49 BEST KIDS PARTY BAG FILLER IDEAS

Planning a kids’ party and looking for ideas on what to put in kids’ party bags? Well, I’ve got all the party bag filler ideas you’ll ever need!!

Yep, I’ve put together a big list of 49 of the best kids’ party bag filler ideas that will delight the kids who receive a party bag.

I’ve included links to where you can buy each item to be as helpful as possible in cutting down your party planning workload.

WHAT TO PUT IN PARTY BAGS. ALL THE IDEAS YOU WILL EVER NEED!

There is so much to plan, organise and shop for when it comes to throwing a kids’ birthday party, from the initial planning to working out the activities or games. Then there’s the party food, the invite list, the booking of the venue and then (pretty much guaranteed) the last thing on the list is the party bags.

Unfortunately working out what to put in kids party bags can end up taking an inordinate amount of time to come up with ideas, buy the stuff and fill the party bags.

Especially if you want to keep the party fillers eco-friendly and for the most part plastic-free.

Here is a list of quick tips that have helped me streamline the whole party bag thing over the years.

QUICK TIPS ON FILLING KIDS PARTY BAGS

1. Controversy alert!!! Just don’t do party bags. It’s not the law to have them. But it takes a brave parent… 😉
2. Set yourself an overall budget and work backwards from there to avoid a huge party bag bill. There are lots of cheap and well-priced fillers around, but of course the overall cost depends on the number of guests
3. Buy sets of things and divide them up. This works great with box sets of kids books – the Mr Men box set is a real favourite for doing this with Mums Make Lists readers – and big sets of Play-Doh pots work really well too
4. Aim for around five fillers of varying value per party bag
5. Go for two higher value fillers and then stuff with supplementary things like sweets
6. There is nothing wrong with the classic party-bag filler of a slice of birthday cake wrapped in a party napkin!
7. Avoid cheap plastic tat, less is definitely more and it’s better to supplement with edibles than brightly coloured landfill
8. To be totally honest, my favourite get-out is to ditch the party bags altogether and give out a party favour as an alternative to a party bag. Though I must admit that this is an idea that works best with kids from the age of seven upwards
9. Buy pre-filled kids party bags. If you really can’t face it, let someone else do the hard work for you

If you are going to go for it and create wonderful party bags filled with lovely things that will bring a smile to the face of the kids at the party (and not forgetting, fillers that will impress their parents!!) then here is my curated list of 49 ideas for party bag fillers

Ready to start browsing the list of party bag fillers I’ve put together? Great, here you go….

Related: 32 Eco-friendly party bag fillers

49 BEST KIDS PARTY BAG FILLER IDEAS

I’ve tried to keep the party bag filler ideas on this list eco-friendly and tat-free wherever possible. There are some really original and unique ideas on here that I hope you will love – and the party kids will too!

How to shop the list: Click the links or the images to be taken to a recommendation that I have either researched or used successfully in a party bag for one of the kids parties that I have thrown.

1. LITTLE POTS

Buy little pots in bundles or multi-packs where possible and then divide them up into each child’s party bag.

1. Pot of colour changing putty
2. Pot of squeezable putting
3. Pot of silk clay or modelling clay
4. Unicorn poo – yes really, it’s a thing!
5. Mini play doh pot
6. Bubbles – I love these mini ice-cream bubble bottles

2. STATIONERY & CRAFT

1. Scented gel pens
2. Erasers
3. Mini box of crayons
4. Pencil sharpener
5. Notebook
6. Pen toppers
7. Pencil case
8. Cute highlighter pens
9. Chalk 
10. Stickers
11. Mini bath crayons
12. Colour-in paper mask

3. THINGS TO WEAR

1. Hair bobbles
2. Hair clips
3. Play tattoos
4. Bracelets
5. Nail art jewels 
6. Lip balm 
7. Peel off nail polish
8. Lip gloss

4. THINGS TO PLAY WITH

1. Wooden toy car
2. Lego mini figures
3. Lego craft kit – these are simply genius!
4. Fidget toys
5. Bouncy balls
6. Mini bath duck 

5. THINGS TO EAT

1. Classic Freddo chocolate caramel
2. Chocolate coins
3. Retro sweets
4. Swizzels unicorn rainbow drops
5. Candy jewellery 
6. Packet of popcorn – Mini Pop! flavoured popcorn makes such a cool party bag filler!

6. THINGS TO GROW

1. Personalised party favour wild flower seeds
2. Pack of cress seeds to grow 

7. BOOKS

Book – buy a boxset and split it up. Really good book box sets include:

1. Mr Men box set
2. Little Misses box set
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

8. USEFUL

1. Novelty toothbrush
2. Reusable drinking straw
3. Keyring

9. RANDOM OTHER IDEAS

1. Glow stars 
2. Polaroid photo from the party – here’s a great classic polaroid camera
3. Surprise party balls – these are just so beautiful and such a clever idea

WHERE TO BUY PARTY BAGS

Once you’ve got your list of party bag fillers you will of course be needing to buy some actual bags to put all the party loot in.

Here’s a list of places you can buy really great party bags.

1. Simple brown paper bags with handles
2. Fancy brown paper bags
3. Rainbow handle organic cotton tote bags
4. Unicorn print organic cotton tote bags
5. Colour your own bag reusable party bags
6. Colour me reusable party bags
7. Personalised hand printed paper bags
8. Rainbow paper party bags
9. Woodland animal shaped treat party bags
10. 3D Gaming party bags
11. Cellophane sweets and treats bags
12. Cellophane cone shaped sweetie bags
13. Retro style striped paper party bags

LIST OF ALL THE PARTY BAG FILLERS FOR KIDS

Here’s a quick glance list of all the party bag fillers that I’ve suggested above.

PIN TO SAVE:

Don’t forget to save this list to Pinterest so you can refer back to it as part of your party planning.

HOW MANY THINGS SHOULD YOU PUT IN A PARTY BAG?

Clearly there are no laws on this!! But what I would suggest is to aim for around five items of varying value.

Opting for one or two higher value things that then supplementing them with smaller filler items is a good way to go.

And there is nothing wrong with going for the age-old tradition of having a slice of cake wrapped in a party napkin as one of those items!

Another tip I can share is to try and set yourself a budget for the overall cost of the party bags and then work backwards from there, to establish how much to spend on each party bag.

And finally, try to avoid cheap plastic tat that is basically multi-coloured landfill. Less is definitely more when it comes to caring about environment, use sweets (go on, I dare you!!) or that slice of cake I mentioned to pad out a party bag.