Goodie bags that don’t suck

February 25, 2012



I think goodie bags get a bad rap at birthday parties. I kind of enjoy looking for neat little things to hand out at the end of our parties, and don’t think I really end up spending more than I would if I just grabbed a bunch of trinkets.


Yes, if you are going to any section of a store called the “goodie bag section” or the dollar bin, the majority of stuff is going to be junk, but here are some of my favorite ideas that aren’t junk at all:





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* Make the craft you do during the party the main “goodie” they take home. One year, the girls painted tea-cup planters and I set them to dry while we ate cake and played games. Before they left, I put a little packet of flower seeds in their cup and sent them home. 



* Or, have a scavenger hunt for items that would sense for your party theme and let the guests “find” the items for their goodie bags. Just make sure you label each bag and set them by the front door to hand out at the end of the party. For my daughter’s fairy party, the guests found bottles of bubbles, fairy wands, fairy wings, gel pens and stickers—yes, little trinkets but still pretty useable and they made sense for the party.


* LEGO lovers should check out the Fun Favor Pack with a real build-able toy that can go into a little goodie bag with a handful of Candy Blox. Or grab a bunch of Minifigures and let each child pick one on their way out—our local toy stores sells them for $2.99 each. Playmobil now has a version as well.


* Search Etsy for “recycled crayons“, and you’ll find so many different shapes and styles. These make a great gift for an art party or, really, any party where the guests are still of coloring age. 


* For my daughter’s mock-sleepover, I found cute mugs for a dollar each. I then put a packet of cocoa and homemade chocolate-dipped plastic spoons inside for each guest.


* A movie party might send guests home with microwavable popcorn and, if you are one to splurge, a $5 Redbox gift card. We once did a $2.50 Blockbuster store gift card (which was the cost for a child’s movie rental, but—alas—that option went the way of the dinosaur).


* Have a great local ice-cream place? Kids’ cones are often under $3, and I’ve giving gift cards to each guest for one free cone. Make it extra cute by rolling up the gift certificate into an empty ice cream cone.


* For my son’s pirate party, all the adults got a mini bottle of Pirate Bay Coconut Rum. Hey, any adult who sits through a kids’ party deserves a little something too.


Feel free to add your own ideas for not-junky birthday party favors. After all, I still have three kids who keep having birthdays.

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Filed Under: Fairly Odd Me, Music n Drink n Other Hobbies 16 Comments

School Break

February 24, 2012

It’s February Vacation up here—a week off for public school kids. Or, as my sister calls it, “The Week The School Cleans Everything With Bleach Because Every Kid Has Been Sick”. 


I love when my kids’ school friends hear that we “do school” this week. They look at them in horror. But, really, what am I going to do this week? Visit a museum? Hell no! The crowds! We do all those field trips when everyone else is in school!


I also fail to mention to them that when we “do school” this week, it takes us about an hour to hit the major subjects. And we stay in our PJ’s until about 10. Or 11.


Unfortunately, our week has been even less productive than planned because my oldest got hit with the stomach bug Tuesday night. The rest of us feel fine but it’s been an excellent reason to curl up on the couch with a movie, order grocery delivery service, and drink lots of ginger ale.


And we wait to see if anyone else catches it. I just hope we aren’t sick next week. I feel like going to a museum.

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Filed Under: Fairly Odd Kids, Fairly Odd Me, Homeschooling 2 Comments

Going Downton

February 21, 2012

Just before Valentine’s Day, I tweeted that I had never seen Downton Abbey. To which some smart-alec I know tweeted this to about 200k followers:

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As you can imagine, I heard from a “few” devotees who pretty much begged me to tune in for “at least the first season.” 


So a few days later, with John by my side, we watched the first episode of the first season. Afterward, I tweeted, “t’was ok“. 


My husband wanted to know why we didn’t look like these women while we watched it.


But now, four episodes in, I’m starting to get the hang of it. You just have to step into that time and embrace their world view to truly experience those “WHOA!” moments with more oomph. Then, scenes like the Dowager Countess of Grantham’s first experience with a swivel chair really is hilarious. And Lady Mary’s acceptance of a male suitor to her bedroom makes your palms sweat in fear for her honor.


And so, I was truly immersed in the spirit of the day when we watched Lady Sybil proudly marched into the room in her new outfit and face her family.


“PANTS!“, I stage-whispered to my husband in a mixture of shock and awe. And then giggled uncontrollably at how completely scandalous this had been to me.


Yes, Downton Abbey, you’ve got me hooked. I think my husband would still rather be watching The Walking Dead though.

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Filed Under: Fairly Odd Husband, Fairly Odd Me, The Outside World 2 Comments
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