Party Favors Kids Will Love

Everybody's taken their kids to (or thrown) a birthday party with the standard cake and ice cream, maybe some games, and then a little baggie of some candy and cheap toys that will be quickly forgotten. But how about a party where the kids go home with some memorable and useful party favors? Here are some quick and easy ideas for party favors for kids.
An easy way to make your party favors pop is to link them to the theme of your party. Maybe one of these ideas will work for the party boy or girl:



Pool Party - When the weather cooperates, pool parties are great for kids and teens alike. You'll want to make sure everyone can swim, of course, but then the entertainment pretty much takes care of itself. Make your party the talk of the guests by giving everyone a beach towel as a favor. You can get really nice towels very affordably - coordinate the color and pattern to your party theme or get different colors for different guests. You can really crank it up a notch by having the towels embroidered with guests' names.




Western Party - especially for the younger kids, western-themed parties can be a big hit. You can often find a petting zoo or farm that offers pony rides with birthday parties. So for favors. equip the guests western-style - cowboy hats, bandannas, and sheriff's stars for everyone! Complete the theme with wanted posters for the birthday kid.







Make-your-own-Journal Party - it can be hard to find a theme for a teenage girl's party, especially if she's decided she's not into frilly pink things. How about letting her and her friends decorate the covers of their own blank journals? Get a bunch of lined journals with plain covers, a supply of art papers, markers, stickers, ribbons, magazine cutouts, and other embellishments and let the girls' imaginations run wild. You can also get some fun pens (maybe that can be decorated as well) so each girl goes home with a ready-to-go journalling set.




Tie-Dye Party - another good option for an outside activity party is to let the kids (and parents too, if they're so inclined!) tie-dye their own shirts. You can either have guests bring their own shirts or other garments to dye or provide everyone with plain white shirts. You'll need a supply of dyes and rubber bands, as well as a surface that can get a little messy. The newer dyeing methods don't require huge vats of dye, so your guests can create really intricate and vibrant patterns. If you plan it well - dye first, then have cake, games, etc while the shirts dry - you can probably even send your guests home wearing their creations!




Carnival Party - set up a carnival with games like ring toss, basketball, and milk-can toppling and hand out prizes like the stereotypical fish in a bag! Make sure the kids are ready to handle caring for a fish (clear it with their parents) and give them an actual bowl as well. If you don't want to do real fish, you can give out other carnival-like prizes instead. You can extend the carnival theme with foods like popcorn, cotton candy, and caramel apples, decorations like balloons and flags, and maybe even get someone to draw caricatures of the guests.