Best eco-friendly party bag fillers in the UK: Sustainable party bag ideas for kids

Planning a kid’s party can be stressful, but since you’re probably determined to get it absolutely right, you may as well be sure that your party bags are on point, right? 

Most supermarkets stock party bag fillers, which are easy to scoop up when you’re doing that last-minute dash for extra juice and dips - but take another look.

Plastic medals, plastic yo-yos, plastic figurines, plastic bangles and plastic ... um, what even are those things? All shiny and ready to be packaged up neatly in some brightly coloured plastic bags and sent home with guests whose parents will silently gnash their teeth at the influx of useless tat.

The guilt that goes hand in hand with parenthood may leave you feeling that you’re not giving the kids what they want if you don’t cram a party bag full of toys and sweets.

Consider the advice of Sandra Adar, Director of eco-friendly party supplies company Little Cherry, however: ‘One really lovely item in a party bag is far better than several cheap throwaway ones.’ It makes sense, so factor this in when considering cost: children’s parties are already an expensive exercise, so why waste money on things that won’t be used and enjoyed?

Be warned however - it can be hard to escape plastic altogether, as it finds its way into even some of the most eco-conscious choices, by way of packaging and so on.

Where possible, avoid it, but where you can’t, other ‘ticks’ to look out for include goods that are made from sustainable, recyclable and non-toxic materials, products that are made in the UK and items that encourage children to be creative and spend time outside.

Little Otter

Plastic free party bag fillers are the order of the day at Little Otter, where you can choose from pre-filled party bags along various themes, such as unicorns and rainbows, dinosaurs or seashore pirates.

Alternatively, you can buy plain paper or hand printed cotton canvas bags and fill them with treats from the range, such as nature identification cards, wooden toys and jewellery, twig pens and notebooks.

Little Otter also works with suppliers to minimise plastic waste along the chain, so it’s not just a case of how eco-friendly the end product appears to be but also, how sustainable its path has been.

Buy now £0.28, Little Otter

Dino-Liscious Baking Kit

Get your little ones baking with this limited-edition kit from Toucanbox which features either dino-liscious biscuits or magical unicorn ones. The bumper pack comes with a shortbread biscuit mix (enough to make eight), a cookie cutter, sprinkles and an icing pen. There is also playful stickers and a colouring book included too so that even after the cookies have gone, kids will have something fun to play with.

It is suitable for children aged three to eight with simple cooking instructions and accompanying illustrations that make them easy to follow.

Buy now £9.95, Toucanbox

Mocoosy 24pcs Animal Party Bags

Cut back on plastic usage in party bags by starting with the party bag itself. These 24 animal goodie bags included in this set that are made from high quality and eco-friendly kraft paper - which is sturdier than traditional plastic variations.

We love the fun design on each bag where there are eight different prints available to make them feel unique to each child. The set of bags also comes with 30 stickers so kids can personalise them even further.

Buy now £12.99, Amazon

Party Bags Eco Friendly, Baking Fun

If you’re already busy planning a big party for your child’s birthday then you may not have time to create individual party bags for each one of their friends. Enter these eco-friendly pre-made party bags. The items come in an already assembled cardboard box with space for you to write the name of the party guest to still bring a personal touch.

The party box includes various seeds to grow, an activity book with 12 to complete, lovely wooden colouring pencils and all the dry ingredients needed to make an organic banana bread.

Buy now £6.99, NOTHS

Wildflower Seed Packets

Kids love personalised gifts with their names on so what better party bag addition then these lovely wildflower seed packets that have room to add your child’s name and age on. The seeds themselves are native to the UK and are great for the environment as they promote butterflies and bees. Kids will find these seeds easy to sow, either inside or out, and can be planted any time between March and October.

Buy now £5.00, Amazon

Ethical Kidz

Each product on the Ethical Kidz website comes with a handy ‘ethics guide’, with symbols demonstrating the ways in which the items meet certain ethical criteria, such as being made in the UK, or produced from sustainable or recycled materials.

Many of the products are aimed at encouraging children to be imaginative, as well as to get outside and play.

Their party bag fillers range include wooden pegs hand-decorated with buttons, recycled bookmarks adorned with charming designs by a local artist and traditional toys like yo-yos and spinning tops made from wood.

Buy now £0.25, Ethical Kidz

Fabric hair accessories

Swerve the plastic and say goodbye to single-use: products from Rockahula Kids are carefully designed and made to last - and their range of fabric hair ties and bows will make departing partygoers very happy indeed, all ready to accessorise for the next event.

Their fabric purses also make great party bag fillers and will definitely be used over and over again.

In addition, the brand has a commitment to limiting single-use plastic, and all of their orders, whether to individual customers and stockists, are delivered in recyclable paper packaging; they also donate a percentage of their annual profits to children’s charities.

Buy now £6.50, Rockahula Kids

The Paper Party Bag Shop

If packing a bag full of party bag fillers is a thing you have neither the time nor inclination for, then The Paper Party Bag Shop makes life simple with their selection of pre-filled, plastic-free bags, containing eco-friendly gifts like British wildflower seeds, packaged in paper and ideal for supporting bee and butterfly habitats, plus creativity-boosting shadow puppets, handmade in Britain.

The bags arrived conveniently unpacked, so that you can add in cake or other treats on the day.

Buy now £6.00, Paper Party Bag Shop

Wooden Miragescope

Toys that get children engaging with the world around them in new and curiosity-sparking ways have an ethical appeal all of their own; when they’re made from a natural material such as wood, so much the better.

Kids will get hours of enjoyment out of this miragescope, which has a fly’s eye style lens and offers a kaleidoscopic view of the world as the scope is twisted and turned. Available in blue and green or pink and red, these are a nifty 7cm in size, so the perfect size for a party bag filler.

Buy now £3.60, The Original Party Bag Company

Wooden peg dolls and figures

When it comes to trying to make good choices around eco-friendliness, it’s easy to think that you need to go small-scale and cottage industry.

There’s no doubt that supporting smaller and local businesses will generally be the most environmentally sound choice, but larger suppliers, like Hobbycraft, may also present a handful of decent options if you’re pushed for time on research - although the cost of convenience will generally be plastic packaging.

Look for wooden letters, blank paper fans, people figures and peg dolls, all of which can be decorated at home to give your party bag fillers an extra creative twist.

Buy now £2.00, Hobbycraft

Seed bombs

Bring on the butterflies! This tin makes a great party bag filler and contains 20 seedballs, which is enough to plant a square metre of butterfly-attracting wildflowers.

Early and late summer flowering varieties, such as red campion, chamomile, forget-me-not, cornflower and yarrow, are included to ensure long-term interest, while a dried clay casing and a pinch of chill provides protection from pests.

Gratification-eager kids will see results in around 4-6 weeks; alternatively, give children the opportunity to make their own seed bombs by checking out the resources on the RHS website showing how to make a Ladybird Seed Bomb.

Buy now £6.29, RHS Plants

Cotton Twist

As a mother of three, Cotton Twist’s founder Anne-Clare was inspired to set up the company when the endless stream of plastic tat entering her home after parties became too much to stomach.

Choose from personalised tin fillers and a variety of craft kits, which come in recyclable Kraft envelopes and will get kids making and creating with non-plastic materials.

Yes, the doll range includes dolls along expected themes like pirates and ballerinas, but some of them even have social significance; what feminist DOESN’T want children to make their own Emmeline Pankhurst peg doll??

Buy now £2.45, Cotton Twist

Cookie mix

A party bag filler that not only gives a child something to do, but also a treat to eat - that’s got to be a winner, right?

These personalised cookie mixes are made by artisan UK producers, and come in boxes made from recycled board.

The plastic in which the mix is packaged is currently a necessary evil for freshness, but have been chosen for minimum environmental impact, being made from polypropylene, suitable for recycling and satisfying the EEC Environmental Commission requirements.

For now, the kids may only care that the cookies are fun to make and taste delicious (both true) but these choices are helping to safeguard their future, too.

Buy now £3.95, Little Cherry

Verdict

Little Otter’s commitment to eliminating plastic from party bags and from the route by which they arrive at your party is not only admirable, but the party bag and party bag fillers they offer are simply gorgeous, as well as being useful, useable and educational.

The pricing is also incredibly reasonable, so you really can’t go wrong! The long term benefits of the Wildflower Seed Packets also makes them a winner: fun, gratifying and educational for the children, beneficial for the bees and butterflies and beautifying for everyone.