May 27, 2005

GOODBYE, GOODIE BAGS by Steve Nadis

Tomorrow we're celebrating my youngest daughter's third birthday. That should be a joyous occasion, right? You go out and buy a bunch of presents, wrap them up, and then what happens? You give them to all the other freeloading, moocher kids who come to the party, leaving with far more than they brought. That's the "goodie bag" concept that has turned every birthday party into a nightmare for parents. When I was a kid, admittedly a few years back, you were lucky to get a piece of cake at a party--that is if you didn't misbehave. You never left with a bag full of presents. And these days, one present will not do for those greedy kids. No you need a well-rounded assortment of crap to keep them from screaming bloody murder.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Parents everywhere can heed my call and unite: Let's put an end to this foolish practice and restore some sanity to birthday celebrations. It may be too late to restore sanity to this particular parent--what with the event less than 24 hours away and the pressure mounting beyond belief--but I'm thinking of all the other parents out there, and future parents down the road, who might be spared this most inhumane form of punishment.

Posted by Snake at 13:32:43 | Permanent Link | Comments (4) |
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1 - If you like this site, you LOVE the LOG BLOG!!! (Comment this)

Written by: Yorkis at 2005/05/27 - 20:31:59
2 - You're right. It is better. (Comment this)

Written by: Snake at 2005/05/28 - 02:38:31
3 - Personally, I don't mind goody bags, because I have very small parties at home for my son, the old fashioned kind with games and prizes and treasure hunts, and the goody bags are filled with educational stuff -- little water color paint sets (about 10 for a dollar at the dollar stores) modeling clay, coloring pads, little booklets about animals, penny-kaleidescopes, slide whistles, and other such things, with perhaps one lollipop or tootsie roll thrown in. I've never had a complaint. In fact, my parties seem to be more popular than those at the roller skating rink, miniature golf park or movie theatre, and my son wouldn't have it any other way. He turns 7 next month, and he's having a snake-themed party, with a snake cake, pin-the-hood-on-the-cobra game, homemade snake pinata, and so forth. We have very few of our invitations refused, and no one seems to mind the non-sugary, non-video game, non-high tech goody bags I hand out. And they cost very little when you buy all the items at the dollar store... (Comment this)

Written by: Ellen at 2006/07/20 - 19:05:27
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4 - Hi Ellen -- Thanks for the note; it sounds like you've got the system beat. I wish we knew what you knew when we went out and blew all that money. Oh well, there's always next year. And next birthday. (Comment this)

Written by: Snake at 2006/07/20 - 21:30:53
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