28 Kids Birthday Party Favors That Aren’t Junk

A stylized drawing of a child's face surrounded the toys, crafts, and treats that we recommend as party favors.

A couple of years ago, my kids (then ages 9, 6, and 4) started coming home from birthday celebrations and other events with goodie bags. You may be familiar with them too — Mary Poppins–esque sacks overflowing with candy and flimsy, single-use toys that bring joy for barely a moment before becoming trash.

Listen, I’ll take the joy! But I also wondered if there might be a better way to approach these party favors — surely it’s possible to find goodie-bag contents that aren’t destined for the landfill. With input from some of my Wirecutter colleagues and fellow parents and caregivers, we made it our mission to round up and test fun, good-quality (but not too pricey) items that won’t feel like clutter — including books, art supplies, activities, tasty treats, and more.

Many of us have seen firsthand how much kids love digging through grab bags of small treasures, and we include plenty of suggestions that can be mixed and matched (and don’t cost an arm and a leg). But we’ve also found that when it comes to sending guests home with swag, sometimes less is more, and it can be equally satisfying to get one extra-special object. So some of our picks are standalone items — no bags required!



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