Cheap goodie bag ideas for adults
Who says goodie bags are just for kids?
After having kids I find constantly find myself in situations where I want to give people gift bags.
From birthdays to baby shower favors, my daughter’s farm themed birthday party, graduations, nurses, doctors, teachers, camp counselors.
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What to put in gift bag?
Figuring out what to get someone you don’t really know doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. With a little bit of time and creativity you can put together your own personalized gift bag ideas for every occasion.
A few days before I gave birth to my son I made these cute little goody bags to give to the nurses and hospital staff.
I bought a bunch of clear favor bags to put all the goodies in.
Inside I included mints, tissues, trail mix, candy, chocolate, and a gift card. To finish them off I printed out little “thank you” tags and closed them with a ribbon.
The nurses loved them and one nurse even came back to my room to thank me twice for how thoughtful the bags were. What I love about them is how easy they are to customize and make ahead. The possibilities are endless.
For hospital staff I know they are always on the go so I was thinking packaged food to eat while on breaks and coffee to keep going. You can even include items like chapstick, hand sanitizer, pens, etc.
Here are some gift “bags” I made for the 12 camp counselors for my daughter to bring in.
I used these little containers because it’s what my daughter uses to take her snacks to camp so I thought it would be cute, plus they were super cheap.
Inside each container I put mints, candies, and chapstick. To finish them off I wrapped ribbon around each one and attached sunscreen and a gift card.
Here are more ideas for making gift bags for every occasion and what to include in them.
1) MONEY
Everyone loves cash. Now, depending on your budget and how many gifts you are putting together, this may or may not be your best option. I like to be creative when I give money.
Look up some origami videos and fold the money into a bow, clothes, heart, etc.
Make your money look like flowers and you can make a nice money bouquet!
Fill a glitter mason jar with colorful candy. In the center I put a cardboard tube (from a paper towel or toilet paper roll) to hide some money in the center. It makes for a nice surprise 😉
2) Candy/Chocolate/Baked Goods
Sweets are the way to a lot of people’s hearts, including mine.
I make these 2-ingredient coconut clusters and put them in goody bags for adults, kids, holidays, birthdays, you name it.
Making little goodie bags filled with candy or boxes of chocolates with a note gives it an added personal touch.
I love baking. However, when giving baked goods to people who don’t know me, I prefer to stick to prepackaged goods or baked goods from a bakery.
They don’t know me well enough to know my baking quality and frankly might not want to eat baked goods from a stranger. (That was the common sentiment from the nurses at the hospital). I don’t blame them I’m the same way.
However, this ready made molten lava cake mix is the perfect alternative! I personally would love to get this as a thank you favor or gift.
Source: Julie Blanner
As you can tell I have a big sweet tooth and an affinity for chocolate.
Chocolate+alcohol=stout brownies–> HEAVEN 😉
Source: Craftbeering
3) Gift Cards
They have gift cards for everything, restaurants, movie theaters, stores, music, etc.
Gift cards are great for when you don’t know what to get someone, but don’t want to give cash.
I get a lot of free gift cards from Ebates, surveys, and multiple sites.
For a limited time score a $10 welcome bonus for Ebates and also get $25 cash for referring family and friends!
Related money making and saving posts:
* 10 Ways to make money from home
* Top ways to get cash back and extra savings
* Homemade caramel popcorn recipe
* Buy these things after Christmas
4) Specific to the person/occasion
Think about who you are making the gift bag for and the occasion.
Party:
I absolutely love this Sangria gift “bag”. It looks gorgeous and festive.
It would make the perfect favor idea for any occasion. To save more money you can buy all the items in bulk. Don’t forget to sign-up to Ebates if you want coupons and cash back on your wine!
Source: Fantabulosity
Kids:
Bubbles, candy, toys, play-do, coloring books, crayons, tattoos, stickers, carnival prizes
Super Bowl/Sports:
Pretzels, popcorn, cheese balls, party mix
Buy cheap paper favor bags and fill with your snack of choice. These bags were decorated to look like basketballs, but you can make them look like bowling balls, baseballs, footballs, etc. Put them in clear bags if you want them to be as take home favors.
Source: Unsophisticook
Nurses:
Hand sanitizer with a cute holder, tissues, packaged foods, pen, coffee/caffeine related gifts, mug/thermos, water infuser
Camp Counselors:
Water bottle/thermos, key chains, t-shirts
Co-workers:
Gift cards (maybe from food places they frequent), chocolates, nuts, tea/coffee set, alcohol
Valentine’s Day:
Chocolates, sweets, anything red, pink or heart shaped
Saint Patrick’s Day:
Green, 4 leaf clovers, skittles candy for the rainbow, homemade Irish soda bread
Easter:
Peeps, egg surprises, chocolates
Halloween:
Anything pumpkin themed, caramel apples, candy corn, Amish caramel popcorn
Thanksgiving:
Turkey themed, fall leaves, orange, brown red colored items
Christmas:
Hershey Kiss Christmas trees, baked holiday cookies, red and green candy, hot cocoa mix, candy canes
5) Custom Bags/Containers
Here are some bag/container ideas that will give your gifts that added “wow” factor.
Source: Tikkido
Source: Tikkido
Source: Tikkido
Put a custom sticker on each lunch shaped box and you’re good to go.
The possibilities of mixing and matching are endless. What I like best about these gift bags for every occasion is they can be customized to fit into any budget.
Don’t forget to pin for later!
Do you have any other great gift bag ideas you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below.
I love this, especially the idea of hiding money in a tube inside a jar! Great post!
Thank you for sharing these useful ideas
I’m probably the most uncreative person when it comes to deciding on gifts. I always tremble when a friend’s or family member’s birthday is close. So reading this article helped me a bit with this “what-to-do” anxiety. Thanks
That was super thoughtful of you re: the camp counselors! I do gift bags myself and, yea, it’s such a budget and time saver. Everytime I am out shopping and find some small thing on sale, if it’s either cute or practical I buy it and put it in a box in the closet…then when I have to give an impromptu gift I sort through it for items that match the occasion/person and make a gift basket. You’re right about the baked goods though. I love to bake but don’t always feel comfortable accepting food gifts from people I don’t know reallllllly well. lol
Interesting list.
For me, it’d be Money Origami. There’s this scene in House of Cards, where a homeless rejects the 20 dollar bill offered by Claire after making a swan out of it. It was really amazing. While it had a serious symbolism, I think kids would love it. Nothing’s more interesting for them than a beautiful swan made from money.
I love creative gift giving ideas! And I love the idea of giving a gift to camp counselors. I’m definitely going to do that this year.
Awesome ideas. Thank you for sharing! Loved reading through!
This list is really helpful. I was clueless and now I have so many ideas from this list. Great job!
Thank you 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it.
The sangria one is a great idea and so pretty too! I’m definitely going to remember that one! I even like to put small gifts in the envelopes of thank you cards, things like tea bags, sanitizer wipes, candies, anything flat that will still fit in the envelope and then especially due to Covid, I always seal the envelopes with stickers .. also at office Depot they have sticker paper so you can print your own stickers but what I like to do is get blank thank you cards and then type up a little thank you note-print it out on the sticker paper and then put it in the cards (when I have a lot of thank yous in bulk that don’t necessarily need a custom hand written sentiment inside) It’s nice because you can use a pretty font and even use clip art symbols of flowers or whatever. This last year I always add the note that everything has been handled safely and/or sanitized and wish for them and their family to stay safe…just a little added peace of mind. It’s funny when I started to end up getting thank you cards from people BECAUSE of the elaborate thank you cards I sent them! Even though my cards only took a few minutes, they really make a lasting impression…a little nice card goes such a long way! I love how you think of all the people to give these little gifts too ahead of time too! Showing appreciation for those who help us in life and showing gratitude really just spreads so much positivity. And with that-thank you for sharing !! Lol
Thank you so so much for your thoughtful comment! I love the idea of printing out your own stickers, I’ll have to try it.