Do you love a lolly bag? I totally DO. I am the kind of mum who confiscates the post-party lolly bags JUST so I can have first pick of the red snakes.  I will test the jelly babies for softness before I snack. I will bite into those tiny, fruity fake bananas. Yum. My fave.

I think am so very clever to do this under the guise of protecting my children from artificial colourings and flavourings and the like.  I will then shake my head at the bag of sugary lolly treats, then sneakily eat half of them later on in the evening while drinking wine and looking at Pinterest.  Is this ringing any bells? Ah… lolly bags. I really do love them.

Other parents, I hear, are not so keen on said lolly bags. Perhaps they are wise to how unhealthy lolly bags are for their kids, or perhaps they are like me and worry that lolly bags lead to hours lost on the internet while chasing down sweety lollies with wine spritzers?  Good call. Someone’s gotta be grown up around here.

In honour of those sensible parents, I’ve compiled some other (sugar-free) ideas for party favours. If you are ever tempted to steal your children’s lolly bags, these will keep you on the straight and narrow.  I’m doing you a favour, right?

Homemade bonbons

Look how simple and cute these are! You could make them as shown, or you could use vintage music paper, wax paper or tissue paper. Ribbon or dollar store pompoms threaded onto yarn would be a cute way to tie the ends. I know these bonbons show lollies, but you don’t have to put lollies in these! Tiny toys from the $2 shop would work really well too!

Collage kits

I’m totally into anything which encourages creativity. You could theme these collage packs (Animals! Colour coded! Flowery!) and you could use a vintage storybook page as the ‘topper’ to seal it closed, instead of printing out ‘A Little Collage’.

Confetti balloons from Kidspot

I super-love these because they are cheery and bright. You can use confetti or you could try some glitter or even mini pompoms from the $2 shop!  (Yes. I love pompoms!)

Crayons packs

These are super-cute because they are colourful and the the ‘toppers’ tie them together neatly.  You could use folded cardboard and stickers to spruce up your crayon packs, if you don’t want print packaging. Use your imagination and make them your own!

Personalised flower pots

How adorable are these? It’s so great when party favours are not ‘just more rubbish’ and are instead a great idea idea to teach kids how to grow things! You could plant flowers, herbs, cacti or vegetables for your green-thumbed guests!