So, now you have planned the party. Created the decor. Listed the food menu. Ordered the cake. Now, what is left? Oh yes!! The most coveted return gifts.
Whether you accept or not but every little guest looks forward to opening the gift he/she has got from the party. It doesn’t matter whether it’s big or small, cheap or expensive. What matters is that he/she has got something new and that too after so much fun.
So, here are some ideas which you may incorporate in your planning. Of course, your choice depends upon your budget, the number of guests and theme.
- Books – I myself am a big fan of reading. Not on Kindle but hard bound paper.
- So, I gave ‘Gerenimo Stilton’ to Kabir’s classmates when he was 6 years old and it was a big hit. Its meant for kids 7 – 12 years of age as it has lots of colourful illustrations and a thrilling story. I ordered 30 copies of one book and got it at INR 75 each. I got lucky I guess. Otherwise it starts at INR 175 on amazon.
- Then there is ‘Diary of a wimpy kid’ , ‘Hardy Boys’ , ‘Goosebumps’ for kids this age.
- You can also get customised books for the guests with their personal names printed on them but then they become a little expensive.
- For little kids you can give activity books or read-aloud books
- There is no shortage of age-appropriate books and the price range will suit every pocket.
- Board games – I gave board games on 2 birthdays.
- They can range from S.T.E.M. games to simple ones like Ludo, Pictureka (one of my favourites), Mastermind, chess.
- Tambola, Life, monopoly. All these can be given according to the age they cater too.
- Hungry Hippo, Loopin Louie are for preschoolers and toddlers.
- Sports equipment
- Carrom Board (although it doesn’t qualify as a physical sport)
- Badminton racquet set
- Cricket set
- Table tennis set (but this means that you know that the guests have TT table at home)
- Football
- Basketball
- Racing / remote control cars
- Art & Craft supplies
- Again depending upon the age, you can give crayons and colouring book or painting colour set.
- Alternatively, you can make a goodie bag with colours, funky sticky tapes, stickers, drawing book and chocolates.
- Stationery
- Pencil box, rubbers, stack pencils.
- Water bottle, lunch box
- Geometry box for older kids
- Personalized pencil pouches with their names. Kids love these.
- Ink Pen set (for kids starting to write with pen)
- Give theme character’s stationery item like Peppa Pig, Avengers, Chota Bheem etc.
- Picnic Bags or School Bags – They can also be personalized and given with some chocolates inside
- Photo frame
- These go well with any activity-based theme. You can click a photo of kids having fun at the party and give them an empty photo frame as a return gift. You can send the developed photo (to be put in the frame) the next day.
- Alternatively, give a photo of the group of friends in the photo frame along with muffins.
- This makes a good gift for teenagers.
- ATM bank
- This is a great gift for making the kids learn importance of money. It has got a passcode and kids would love to keep it as their secret treasure.
- Or you can give an old fashioned piggy bank.
- Bubble gun
This toy is so so much fun. And this goes for any age group less than 15. If you had an outdoor themed party or a science themed one, you can go for this, with your eyes closed. It’s reasonable and loved by all.
- Puzzles
- For toddlers or pre-schoolers, this educational game comes in variety of formats. Frank’s puzzle toys or jigsaw ones. You can even choose according to your theme.
- For older kids, avengers, minions, tom & jerry puzzles are available online.
- Building blocks
- Another great way to teach kids the concept of space and 3-D shapes.
- Lego is the best option but its expensive. There are many cheaper options available at just a little compromise on quality.
- Peacock building blocks can be given to older kids.
- Magna tiles are also popular nowadays.
- Science Kits
- These include Ekta science DIY kits for older kids
- as well as Einstein Boxes for toddlers.
- Slime making or soap making DIY kit
- Rubik’s Cube
- Plants DIY kit
- A great, great gift to teach hands-on growing plants and trees.
- Alternatively you can also give potted plants to the kids with a promise note that they will take care of the plant forever.
- There is a type of pencil in the market which after being used, can be planted and a plant can be grown from it.
- Goodie Bags
These can be filled with any kind of titbits or any of the options above. Kids just love to dig into these and find out what they have got.
- Magic DIY kit
- This goes well with magic themed party. Reasonable priced kits are available in the market.
- Alternatively you can give a deck of cards and a written instruction sheet with 5 magic tricks using cards, explained.
- Eatables
- Homemade muffins with a recipe booklet for making them.
- Chocolates
- A basket with an array of pie pieces, lemonade, muffins, chocolates and anything you want to add.
- This goes well with cooking themed party
- For teenagers
- The photo frame idea given above is best for them
- A quirky mug
- A quirky pen or notebook/planner
- A customized t shirt (although it’s difficult to know the sizes of each guest)
- A selfie stick. They are available at reasonable price online.
- Potted plant
- A good book – fiction or non-fiction