h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, we had t'Boy's 4th birthday party over the weekend. We held it at a local soft play centre and around 27 kids were there for our party - there was another party of a similar size in the other room plus the usual weekend crowds so the place was HEAVING, and very, very loud.

After they had run about like lunatics for 90 minutes it was time for the party tea, which they descended on like a pack of ravening wolves. Then we did the blowing out the candles on the cake and everyone disappeared off to play again until hometime.

We cut up the cake and put a bit in a bag for each child and handed them out as people left, along with my alternative to the party bag - a nice story book. Something deep inside me REFUSES to do party bags. I hate them. There is, invariably, some sweets you don't really want your kid to have on top of all the party food they have just troughed, a couple of small plastic toys will be broken within the hour if played with but more likely will be lost almost immediately leading to tantrums, and a balloon, which is the only good thing in there and they will play with that until it gets burst or goes flat. And this will have cost several pounds per bag. I just couldn't do it when you can get sets of really nice books online which, when you work it out have cost around one pound per book and in most cases will still be being read by the time his next birthday rolls around. Plus it helps me that t'Boy doesn't seem to have any expectations around these bags.

Every single parent commented that this was a really great idea and the kids got given a chunk of dinosaur cake so they were happy.

All except one little girl who march over to me and demanded to know why she didn't have any toys in her party bag - I told her it was because she had a book and it was too big for a bag but I don't think she was happy about it - not even 4 yet and already so demanding! Her mum, bless her, was mortified.

Well done you. I hate them too.

My mum did party bags for my brother's birthday once... one snotty little boy looked in the bag, looked up with a worryingly adult expression of disgust and said "is that all?" before throwing it on the floor!

I guess the answer is "Yes, that *was* all. It's a good job you didn't want it, because after that display of rude behaviour I am going to confiscate it." See how much they want it then.

We didn't do many parties for Teenacher when he was small because having his condition meant the few times we did, nobody came and he never got invited out.

One time I did manage to drag some kids belonging to my friends to Pizza Hut one of them demanded a party bag. As I was also a kid like J I had no idea I was supposed to supply them because I've never seen one (ever), especially as I'd just fed them all with pizza and never ending ice cream factory...

Mr D - I would have scooped it up with an "Ok, I'll give it to somebody else then", ungrateful little snot.

*All* parents complain about them, but then go and perpetuate the problem by doing them. I was Taking a Stand.

That is a great idea.

Good on you, Kelli!

I think party bags and the like just foster a "disposable society" mindset; with the world this generation will have to deal with, NOT the way to go! When I was a kid, guests got a single but still very cheap and breakable toy, and mostly, they were broken before the kids left the party.

Toys???
Some sweets, and a balloon they could inflate at home, and that's *it*!


I'm glad those things were not required when my kids had birthdays.