A day in the life of MoMoGrow : Another birthday – another party favour ................

Another birthday – another party favour!! If a non native English speaker is not sure what this is – here is the definition from Wikipedia “A party favor (favour) or treat is a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their attendance, a memento of the occasion, or simply as an aid to frivolity.”

Every year I need to put my creative hat on or find 2 party favours for each of my children. One will be served to their classmates and the other for the party with their closest friends.

• The one served to their classmate matters the most as that will make an impact on 25-28 children. The most important pre-requisite is that It must be 1) something not done by any of the other children before and 2) something not done the year before by my son/daughter.
• The party favours for their closest friends is optional as it depends on the type of party held and whether there were any give away props – like sunglasses, beach balls, a canvas with paintings/drawings by their friends etc. or if we had a grab bag or box.

My pre-requisite is quite simple - making party favours should not become a "production" - my children are well aware of that. It is not a competition or a present - it is a kind gesture. I am also well aware that some parents will make a bigger effort – however it is a choice. My kids never feel left out – so I must be doing it good enough for them and that is all that matters. I follow the cue from them: so no more so-called goodie bags filled with glittery, squeezy, slingy accoutrements which are often discarded in less than a day. A different time - a different age. For the class – my children say that something edible is always best. There are many ideas on the internet. My daughter took these to school today:

Stick potato chips, with a mini burger and gummy bears in the shape of Cola bottles.

The idea seemed easy enough, but a trip to McDonald’s was needed for the fries bags. Yesterday, Sunday - we had to pass a McDonald’s on our way home from swimming - so in my mind - it was all well planned. We never eat at McDonald’s but I thought it only fair to purchase something -then ask kindly if I can purchase 25 fries bags. The cashier asked his manager. The answer was a clear “No – we do not sell them and we do not give them away.” My daughter looked mortified when the cashier told us – we had no back up plan. I asked to speak to the Manager. I told my daughter that if we asked nicely – the Manager might just oblige and long story short he did. Yay!! Drama averted.

We then went home and filled the bags. My daughter was very pleased with the outcome. The reaction of the kids today was the icing on the proverbial cake “Wow - very original- cool and realistic – nice one!!” Mission accomplished.

Here are Beer glasses from a prior year

Ok – let’s not discuss the nutritional value of these treats……………..:)