How2Day: Fun Gift Bag Ideas

Party gift bags don't have to be just about the bag. William McKellar/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
Who ever said that a gift bag has to be an actual bag? You'll notice that there are also no laws covering what must go inside a gift bag. Dare to be a little offbeat and left of center by coming up with creative gift bag ideas. You are allowed to be creative both with the gift and with the bag so let the combination suit the occasion and allow a little whimsy to enter into your formalized party plans.

A party for a gardening club could feature gift bags that are actually just size large gardening gloves. Pack this gift bag with seed packets and a gift certificate to the club's favorite gardening supply stores.

Investment clubs should definitely celebrate when their holdings go up rather than down. Shop for a bag or bag-like object that relates to the business associated with your best performing stock. The gifts to be placed inside that are appropriate for the occasion include things like a small calculator, a money clip, business card holder and a mini-ledger to keep track of all that investment activity.

Collect those small heart-shaped boxes of chocolates throughout the year and you've got a creative gift bag replacement for occasions like a wedding shower or a Valentine's Day party. These small boxes are perfectly sized to contain a gift certificate to a sexy lingerie store or for a couples massage.

A very creative but time-consuming idea for a gift bag to be handed out at a book club party involves buying some cheap books at a yard sale or flea market and carving out the pages so that the book becomes a container. Ideas for gifts to be placed inside the hollowed-out book include bookmarks, book plates, small book lights and, for the older set, a magnifying lenses that makes reading easier on tired eyes.

Replace gift bags for a party thrown for athletes with a pair of athletic socks knotted at the top. Inside freebies can include the particular ball used by your sporting associates, sweat bands, a visor, sunglasses or a gift certificate to the local sporting goods store of your choice.

Throw a cowboy-themed party and you can hand out gift holsters instead of gift bags. Fill the holsters not with guns, but with beef jerky, neckerchiefs, faux turquoise jewelry, a sheriff's badge or, for the kids, some of the bubble gum that looks like chewing tobacco.

A party throw on either the 4th of July or New Year's Eve can feature surprise gift bags made of firecracker "poppers." You can easily craft a popper from the cardboard tubes of paper towels wrapped in crepe paper that is tied off at the end. Decorate them to look like firecrackers and fill them with slices of American cheese and small US flags for Independence Day or rolled up calendars for the new year for a December 31st event.

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