My OOT Bags~ the big hits and the things that weren't used

[dawnkyeknod]

My OOT bags were so fun to make and they were a big hit! I was so glad!

Everyone was so impressed with the effort as well as the stuff that was in it. Everything was in a large waterproof beachbag with a name tag on the handle then I had everything in it divided into sections with tags on them:

To Have and to Hold (your stuff at the beach) - a smaller beach bag

To love and to cherish (our family and friends) - a welcome book that we made and had printed (this made everyone very happy because we included a "meet the guests" section with a photo and little write up about each person)

In sickness and in health - first aid kit, aloe, hand sanitizer, kleenex

In good times and in bad - deck of cards, notepads, pens, Shout wipes, glow sticks and glow bracelets, wet ones and a few mints.

For richer or for poorer- scratch tickets (these were a nice surprise for everyone)

 

We also had a few extra things in the bags - Bubba Kegs, keycard/tip holder, lanyards with waterproof beach carriers (for money etc) . these were also used everyday... the little plastic tip holder was used at the pool and the beach -and the bigger ones were used on excursions.

 

Honestly, the biggest hits were the Bubba Kegs (they all had a Canada flag on them and I attached little name tags on them - so we all had our own and we were obviously a group). They were a bit more expensive but worth every penny.  We all used them everyday. It was a good way for us to get good service too - we tipped the bartender with a pretty big tip at the beginniing of the day, then asked him to take care of anyone with the mugs. (we gave other tips too but it was a great way to get the bartenders to pay attention to us)

Everything else got used except maybe the kleenex and the notepads (but both were from the dollar store so not a big deal) . A few people used cards - we played drinking games with them. We all wore our glowsticks and glow bracelets to the beach BBQ. The Shout was a great thing to include. Everyone used their's including my hubby who got something on his shirt a few minutes before the wedding   The aloe was used for sure and the sanitizer was in everyone's beach bag throughout the week - especially when we went on excursions.

 

I know this is long - I hope it helps. I know its hard to figure out what to put in the bags - and it is hard to stop once you start...

 

Good luck to you all    Have fun!

[terilina]

Thanks for the info!

[mrsgreene2011]

You're tags were so cute and the contents were great. Thanks for sharing.

[Teeps]

Very helpful, thank you!!!

[nsblum]

Hi ladies, well this might seem crazy to say after reading almost 50 pages of comments, but I did not do OOT bags. Our wedding was in Turks & Caicos in June, and I thought it was crazy to bring all that stuff with me down to the island. I thought about shipping it all, but everyone on the island told me it takes months to ship stuff and apparently you pay some extreme amount to not only ship but on taxes once it gets to the island. So, I asked the hotel about it, and we had a bottle of white wine delivered to everyone's room with a welcome note. At the hotel where the wedding was, they placed 2 glasses next to the bottle for an added touch. Throughout the course of the wedding we did give out flip flops for when people arrived at the ceremony (on the sand), personalized fans placed on the chairs at the ceremony, pashminas for the ladies placed randomly on tables throughout the reception, and offered cigars with personalized matches. We also did a catamaran trip and on the ride I gave out personalized spf lip balm. As for sunscreen, aloe, hand sanitizer, tylenol, visine, tissues, tampons, imodium, pepto, bug spray, bandaids, etc, that most usually add to an OOT bag, I made my own kit, in a plastic bin and brought it with me on our group excursions. I made sure everyone knew I had it, and people kept joking that the one thing I forgot was condoms! Even the rabbi was joking saying, wow, way to think of everything! It was great and things didn't get wasted. As for bringing all the stuff down that I did give out, I gave some to my mom for her luggage, some in mine, some in my fathers, so it was spread out well enough to not add extra weight. And, all those items got used on the spot! Nothing was wasted and as for the kit, I kept it with me on our "mini" moon for the rest of the time we were on the island.  Hope that helps!

[elisamarie]

great posts everyone - thanks for all the ideas!!

[Future_Mrs._Warren]

Just read through all 50 of these pages...geez! But great info, thanks so much to all of you for the feedback and ideas!

[Pinz]

My fiance and I have talked about doing OOT bags but we are wondering about shipping them to Mexico or taking them on the plane.  Any advice from anyone??

[Pinz]

How did you get everything from Canada to the resort and to your guests?

[cookiemunchkin]

I finally read through all 50 pages!  Great to know what people found useful and not-so-useful.  I had this whole list of stuff ready to buy, but my fiance chopped down that list lol.  Right now we're in agreement over the bags and mugs... will find a couple more useful items to throw in