Ideas for party favors that AREN'T goody bags

My son's birthday is on Halloween. One year, the kids decorated (and taking them home was the goody bag) two caramel apples each. I dipped them and I had bowls of everything you could possibly think of to decorate one of those things with - gummy bears, marshmallows, nuts (although you wouldn't want to have those, choc chips, sprinkles, raisins, etc. etc. etc. They had a blast and when they were done, we let them sit out for the rest of the party, then I wrapped them in wax paper for the kids to take home.

Another year, we did a pinata. Everything they collected from it was their take home.

The last couple parties DS has gone to, he's come home with a box of new crayons and coloring books. Another handed out a painting book (Hero 6 or Frozen) with attached paint pots. I think I saw them in the Target dollar spot. In the spring, he came home with some sidewalk chalk and bubbles.

$5.00 gc for DQ, Baskin Robbins, Menchies. Maybe a little more expensive than $ store junk but well worth it IMO.

Thank you for not saying they are filled with crap  I get that it isn't what some people want, but someone did put time and effort into filling them so it always feels so dismissive when people call it crap!

We have done the caramel apples at 4-H, the kids loved it! I have two smaller crockpots and had teh caramel in them so the kids could cover their own apples and then move on to decorating. I love some of the other ideas and look forward to hearing more. We reward our 4-H kids a lot throughout the year, but we don't have a large budget. A lot of it is donated by the parents. And with 28 kids in our club it really starts adding up. So sometimes those small things that kids love but parents hate are quick, easy and cheap to do   

A friend whose child's birthday was in the summer, picked up and gave out sand buckets with molds and shovels on a sale for about $1 each, one year.

I'm a big fan of non-candy favors. What age and theme are we working with ajsweetpea?

We gave out medium sized light up balls from the dollar store for my daughter's 5th and whatever candy they grabbed from the pinata. They also made bracelets that they took home. Other birthdays it was either crayons/coloring books, water squirters (when we had a water party), bubbles. Or whatever craft they did was their favor. For her second birthday (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) I cut Mickey Heads out of freezer paper and ironed them onto 8x10 canvases to make a stencil. The kids just scribbled with crayons and they had Mickey head art when I peeled them off. Those were a big hit.

I'm with you on one large thing over a bag of little stuff. I know people put a lot of effort into goody bags but most of the time the contents didn't even make it through the car ride home. She would pull everything out on the way home, break or use up half of it and it would go right into the garbage as soon as we got home.

We have given $5 gift cards to a local toy store and a coloring book from the museum where the party was held. For a princess and pirate party, we had tutus and garland halos/crowns for the girls and pirate medallion necklaces and eyepatches for the boys. We have gotten superhero capes, personalized tote bags, cheerleader pompoms.

I would go to Target or Walmart and look at their seasonal toys. Perhaps a snowball maker, goggles, or cheap frisbee?

Glow sticks and bubbles - kids love these at any age and they can both be picked up at the dollar store.

Inexpensive canvas bags from Michaels (IIRC 3/$12 without a coupon) - decorate them for Halloween.

My age is showing! When my daughter was little we went to the party, had a good time, gave a gift and went home. The birthday child was happy and so were the other children. It seems like having a child's party is a big investment now with all the entertainment plus a gift for each child. I'm not being critical. I just didn't realize children had to receive a gift for giving a gift.

i would give those inexpensive straw cowboy hats and maybe a bandana. The hats are usually around $2.

I did no goody bags at all at my daughter's party last month. Several of the moms thanked me. LOL

Love the idea for hat and bandana! You can get the hats cheap from Oriental Trading.

Pumpkin and/or supplies to decorate it
small stuffed farm animal
plastic animals, bigger ones like a single Schleich or a bag of smaller ones from the dollar store
matchbox size tractor
bucket-I feel like they always have buckets in the dollar spot and my kids LOVED something to put things in
one of those kits to grow a flower/vegetable