Comments on: Please Stop The Treat Bag Madness

By: minny

minny — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:17:51 +0000

It is the same here in the UK. Children and young people have achieved the status of never having to create their own entertainment and always having their ipods and mobile phones! What nonsense!

It is just the same with treat bags. From a bag with the cake the child didn’t eat to something that costs a lot of money.

I think we are in danger of creating a ‘gimme (give me), gimme, gimme society which is reflected in the massive personal debt owed by many 18 – 25’s. I want it and I want it NOW!

A bad thing for any society and one I suspect the coming recession may stop.

By: harper

harper — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:32:55 +0000

I think you are dead on! Especially about the dvd players (can’t stand video games either).

With the treat bag, though, your time line is a little off. Treat bags were the standard thing when I was little, so in my area at least, they’ve been the norm for twenty years minimum. I think that one really depends on the kids involved. If your kid’s friends are brats, skip the bag. If you are going to do a bag try to put something reasonably nice in it (don’t break the bank, just try to avoid giving things that only serve as an annoyance to fellow parents). If your kid is painfully shy (like I was) go along with the bag thing, as it cuts down on the pressure surrounding the gift thing and the cake thing. Or better yet, make the birthday a family affair and skip the party!

By: Froogrl

Froogrl — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:57:23 +0000

I’m in my late 30s and remember giving and getting goody bags, so I don’t think it’s all that new of a trend.

I also wouldn’t color all goody bags the same. I’ve been to parties in the park where the favor was bubbles, which the kids played with during the party. We’ve also been to (and hosted) arts and crafts parties where the favor is the project they make.

Funny anecdote: One friend of mine was so fed up with the goody bag crap, that for her daughters birthday party they scavenged through the doors and had enough unused favors to redistribute them to her friends. No one noticed.

By: Donna Freedman

Donna Freedman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:29:10 +0000

Oh, and one more thing: In the “Rants and Raves” section of the local paper, a writer ranted about the couple he’d spotted pushing a stroller around a lake. In the stroller sat a toddler holding a DVD player! The kid even wore headphones to block out those pesky nature sounds.
Nobody could make this stuff up.

By: Donna Freedman

Donna Freedman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:27:41 +0000

A woman I know told me about a party her daughter attended in the Los Angeles area. The “treat bag” was a pink backpack (!) full of expensive little items. She is thinking of moving away because she doesn’t want her daughter to grow up thinking this kind of thing is normal.
A former co-worker has had the same birthday party for his son for years: A bunch of his friends come over and each gets handed a Super Soaker. They’re sent out onto the woods on the property to squirt and chase and howl. In a couple of hours, Dad cooks hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and they all eat. Then they go home. The boys talk about the party all year long and eagerly anticipate the next one.
Not everyone has a couple of wooded acres, true. But I still think we can do better than “What did you bring me?” and “What do I get in return?”
I don’t have a dog in this hunt because my child is now an adult. But I will ask other parents to join in your proposed trend: Stop giving treat bags. Other parents may silently (or openly) thank you for making it OK for them to stop the insanity, too.

By: Inside the treat bag: How we are ruining our kids - Smart Spending Blog: Money saving tips from around the web – MSN Money

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:30:38 +0000

[...] in the treat bags all kids have come to expect whenever they attend a birthday party. He discovered a metaphor for the culture of materialism he believes is contaminating our [...]

By: LisaD

LisaD — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:44:01 +0000

We were never big on birthday parties for our kids. It was usually the extended family, dinner and cake. There were some slumber parties and video game parties when they were old enough to want them, but we never did goodie bags for the guests and nobody ever complained. My eldest arranged her own parties at local eateries, inviting everyone via Myspace or text message, and they just did their own thing without my input. My youngest is tuning 18 next month and is hosting a LAN party to play Halo with 6 or 7 others. We will probably get a cake and pizza and gift him with some cash but otherwise it’s out of our hands.

By: h&b

h&b — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:16:25 +0000

Hello – popping in to see where my image ended up

Totally agree with your points made – the treat bags pictured had some stickers, a deflated balloon ( to blow up later at home ), and one other thing – a kazoo, i think, from memory. We made them at home and they were a great craft project in the lead up to the party.

I was probably more ambitious then too, and less jaded .. I hadn’t got in with the kinder set, and everything was still all fun & innocent.

*sigh*

I miss those days already, and it was only 2years ago …

By: neimanmarxist

neimanmarxist — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:12:22 +0000

hear hear!

By: Frugal Babe » Archive » Festival Of Frugalit - Frugal Quotes Edition

Frugal Babe » Archive » Festival Of Frugalit - Frugal Quotes Edition — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:53:06 +0000

[...] Cain has a fantastic post about parents, kids, materialism, keeping up with the Jonses, cell phones, and treat bags at birthday part…. Amen. He says it all perfectly – hop over to Saving Advice and check it out. I agree with [...]