As far as I'm concerned, the days of goodie bags being just for kids birthday parties are over! Weddings and other events today have hyped up adult "favors" as these expensive, useless little trinkets. When I Google'd "wedding favors", these are some of the first things that came up:
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| Who DOESN'T need bride and groom ruuber duckies? |
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| ...or cowboy boot-shaped bubble blowers? |
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| Just in case you weren't convinced on the duckies, they have the WHOLE BRIDAL PARTY. |
In honor of bringing this childhood tradition back, I decided to put a couple quick and easy bags together when we had a bunch of friends over to our apartment a few weeks ago.
"Ingredients":
- brown paper lunch bags (less than $3 for about 100)
- some of the dollar spools of ribbon from Michaels...or yarn...or any leftover ribbon you might have laying around the house
- Goodies! This time of year is good for clearanced Halloween Candy, hot cocoa packets marked down, and of course...candy canes! Get creative. Of course you can do non-food items if you want, but I'm a firm believer in food being the way to everyone's heart.
"Directions":
Simple!
Fill however many bags you need with your goodies, and fold the tops down about 3 - 4 inches.
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| You can even sing the chorus to the song 1901 by Phoenix as you do this part... "Fold It! Fold It! Fold It!" (I just KNEW that song would come in handy some day!) |
This part is optional. If you happen to have a pair of craft scissors with designs in them, make the folded edge of the bag pretty. I have a collection of these that I found in the dollar bin at Michaels over time. I just love that place. If you don't have pretty scissors, fear not - remember, you're still giving out goodie bags, which in traditional child-fashion will be ripped to shreds the minute they hit the car.
Final step! Take your ribbon or yarn and cut a 10-14 inch piece. The length will vary on exactly how you want the ribbon to look. Remember, if you're doing a simple bow, this will take more ribbon/yarn. Start on the front side (side with the folded edge as in the picture above) and thread your ribbon through, loop around the back and then thread through the front. Congratulations! You just completed Sewing 101! Tie your ribbon or yarn into a simple knot or a bow, whatever you choose. Just make sure not to pull the central knot too tight or your bag will crinkle up and rip.
Voila! Beautiful goodie bags will all the mystery that a brown bag entails.
Aren't you dying to know what's inside?
Now, I know you're all thinking, who has the time to do this? But seriously my friends, this took me between 15 and 20 minutes, tops. Which is precisely how long you've probably been sitting in front of your computer reading this post.
If time still isn't on your side, you could very easily apply this project to Christmas gifts for neighbors and office acquaintances.
Other thoughts on "fillings" for the goodie bags / Christmas gifts:
- Baked goods, snack mixes, etc.
- An assortment of teas, gourmet (or regular) hot cocoa packets, and coffee singles
- Assortment of hard candies
- The Dollar Tree has a great toy aisle...let your inner child out and explore for goodie-options
- If you work in an office and want to deliver these in the morning, breakfast options are always good. Mini-muffins, granola bars, breakfast coupons to McDonalds, etc.
I hope this post has left you feeling inspired! Please comment and share ideas for great, inexpensive goodie-bag/Christmas fillers. Merry Monday everyone!
Love it! Thanks for sharing.
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