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DIY Corner Bookmark Favors for a Storybook Party

A handmade bookmark is the rare favor with somewhere to go after the party: the next bedtime story. These folded paper corners need no ribbon, tassels or clips, and they turn the kids' table into a 20-minute craft station while the grown-ups finish their coffee.

Every storybook party needs one activity that belongs to the theme, and a corner bookmark is it: a square of paper folded into a pocket that slips over the corner of a page, then drawn into a monster, a fox, a cat or whatever the child decides. No ribbon, no tassel, no clip, nothing to lose by Tuesday. Pinterest calls this kind of thing the "casual crafter" table for a reason — it is low-stakes, mostly self-running and makes the kids' table the busiest, happiest corner of the party for twenty minutes.

This is the version that works at a party rather than a classroom: paper pre-cut to size, one demonstration, a folding order that four-year-olds can follow with a hand, and a quantity plan for eight to sixteen children sitting at one kid-height table. Make one at home first; it takes two minutes once you've done it.

How to make them

1. Cut true squares and set the table

   Measure both sides before cutting — a square that is a quarter-inch off won't fold into a clean pocket. Thin paper folds far better than cardstock, especially where several layers meet, and pale colors show the drawings. Put one square at each place at the kids' table with a cup of crayons between every four children. If you rented a long kid-height table, the squares double as place markers; our chair name tags finish the job.

2. Fold the first triangle

   Turn the square so it sits like a diamond. Fold the bottom point up to meet the top point and press the long edge flat. You now have a triangle with two layers at the top tip — keep that tip pointing away from the child. This is the fold every age can do unaided, so it's the one to let them do first.

3. Mark the side creases

   Bring the left corner up to the top point and crease it; do the same with the right corner so the paper is briefly a small diamond. Now open both folds again. The creases you just made are the guides for the pocket — this is the step that confuses children if you skip the demonstration, so fold your own square alongside them.

4. Make the pocket

   Fold only the front layer of the top tip down so it touches the middle of the triangle's bottom edge; leave the back layer standing. Bring the left corner up along its crease and tuck its point behind the folded-down flap, then do the same on the right. Flatten gently. The two tucked corners hold the whole thing together with no glue — slide it over the corner of the test book and it should sit snug.

5. Turn it into a character

   The pocket is the mouth. Two googly eyes or two crayon dots above it and a row of triangle teeth along the opening make a page-eating monster; two folded paper triangles glued to the top corners make fox or cat ears. Older children will do their own; for toddlers, a grown-up draws the face and the child colors. Write the child's name on the back so bookmarks go home with the right reader, and keep the drawings to the pocket side so the book's text stays readable.

6. Send it home in an envelope

   A bookmark in a pocket survives the car ride; a loose one gets crushed under the goody bag. Slip each one into a small envelope or a folded paper favor pocket, name on the front, and line them up on the dessert cart so they're collected with the cake slice on the way out. If the party is a book swap, tuck the bookmark into the book each child takes home.

Quantities by party size

• 8 children: 10 squares, one crayon cup for every four seats, one demonstration square. One kid-height table.
• 12 children: 15 squares, three crayon cups, two grown-ups helping. One long table or two shorter ones.
• 16 children: 20 squares, four crayon cups, pre-fold the first triangle for anyone under four. Two tables, chairs mixed by height so every child's feet reach the floor.

Where it earns its keep

On a storybook table the bookmarks are the activity, the favor and the place card in one; pair them with paper-bag woodland puppets for the after-cake game and personalized favor tags on the envelopes. For the table itself, kid-height tables and chairs keep the paper flat and the crayons within reach — see our kids' table and chair rentals for sizes and collections, and hold your date once the party is on the calendar. For a first birthday with older guests, the first birthday rentals page covers the high chair and the cousins' table.

Frequently asked questions