This post is all about fun graduation treat bags to make for your party.
These graduation treat bags are the perfect gift to give out to celebrate a graduation. They are super easy to put together and individually packaged so they can be taken home.
If you really want to go the extra mile, you can also use candies that correspond with the colors of each person’s college that they are going to.
However, doing one version is easier because you don’t have to pay so much attention to each individual package.
The next steps for a graduate are exciting, so why not make it fun with delicious treats and goodies that represent that next chapter?
This post is all about graduation treat bags.
Recently, it has been super popular for families to host a graduation party after seniors graduate from high school.
Whether you are preparing for one yourself or helping someone else plan one, treat bags are a cute way to give something to the guests that they can eat and take home with them.
It’s always nice as a guest to receive something you can bring with you and it’s a reminder of the fun you had with others.
Most of the treats you can buy from the store, but anything homemade that you make adds a special touch that people notice and enjoy.
Even if you’re not a professional baker, there are many easy recipes you can follow to end up with aesthetically pleasing and perfect-looking treats.
If you want to keep the goodie bags healthy, there are tons of fruits and veggies and treats that don’t contain any artificial sugar and are also gluten-free and nut-free.
This list only includes a couple of healthy treats, but you can find alternative recipes for many of the homemade parts of this graduation treat bag.
There are also tons of healthy snack lists in other posts on this website!
(RELATED POST: The Best Healthy Snacks That Taste Good)
Before you figure out what you want to add to your treat bags, you need to find a good gift bag that will hold everything and fit the theme.
Here are some Clear Gift Bags from Amazon that would work well:
If you need something smaller, these may work: Cellophane Treat Bags from Amazon:
Now that you have something to put your treats in, you can figure out what you want to use.
What To Include:
You can either add all of these options or pick and choose what you think would work best with your vision.
Popcorn-
Popcorn is one of the healthier treats that you can add to a goodie bag. As a super popular snack, it will surely be a hit with your guests.
You can choose to make it yourself or buy a premade version from the store and then add some to each bag.
This snack is great because it is mostly mess-free so you don’t have to worry about cleaning up too much if you spill.
To give it an extra special touch, you can mix in different toppings like butter, salt, or cinnamon to add an extra kick of flavor.
M&M’s-
A sweet pop of color that is even less messy and goes really well with popcorn, if eaten together or at once.
By using them, you can customize the treat bags even further by separating the colors and picking out the ones that match the college colors of the host.
Not only are they fun decorations to represent school colors, but guests can eat them after they admire the aesthetic of the bag!
If you’re looking for a healthier option, you can cut up colorful fruit instead or use bite-sized fruit like blueberries and grapes to act as a small snack. The same can be done with edamame, carrots, and snap peas.
Skittles-
If you don’t care about whether or not you are using a healthy or unhealthy treat, Skittles are the perfect non-chocolate version to put into your graduation treat bags.
You can have this as an option for those who are not a fan of chocolate and would prefer something fruity instead.
Lifesavers-
This is another colorful candy that you can add to your graduation treat bag that can also be a way to represent school colors.
Unlike M&M’s however, you won’t have to worry about the possibility of them melting in the heat. Lifesavers are a great choice if guests are not a fan of chocolate.
If you add both, you give them the opportunity to choose an alternative if they don’t particularly like one or the other.
Or you can switch these out with a different fruity candy if there is a different popular option that your guests may like more.
Sweet Tarts-
This would be one of the other options that you can switch out for. Even though they are slightly different in flavor, they may have a similar effect.
And again with sweet tarts, you can match the colors to match the school’s.
Mini Marshmallows-
I honestly don’t know many people who like to eat plain marshmallows, but there’s something about many marshmallows that makes them so delicious.
You can either choose to go for regular white mini marshmallows to sprinkle in or you can use the colored version for another pop of color.
Although they are not a classic candy that you may think of, the pastel colors will add a cute aesthetic look to the treat bags if that is what you’re going for.
Gummy Bears-
The same kind of gummy and squishy candy, but more likely to be eaten by the guests. The great thing about all of these fruity candies is that they come in a bunch of different colors so it’s not difficult to find the colors you need to represent your school.
Another plus to adding mostly fruity and gummy candy is that it won’t melt as easily as chocolate will. So if you’re having your party outside, you won’t have to worry about the possibility of the graduation treat bags melting before they even get into your guest’s hands.
Sprinkles-
AND FINALLY, concluding our saga of super colorful candies, we have sprinkles. Specifically rainbow sprinkles.
These are not a consumable good that anyone is expected to eat, but it could be a fun idea if you try using sprinkles as an edible form of confetti.
If you’re trying to stay on theme with having everything in the bag be something that the guests can eat, then you can use sprinkles as a sort of confetti to have the same effect.
Junior Mints-
Yet another form of small and round chocolate that you can include. Most chocolates don’t contain color, so if one of the school’s colors is brown, then it works out perfectly.
If not, Then you can choose to go off of the path of colorful snacks, or you can disregard this as an option.
Particular about the chocolate mint candies you consume? Maybe you like this next candy:
York Peppermint Patties-
Junior Mints in York Peppermint Patties almost have the same ingredients but the texture is slightly different which may be a deciding factor between choosing one or the other.
On the chance that you’re worried about how everything is going to fit, you can opt-out and go for the mini version of this chocolatey treat for as much room as possible.
Graduation Cap Sugar Cookies-
Now for the moment you’ve been waiting for, the piece de la resistance, the graduation cap sugar cookies.
The cookies themselves aren’t hard to make, but depending on how detailed you want the decoration on top to be, it could take longer.
By using a sugar cookie as the base, you can color icing and create a graduation cap drawing on the back.
This is such a cute idea that you can include in the treat bag. Or, if the party is going in that direction, you can have all of the guests decorate their own cookies depending on what colleges they’re going to!
There is also a healthy version of a chocolate chip cookie if you feel like you want to do that instead.
(RELATED POST: Tasty 7-Step Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies)
And that’s about it! It may be easier to stick with candy that won’t melt if you’re planning on having your party on a hot day or keeping the treat bags in the sun.
If that’s not something you’re worried about, then there are no limits to what you can mix and match into the bags.
Most of these options are gluten-free and nut-free, so you may not have to do much alteration in terms of allergies. But, of course, anything can be taken out if there does happen to be someone who cannot ingest something.
Don’t have the time to make them yourself? That’s okay too!
If you can get all of the candies you want to include, you can have the guests make their own goodie bags as part of the party.
That way they get to choose exactly what they know they’re going to eat, and it gets rid of the possibility of an allergy problem.
However, if you have the time to do it beforehand. the guests will definitely appreciate the nice surprise!