Party bags to me, are by far, the most annoying part of planning birthday celebrations. I love planning parties for my daughter, love sorting the venue, the theme, and even attempting to make my own pinterest fail birthday cake. But party bags??? Urgh. I hate them.
I know it’s always been the way, but I hate the way it has become pretty much a right of passage that every attendee at the party effectively has to have a present of their own. Is it not enough that parents have already spent £10-£15 per child on their attendance at said party and fed them a nice sugar filled lunch, we then have to get them something too! As a result, many parents, including myself go for the low value party bags contents such as the pick and mix plastic assortment you get in poundlound or supermarkets. Nothing wrong with that. Erin loves stickers, bubbles and bouncy balls just as much as the next child.
However, it appears that party bags can also be dangerous as well as annoying!
This week, I read in shock about a Mum who was quite rightly outraged to when her 7 year old’s son came back from a party with a pen knife in his party bag. A knife. Yes you read that right – an actual, sharp, pointy pen knife – which he proceeded to cut himself on whilst unpacking the bag in the back seat of her car.
My initial reaction was – this has to be a joke right?? I thought it was bad enough when a parent put a recorder in Erin’s party bag… as the risk to my sanity was pretty severe, but a knife?! Whatever went though that mums head is beyond me.
He was returning from an outdoor activity party, but even so, some warning to parents of the contents of the bag wouldn’t have gone a miss! Whilst celebs such as Ben Fogle, Bear Grylls and Angelina Jolie have been known to say children should be allowed to play with knives, their views are hardly mainstream parenting!
I always scan the contents of the bag for small sweets or to ration naughty treats but after speaking to some fellow bloggers it appears party bags may also need a H&S check!
“We found banger snaps in a bag from a five year old’s birthday party. Before we had even left the older kids were throwing them at each other in the corridor. Thankfully I managed to extract them from the bag without my son noticing.” – Jibber Jabber UK
“My sons’ party box accidently had a box of matches in it!! My friend was mortified when I told her, she said she just mistaken them for a packet of raisins!! It was hilarious, lucky I spotted them though!” – Entertaining Elliot
“We once found badges with sharp pins on the back – for a one year olds party! Thankfully I extracted them before my daughter found them!” Belle du Brighton
“Rubbers that looked like sweets! I mean cute idea and all but the amount of 4 year olds walking out of that soft play chewing on a non edible rubber “sweet” with a look of pure disgust and disappoint was not so cute lol!” Tantrums to Smiles
Then of course there is the somewhat bizarre…
“A cotton hanky. Surely nobody even uses them these days, unless you’re in your eighties!” Five Little Doves
What’s the weirdest thing they’ve ever had in their child’s party bag?
