy grabbing at the end of the party.
Fruit water
My kids are obsessed with sparkling flavored water, which they call fruit water. They don’t get it all the time, but when they do get it, they’re thrilled. I’d wager that most kids would react similarly. Give your guests this little thrill by offering a can of fruit water as a birthday party favor. We like the Waterloo brand and get them at Sam’s Club in a 24-pack for around $10. This is a very economical birthday party favor, y’all.
Leftovers
Don’t make birthday party favors more complicated than they need to be. It really can be as easy as setting out takeout containers at the end of the party and inviting your guests to take some of the food home with them. This helps make your clean-up easier too!
Useful
If you’d rather skip more food and give your guests something useful, these are the birthday party favor alternatives for you!
Ice cream gift card
Guys, I’m so excited about this one. What better birthday party favor alternative to plastic junk is there than a $5 gift card to your local ice cream shop (or even DQ)? You’d spend more than this per kid on stuff that will end up in the trash, and the kids will be so excited about an opportunity for an ice cream run. This is an elite level birthday party favor.
Book
I have been into books since birth, I think. Although I took a hiatus after my kids were born, I’ve always been a carry a book with me everywhere type of person. And I desperately want my kids to be book people too. Your kid’s next birthday party presents an opportunity for you to pass along the love of books to not only your kids, but their friends too by giving out a book as a birthday party favor. Keep this extremely low cost by heading to your local used bookstore. They usually have tons of kids’ books for a dollar or two.
Art supplies
My house seems to eat art supplies. I buy crayons and then POOF! – gone. Same thing goes for basically any other art supplies that enter my house. Help your party guests combat their house disappearing art supplies by giving them out as favors at your kid’s next birthday party. Crayons, markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, construction paper, or a bundle of a little of everything make great birthday party favor alternatives!
Themed item
If your kid has a distinct theme for his or her birthday party, lean into the theme when choosing your birthday party favor alternatives. Instead of getting sucked into the themed plastic junk, choose a useful item that fits the theme. They make all kinds of adorable useful items that would go with lots of birthday party themes, either generic or licensed. Some cute, useful, and inexpensive items that would make great birthday party favor alternatives are socks, hats, sunglasses, and cups. But don’t feel limited to these items – whatever you can find that fits the theme and is useful is a better idea than random junk.
Take home craft
I love the idea of planning a craft to do as an activity at the party and then considering the take home craft to be the birthday party favor. This ticks off “keep the kids occupied” from your list, takes care of a party favor, and gives the kids a sense of ownership in their take home treasure.
If you’re not a crafty lady and you have no idea where to start, some possible ideas for a take home craft include:
- Make jewelry
- Decorate a pot and plant a flower
- Tie dye a t-shirt
- Bedazzle
Other posts
Looking for other inspiration for what to do with kids (your own or others)? Here are a few posts that might help:
Do you feel ready to make the switch from plastic junk to better birthday party favor alternatives? What’s your choice for your next kid’s birthday party? Me, I’m still going favor-free, but I’d love to hear what you choose! Let us know in the comments or over on Instagram @sarainseason.