Girlfriend Goody Bags

Posted December 2, 2013 by Prairie Wife -

Every year as fall turns to winter in Wyoming (right around September) my thoughts turn to Christmas gifts. I start trucking the kids through the toy aisle at Target to see what new thing they linger at the longest, and keep my ears open for anything The Cowboy might mention he wants. I also begin to think about what I want to treat my girlfriends with.

With the Cowboy gone Monday through Thursday and the closest family 2 ½ hours away, my girlfriends have become my lifeline. When I need a sitter for an appointment or just need a break, they are right there to offer help. We sit and chat and sip coffee in our saggy sweats as the kids play, and share the joys and sorrows of being a modern mother and woman. Some years I go with a gift that gives back (more about that in tomorrow’s post) but sometime I just want to treat them to a little something nice. The trouble is that they are such a wide group of personalities, a cute scarf would work for some, but not all…and I do have to stay within some kind of budget!

A few years ago I came up with the idea of a goody bag with some of my favorite things in it, think Oprah but on a much smaller scale! I made a list of some of my favorite beauty and household things and began to scour the internet for deals. Honestly, I came up short! Most of the things I wanted to share were on the bulky and big side, my favorite lotion products came only in a large size and I couldn’t fit a Keurig in a small gift bag! Then of course, the cost of purchasing all those full size items was more than I felt comfortable spending. I decided to come up with another idea and filed goody bags away as a brilliant idea that just wasn’t going to work.

Flash forward a week or two and I found myself at Ulta.com making some purchases. As I clicked through the site to find my foundation, I saw a picture on the side column of a gift collection of nail polishes. Inspiration struck! While the package as a whole was a little pricey to get for each girlfriend, and not all of them would like all the colors, the concept was genius. I could buy little samples of my favorite products, break them apart, and make sure the girls got colors and items perfectly matched to them! Who doesn’t like to pull out that cute little lip gloss from their purse and apply it as all their friends oh and ah? Add in some chocolate truffles and it was sure to be the perfect goody bag gift.

Below are some links to products that I have used in the past in my Goody Bags, just click on the pic and it will take you directly to the site.