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Lots of Party Bag Toys to fill those Party Bags.

If you're looking for some great things to fill your party bags with, we have recently added lots of new pocket money toys.

Costume jewellery and accessories go down well with young girls wanting to be 'grown up', so we've added things like Friendship bracelets, bright neon bangles, Alicebands, glitter hair clips and lots more.

The best thing is that they are all under £1! We appreciate that you may have to buy for more than 10 kids at a time which is why we have kept our prices down as much as possible without compromising on quality.

Don't forget we also sell a superb range of party bags too! Click here to see the full range.

New Pass the Parcel Box Designs

Our Pass the Parcel Box games have been incredibly popular, so we have launched a couple of new designs that are suitable for both boys & girls to play.
Each box is handmade by us and comprises a selection of party toys and sweets which are individually wrapped and hidden in heaps of shredded tissue paper to create that element of surprise.

Jungle, Safari or Animal themed parties are popular at this time of year in particular as the weather improves there are more outdoor parties. (well the weather is supposed to be better, but hey we live in the UK!)
We thought a Leopard print design box would go down a treat for this theme and luckily we were right as we've made so many of them since we've added them to our site!

Another design we've added is a very colourful 'Sweetie' design, which is great for a unisex party.

Our boxes start from just £9.99 for 8 guests and you can add more gifts for more childen if you wish.
Just simply play the Pass the Parcel game in the traditional way to music and instead of unwrapping a layer of paper, the child gets to delve into the box and pick out a gift instead! Much more exciting we feel!

You can also use our boxes as Lucky Dip boxes in addition to party bags or instead of.
After the party, providing your box hasn't been too 'child' handled, your child can use it to store their bits & bobs in!

Spring Birthday Party - Inside or Outside?

Finally we are getting some decent weather, which is long overdue to say the least!
But if your child’s birthday is in April/May the weather can still be very unpredictable.
Of course there’s April Showers to think about (which to be honest tends to happen all year round anyway) but it’s a time when we can have all sorts of weather thrown at us!

To overcome this weather dilemma, it’s best to plan an indoor party and if possible have an outdoor area where the kids can go out to play if the weather is pleasant.
If you are planning a party at home and have a house with a garden, then this is ideal.
If you’ve booked a venue that doesn’t have an outdoor area, don’t worry as it’s only a couple of hours that they will be indoors anyway.

Even if you have the party inside you can still opt for a more spring like theme such as Butterflies & Bugs or a girly Flower Power theme. We have lots of great party themed tableware to choose from:

For party games, you don’t necessarily have to play outdoor games. You can adapt popular indoor games into your spring party theme and play games like ‘Pin the wing on the Butterfly’ or ‘Pin the spots on the ladybird’.
If you decide to play Pass the Parcel game, you can wrap up some gifts that relate to the party theme.

Parties do have to be planned in advance if you are having a fair amount of guests, but one thing you can’t plan is the weather, so best not to take any risks and opt for an indoor party to be on the safe side!

New Named Fabric Bags

As our personalised fabric bags are extremely popular, we've decided to increase our range by adding some more options.

We've had quite a few requests for a plain named bag and although we already offer a hand personalised cotton bag, we've decided to add printed named bags too.

Printed Named bags with a design:

Available in a tote style, this bag is also comes in various sizes ranging from party bag size to a large shopping bag size.

 Available in a drawstring style, also in various sizes. The large size makes an ideal gym or PE bag for school. Prices start from just £3.99 each.

Printed Name cotton bags:

 These printed name bags use a 3D style font which is very effective.
 Available in a tote style and a drawstring style again in various sizes as above designs.

All of these bags are machine washable on a gentle cycle at a low temperature, so you can use them again and again.
They are perfect to use as party bags and make a great gift for friends or they are ideal for your child's own personal use as a shopping or gym/PE bag. To see the full range of our personalised fabric bags just click here.

How to have a successful Do-It-Yourself Kids Party

Not everyone can afford the luxury of a party entertainer or a venue that takes complete control of the party for you, year after year. Doing this can set you back a small fortune!
This is why many parents choose to have a party at home or one that they run themselves.

Choosing the DIY option does however require some time planning it, especially when it comes to the entertainment.

If your home is too small you can perhaps consider having it in stages throughout the day. Read our previous article which will give you more ideas about this. Otherwise you can hire a hall or find another suitable venue.
If your child’s birthday is in the Summer months, a garden party is ideal, however one cannot predict good old British weather!

It is not as easy running the party yourself, so you will need to get family members and friends to help out and allocate tasks to them.

First of all, plan out the two hour party and think about what type of activities you want to do and games to play. Once you are happy with your plan, you will need to purchase all the necessary party supplies and items.

Here’s a few ideas of activities you can do:

• Craft activity – Decorate objects like a picture frame, money box, mug, fabric bag, paper party bag etc. 
• Decorate Cookies or Cupcakes.
• Girls party – tattoos, nail painting
• Face Painting
• Party Games – Passing the Parcel, Treasure Hunt, Pin the Tail Games, Musical Statues etc.

To help you with planning the party, here is an example of a typical two hour party which starts at 12pm:

12-12.30pm – As the kids arrive, give them a bit of time to settle in. Play music in the background and let them mingle a bit until most kids arrive. This is a good time to get any face painting, nails, tattoos done, which one of your helpers can sort out while you welcome the guests in.

12.30-1pm – Gather them together and start your first activity. If you are planning a craft activity, it’s probably better to do this first. Don’t spend too long, half an hour is usually enough, so choose a craft activity that is not too complicated.

1-1.30pm – Food time and birthday cake time

1.30-2pm – Play Party Games. Keep them short so perhaps you can fit in three games which lasts 10 minutes each.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly two hours flies past!

Oh and don’t forget to prepare party bags for the kids before they leave!
 

The best way to throw a kids party in a small home.

Most people live in small to medium size houses or flats and not everyone can afford to hire a party venue such as a hall or even a venue that runs children’s parties.
DIY parties are popular, but not having enough space at home can put a lot of people off from having a party especially if you have lots of children to invite.

One great way of organising a party in a small home is to have it in sessions or time slots.
This may sound a bit structured, as not all children will be able to be together at the same time, but it does have its benefits.

This is how you go about organising this type of party:

• Once you have confirmed numbers of who can attend, you need to allocate time slots for each child. For example if you’ve got 24 kids coming then you could either have 2 sessions with 12 kids or 3 sessions with 8 kids.
• If you know the kids well, you can try and form groups by mixing up personalities in a way that you know will work and they will all get on.
• Each session should be no more than two hours long, with a break in between to recuperate before the next slot.
• If you are having 3 sessions, ideal time slots would be 10-12pm, 1-3pm and 4-6pm.
• For each session, plan something different so that it isn’t repetitive for the birthday child.
• Ideas of things to do at each session could be craft activities, playing party games such as pass the parcel, decorating a cupcake or cookie, watching a DVD and so on.
• For food you can prepare a fresh selection either the morning of the party and keep it refrigerated until you need it at each session or you can prepare something in between each time slot. Your child may want to blow out candles 2 or 3 times so that each lot of friends gets to sing happy birthday. This should certainly make your child feel very special that day!

You can get family and friends to help you at home on the day, maybe they want to come along and help in sessions too. Keeping the children entertained should be more manageable in smaller groups and you can have more fun.
Although it could end up feeling like a long, tiring day by the time the last lot of party guests leave, your house won’t be trashed (or at least you hope not) and you won’t feel as frazzled as you would with 24 kids all in one go!

A birthday is a day of celebration so what better excuse than to make it last all day long! 

Party Bag Inspiration for Older Kids

Your child is turning a big 10 and you’re probably wondering whether you should give party bags to your child’s friends at this age. If you’re having a group of your child’s friends over or whether you are taking them out, it’s always a good gesture to end the occasion with a token gift of some kind.

Choosing gifts for party bags for younger children, especially from the age of 5 to 8 years of age is a simpler task, as they are much more easily entertained and pleased at this age. But from the age of 9 upwards it gets much harder to decide what type of gifts to give.

Here’s some great party bag ideas that you can give to older children:

Ideas for older Girls:

• Pamper products – great for a sleepover party! Things like body and hand cream, lip balm, hair brush, bath sponge, nail file etc.
• Make up & Beauty – nail varnish, lip gloss, eye shadow, tattoo transfers, body stickers, nail art stickers.
• Item of clothing – such as a T-shirt or a pair of socks.
• Accessories – Hair accessories, costume jewellery, key rings
• Craft Activity Gifts – ‘make your own’ products are ideal for this age group.

Ideas for older Boys:

• Sports related products – Balls, whistles
• Clothing – T-shirt, pair of socks, baseball caps
• Collectors Cards or Stickers
• Lottery Scratch Card
• Books

If you child is having a themed party, it’s a good idea to give something that relates to the party theme.
Of course your child might have a good few ideas of their own, so it’s worth discussing it with them first.

Nostalgic sweets always goes down a treat and so does cupcakes, cookies, cake pops to name a few.

Think of ways to present your gifts, whether it’s a party bag, party box, or simply just wrapping your gifts in coloured tissue and tying with ribbon.

Party Bag Ideas for the Little Ones

When we say little one’s we’re talking mainly about kids under the age of 5.
It’s actually quite easy at this age, because children are not so fussy what they get, as long as they get something.

Make sure you buy party bag toys and gifts suitable for each age group. Most party bag toys are not suitable for under the age of 3, so you have to be careful what you choose.

For Baby & Toddlers up to the age of 3, here’s a few ideas of things that are suitable:

Fill a party bag, box or cup with a selection of things such as Dried Fruit Snacks, Chocolate Buttons, a party blower, a balloon.

Bath Toys – things like Rubber Ducks which you can buy in packs, making it more cost effective. 

Play Dough  – You can buy each child a tub of play dough with some chunky cutters.

Finger Puppets

Soft Toys

Picture books

For kids between 3 and 5 years old, you can be a bit more adventurous:

Small good quality pocket money toys.

Stationery such as Note pads, pencils, crayons, erasers

Stickers – kids love them at this age!

Bubbles

Masks

Reading books and Colouring books

If you are using party bags, think about choosing bags that the children can easily open themselves without getting frustrated and having a tantrum!
Plastic loot bags, Paper bags and Party Cups are ideal for this age group and we have a wide range of baby and toddler party bags to choose from.