Am I a Party Pooper??

It's the weekend which means its party time for our little Johnny, which means our Sunday afternoon will be filled with delicious cake, honey joys, chips and other treats before we are sent packing with our lolly bag in tow. 

Once upon a time I would not have thought twice about the innocent little lolly bag however as Johnny gets older and siblings are on the way we are attending kids parties every weekend, sometimes two, or twice in 1 day!! And so it started to become apparent to me that the lolly bag is really not an "occasional treat"  but a regular presence in our weekend diet.

Last weekend I opened up Johnny's lolly bag... as I try and secretly eat half of them (ONLY so he has less!)  and a few thoughts came to mind...

1)  This is a bag of needles sugar, which he has already consumed a bucket load of and I just really wish we hadn't been given it.

2) OMG look at the array of colours, I can't even fathom the chemicals contained within this little bag.  What impact is this having on kids with allergies, asthma, learning difficulties, anxiety, skin disorders and behaviour issues let alone long term health effects.

3) Most of these lollies are actually shit and if I was choosing to eat lollies these would not be my choice (sherbet bombs...really?)  BUT I will eat them anyway because I hate waste!!

4) Packaging GALORE!!!  Nearly all lollies were individually wrapped, plus the bag, plus a token cheap crap toy which will last 2 minutes.  Is there anything more environmentally unfriendly than the not-so-innocent lolly bag?!?

After a 5min anxiety attack surrounding the above thoughts I then pondered...

Am I just a big old Party Pooper??

Do other parents wish the lolly bag into extinction but are too scared to do away with it for fear of child (or parent?) backlash??

Will my Johnny be ridiculed by his kinder friends for having a crazy mum who is anti-lolly bag?  Will they boycott his party's?

Will other parents feel as though I am judging them for their decisions regarding party food?

Or, will no-one even notice??  Or will those who do notice be quietly pleased that they are spared having to hand out yet more lollies to their young children who have just devoured a bright pink fairy cake??

So what are our options here, I seem to remember as a kid receiving a slice of birthday cake in a little paper bag to take home... this seems appropriate to me.  Here are some other healthy and (more) environmentally friendly ideas:

*Colouring books... perhaps following the party theme

*Bubbles

*Matchbox cars for boys, Hair clips for girls

*Home made playdough

*A home made cupcake with no colours... maybe apple, banana or berry

*A plaster mould to take home to paint

*A CD with music from the party.

*Nothing... (GASP)