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The birthday party is over and your child comes running up to you with the dreaded party favor bag. It’s filled with the usual plastic garbage, noisemakers and tiny toys that will get maybe an hour of attention if you’re lucky.
Next time you throw a party for your little one, you can avoid the party favor bag and still send guests home with something fun.
Sock caterpillars
These adorable sock caterpillars from Art Bar are a simple, no-sew craft that turns old socks into soft, colorful creatures kids can play with long after the party ends. Using basic materials like fabric scraps, yarn and pom-poms, children can design their own unique caterpillars. The process is easy enough for a group setting and encourages creativity without requiring a lot of prep. Best of all, each finished caterpillar doubles as a take-home favor, a handmade keepsake that’s far more memorable than any goody bag.
Photo booth and frames
Say cheese! Pick a spot with great light — indoors or outside — and set up a photo booth, complete with whatever props you have on hand (Ann Raft Photography has some great ideas). Set a Fujifilm Instax Mini camera (or something similar) on a bench and let the kids take pictures of each other (or, to use less film and ensure some usable pics, an adult can act as photographer).
If you need more activities, set up another station with these simple paper frames and let the partygoers decorate them with markers, stickers, paints or whatever else you’d like! Slide the pic into the frame and hang it up during the party for instant decorations. As guests leave, let them take their frame and picture. Add a few magnets on the back of the frame so they can display it on their fridge at home.
Clothespin people
As a serious fan of all things dollhouse, I would have loved this activity when I was little! This creative idea from Art Bar lets partygoers make simple, sweet little clothespin people. Kids can use fabric, washi tape, yarn or embroidery thread to create clothing and hair and draw on faces with a Sharpie. You can easily buy these items in bulk on sites like Amazon, so kids can make as many different little people as they like!
Tiny house treats
While “gingerbread houses” might bring the holidays to mind, change up the name and this is a party activity you can use any time of the year! Pass out your premade graham cracker houses (find a great guide at Our Best Bites) and call it “Snack Shack Decorating,” “Candy Cottage Creations,” or “Mini Munchie Mansions.” Let the kids go wild with frosting and candy to decorate, and you’ve got a project that they will love to take home in winter, spring, summer or fall.
Dino days
Got a crew that’s into dinos and rocks? For the science-inclined bunch, this idea for dinosaur fossils dreamed up by Mom Always Finds Out is an easy and fun party favor craft. The kids pick out their fave creatures and press them into homemade chocolate play dough.
Glitter slime monsters
We know kids love slime. There is just something about squishing it through your fingers that they can’t seem to get enough of. Luckily, making slime at home is pretty straightforward, and glitter slime monsters take this activity to the next level. It’ll be a favored birthday party craft kids will talk about even after the party is over. Check out all the details at The 36th Avenue (these are technically called Halloween glitter slime monsters, but we think these cute little guys would be welcome any time of the year).
Activities like this are great since there are many ways to customize them for your partygoers. Do glass containers feel too risky? Grab some plastic ones instead. Want your guests to take home an epic amount of slime? Head to a thrift store and collect some interestingly sized and shaped containers. The possibilities are endless.
Tie-dye galore
Everyone needs a groovy tie-dye shirt or two, don’t you think? This is a great birthday party craft idea for a slightly older crowd who want to get creative and can handle using paints without making too much of a mess. Consider making a trip to your local thrift store to find shirts, hats and other fun things for the partygoers to dye.
Annette Browning at Fiber Artsy and Craftsy gives all the details you’ll need to pull off this cool party craft.
Crafty cuffs
Who would have thought craft sticks were so flexible? For this bracelet birthday party craft by The Craft Patch, simply prep the sticks 24 hours ahead of time by boiling them in water, then carefully bend the sticks to fit inside of a sturdy straight-sided cup or jar. At party time, let the little crafters loose with scrap paper, gems and lace to create their masterpieces and then take them home as party favors.
Drums up!
For those rock-and-roll tots, It’s Always Autumn has a fun birthday party craft project to get the beat going. These drums are made from tin cans, balloons and rubber bands, and each little drummer can make his or her own instrument to take home. You’ll have a full drum line before you know it!
Ice cream social
If ice cream is the star of your party, then this birthday party craft idea from Easy Peasy and Fun is the perfect accompaniment. Give the kids a bag full of paper “ingredients” to use as decoration for colorful ice creams. Mom Andreja shares more details about how to make them on her blog, so head on over for a scoop of inspiration!
Hoop time
Sisters Guild presents a great step-by-step tutorial for an easy hula hoop rug made from a pile of scrap T-shirts. This is definitely a craft suited for patient kid crafters, but the end result is beautiful! Over and under, in and out, the kiddos will be “completely absorbed in the world of weaving,” hopefully making for a quiet kid party.
Pet rocks
Red Ted Art presents an adorable idea for creating hideaway rock pets. Matchboxes plus felt, googly eyes and a rock equals a quirky pocket friend, not to mention an easy craft to entertain a whole roomful of imaginative tots. We bet the kids will have just as much fun making up stories about their new pals as they do making them.
Lego heads
Legos are a kiddie crowd-pleaser, for sure. This Lego jar craft by Making Lemonade is the perfect party-activity-turned-favor for your Lego-themed birthday. Paint some Mason jars yellow in advance of the party and let the kids go crazy with a Sharpie creating their own silly Lego faces.
Beach fun
Collect all of your tin cans now! Crafts by Amanda shares a beachy-keen idea to use painted tin cans as sandcastle-building tools for kids. And when they’re not being used at the beach, the cans are perfect objects to store art supplies or tiny toys.
More birthday party inspiration:
Editor’s note: This article was originally published a few years ago, and updated most recently on March 24, 2026, by ParentMap’s content editor, Kari Hanson, with new images and fun craft ideas.
