Throwing a party for your child's birthday involves a lot of planning and sorting out the finances.

Parenting on Female First

Parenting on Female First

But what if the little things were costing you more than anticipated?

Party bags are a given at any child's birthday bonanza, but what are you actually adding to the treats?

As a nation, mothers are spending as much as £808 million solely on the traditional party bag, according to World Bicycle Relief UK.

Mothers are spending as much as £5 on each bag equating to a sizeable spend of £105 per party.

It's no secret that parents feel a level of competitiveness to surpass each other when it comes to who does it best, and the party bag is playing a big part in the competition.

The most popular gifts to appear in a party bag are; notepads, set of colouring pencils, jewellery and sweets.

So big is the trend to make birthdays an occasion to remember that generous mothers are also spending as much as £355 on gifts, cakes, party entertainment and a family day out.

Stephen Cromwell, World Bicycle Relief UK Development Director, said: "The findings from our report show that there is a fantastic opportunity to use the generous spirit of British families to change the lives of those less fortunate.

"Access to education and healthcare is a given for children in the UK, but in rural parts of Africa it can take children more than three hours of walking, on an unforgiving terrain, just to get to school. Supplying durable bicycles mobilises these young children, giving them the chance to build a future. Our campaign is encouraging parents to think differently about the traditional party bag and introduce an alternative gesture, which could completely change the life of a school child in Africa."

In light of the findings World Bicycle Relief UK, have launched a campaign to encourage mothers to make a change and swap the spend on party bags for a more meaningful gesture.

The 'Bag a Bike' campaign is urging mums to forego the contents of the traditional party bag and swap novelty hairclips and loom bands for a charitable donation. To help mothers do this, World Bicycle Relief UK has set up a party toolkit on its website, which includes downloadable cards that mums can give with a piece of cake that guests can still take home, explaining how their party bag is helping others.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk