This is the second in a set of three posts about how Indigo Kids makes birthday party preparations painless and maybe even fun.
Last time, I mentioned how impressed I was to find rows of pre-wrapped (and FREE-wrapped, no less) gift selections at my local Indigo Kids last autumn. Fast forward to March of this year. Tristan’s birthday party had snuck up on me, and I found myself the day before his party with out-of-town guests on the way and a huge to-do list that included buying groceries for 11 and finding something in lieu of a loot bag.
I feel very conflicted about loot bags. I’ve always been vaguely opposed to sending kids home with bags of dollar store junk that will spend 2 minutes being played with (if that) and several lifetimes in a landfill. Or the bottom of the toy box. But lately, the boys have been coming home with increasingly elaborate loot bags from the parties they’ve attended, and it’s clear that parents are spending upwards of $10 or even $20 per loot bag. I swear, there have been times I’ve felt guilty that I may have spent less on a gift for the party than the parents spent on loot bags!
I don’t remember who gave me the idea for $5 gift cards to the candy store as an idea to replace loot bags, but I loved it and filed it away in the steel trap that is my brain. And there it stayed, for at least two or three birthday parties. But this year, something tweaked it loose and I remembered it just in time for Tristan’s party. The party attendees were coming not only from across town but across the province, so I’d figured in lieu of a local candy store, I’d give the kids $5 gift cards to Bulk Barn. When I mentioned this in passing to Beloved as I was heading from the grocery store to the Bulk Barn the day before the party, he didn’t seem to think it was a great idea. And the more I thought about it, the more I was no longer sure it was a great idea either.
I was short on time, with houseguests pending at any minute, and my choices were limited. I could get $5 grocery store cards. That didn’t seem like an improvement over the Bulk Barn. I looked around the plaza. Movie gift cards? Maybe. Walmart? Um, no. And then I saw it. Of course! Indigo!!
So I headed over to Indigo and picked up $5 gift cards for everyone. And then I wandered over to the card section, hoping to find actual loot bags, because I’d also noticed Lego mini-figures on sale for 20 per cent off (woot!) in the Indigo Kids toys section, and I had mini-chocolate bars to round out the loot bags. But the stationery section had no loot bags.
I’d resigned myself to personalized ziploc bags as I headed back to the Indigo Kids section to pick out the mini-fig bags, and asked the clerk almost as an afterthought if they carried loot bags. “Oh sure,” she said. “How many do you need?” She pulled a handful of bags out of a drawer and I realized that they were not for sale – they were free! Free loot bags! How awesome is that?
I know, you’re sad that you couldn’t come to Tristan’s party. But you can still win your own gift card for Indigo Kids! Here’s the details:
- This is a giveaway for a $35 Indigo gift card.
- To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on any post in this series of three telling me why you love Indigo Kids or how you think Indigo Kids could be helpful to you.
- This giveaway is open only to Canadian residents, excluding residents of Quebec. (sorry!)
- This giveaway will run from today through April 30.
- One winner will be chosen from all comments posted on any of the three contest posts on this blog.
- You can comment as many times as you like, but you will only be entered into the giveaway once.
- You can also enter to win on other blogs, but you can only win once.
- If you win, you must be willing to provide your full name and address to me, to share with Mom Central Canada, in order to claim your gift card.
- Gift cards will be sent 4 to 6 weeks after the close of the giveaway.
And if you haven’t get checked out the great new Indigo Kids section of your favourite Chapters/Indigo store, this store locator link will help you find a location near you.
Disclosure: I am participating in the Indigo Kids program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation for my participation in this campaign, but the opinions on this blog are ALWAYS my own. I only participate in promotional campaigns for products and services I feel I can personally endorse.
$10-$20 per loot bag? Yikes! Don’t think I would do that.
Like your solution of a gift card. And how cool is it that they offer free loot bags? I didn’t know that!
FREE LOOT BAGS? Seriously? I love Indigo Kids. My kids love Indigo Kids. I love just plain Indigo too. When I need a gift for anyone at any age, it’s always my first stop. Even if I don’t know the kid (in those odd situations where your child is invited to the party of someone from the class that you’ve never met), odds are they like reading or crafts, which you can get with a gift receipt if you don’t just want to get a gift card. Both my kids spend a ton of their birthday and Christmas money there (there and Best Buy, if I’m being brutally honest). My daughter is reading The Hunger Games and my son is reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, but he’ll only read it in bed beside me while I’m also reading because it ‘kinda freaks him out’ otherwise.
I love Indigo Kids too — they always have high quality stuff available online too, especially for babies and the younger set so it’s my go to place for online Christmas shopping.
We love Indigo Kids/Chapters – our 9 year old daughter has always been book crazy and it’s fantastic that our close friends, family and neighbors give her gift cards every year for occassions! She has been known to spend $80 on books but there are always great sales of % off or buy 3 get 1 deals. This is when I realized the small fortune my mom spent on books for me when I was growing up! We have even won a school auction to go shopping at Chapters with the librarian to add to the school library! Love, love, love anything that inspires kids to become readers!
Love the gift cards as a loot bag idea. I really find what Miss R. usually gets isn’t great for her. Also like that the loot bags are a free service.
gift cards for a loot bag?!? BRILLIANT!! and Indigo gives the bags themselves out for free? even better!! i sort of wish now that i didn’t get the loot bags for the jellybean’s bday party this weekend at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. mental note for next year.
i love how the staff can alwayds help with present suggestions. i’m a big fan of giving books as gifts for kids from baby showers to sending them off to university.
For the past couple of years we have given out gift cards for the kids parties. We’ve done Dairy Queen, Mastermind Toys,…and I can’t remember where else. I never thought about buying Chapters/Indigo gift cards – what a great idea. I think we’ll do that for my son’s upcoming party.
I have to admit that we don’t go to Chapters that often. Only because my 2yo ends up playing in the kids section and it is a big fight to get him to leave. I have to be sure I have lots of time on my hands before I go in there if I have him in tow. That being said, i have always loved the kids section, different toys, kinds you can’t find at ToysRus or Walmart 🙂
I love Indigo Kids. I have a horde of young nieces and nephews, and it’s my go-to when gifting time comes around!
LOVE Chapters/Indigo 🙂
They have great selection of toys. Free wrapping is nice, too.
I love Indigo kids, and now that I know they have free loot bags, I love them even more!
Wow that is awesome that they give out free loot bags! It is a great idea to pick up a gift card instead of a bunch of little crummy things lol. I will have to remember this for next year! I wish there was one closer to me, but I am thankful that I can shop there online! I have got tons of amazing deals there 🙂
I think Chapters Indigo Kids is great because it makes it really easy to choose a gift for a boy or girl of a certain age (and I like easy!)