Why This Mom’s Birthday Gift Bag Is Over

If there was one person in every party who took a shit, I guess it would be me. At least, if we’re talking about kids’ birthday parties, especially those where gift bags are filled with junk. I once spent a lot of time and money making gift bags for my children’s birthday parties. Children’s gift bags are not only expensive to make, but they are also full of waste.

Below, I’ll explain why I no longer invest in gift bags for my kids’ birthday parties, and why you should too.

Kids’ birthday parties are so expensive these days

I hate to be “that mom,” the one who went all out “in my day,” but in my day, birthday parties were pretty low-key events. It usually involves spending time with friends and family, playing some games, enjoying cake and gifts – and then everyone goes home happy.

The birthday party I remember was simple. It’s rare for the average parent to spend $500 on a venue or spend a few hours cultivating a specific theme. Of course, people don’t expect anything from gift bags either. The kids would go to a friend’s house and play for a few hours, often enjoying pizza and cake before going home.

However, this has been lost in the way our generation is raised, with many children now expecting extravagant themes and gifts to thank them for attending. To make matters worse, we tend to give our kids goody bags and party favors to bring to parties that no one needs. Cheap plastic baubles or more candy. Whose idea was this? Here are a few reasons why I think gift bags should be a thing of the past.

Gift bags are expensive

Throwing a child’s birthday party already costs a lot of money, and gift bags add to that expense. For my daughter’s first six birthday parties, I swallowed my objections and did what everyone else was doing: made gift bags.

I set aside an extra $50 to $100 to buy bags and party favors that go in the bags. I tied balloons to them and handed them out as a thank you to the kids for attending a party that had cost me hundreds of dollars.

Gift bags are a waste

I found that I equally hated bringing home gift bags from other kids’ parties. As a mom, I tend to be a minimalist, and finding the house littered with cheap plastic toys, random stickers, or temporary tattoos is enough to give me goosebumps.

Of course, my daughter was initially very excited about her goodie bag prize. But the excitement always wears off after 10 minutes. This seems like such a waste.

Parents are tired of gift bags

I always thought I was the only parent who thought adding gift bags to a child’s birthday party was wasteful and expensive. After all, if we all Disgusting it? Not long before the outbreak, I wanted to ask.

I posted a poll on my public Facebook page and in a closed group asking other parents what they thought about gift bags. To my surprise, 90 percent of the respondents (nearly 1,000 parents from across the country) shared my aversion to gift bags.

I was shocked. All this time, I thought I was the only one who hated them. When I pressed the question further, I discovered that most parents not only hated making them, but also hated bringing them home.

So I thought, If most of us hate it, why do we do it??

When I asked, there was a common theme: Parents said they did this thing they hated purely because they thought it was expected. They don’t want to be the first to break tradition.

Boycott gift bags

Shortly after the poll results came out, I realized this had to end. At my daughter’s seventh birthday party, I boycotted the gift bags. Did you know? The result is great. None of the kids seemed to notice or care. Everyone had a great time and some parents even thanked me for not sending their kids home with more stuff they didn’t need. They said I also encouraged them to give up the gift bags at their next child’s party.

If you’re thinking about giving up gift bags and hate that Pinterest makes them seem like a necessity, it’s time to give them up. There is no need for us parents to put extra stress on our plates. In fact, some parents may just praise you as a hero because you were willing to take that first brave step.