Trinkets for LGBTQ+ youth
October 18, 2024 3:54 PM Subscribe
For a few years now at our local Pride events, I've shared or soloed a booth and given away swag. Flags, stickers, silicone wristbands, books, that sort of thing. The silicone wristbands used to be a big hit, but they seem to be dwindling in popularity. I need some fresh ideas!
Last year, we 3D printed some heart shaped keychains in a variety of pride flag patterns and those were a big hit. We'll probably do something like that again, but I'd love some new ideas. We're thrilled to have trinkets that appeal to people of all ages, but our main goal is making sure youth and teens feel seen, validated, and supported.
If you're active in supporting LGBTQ+ youth associations or clubs (or even better, if you're an LGBTQ+ teen or youth) I'd love your input. Are wristbands still popular, or are they old news? What's the hot item? I've been thinking about enamel pins; those seem to be pretty popular. What else is fun and cool and something you'd wear to school to represent your identity?
Last year, we 3D printed some heart shaped keychains in a variety of pride flag patterns and those were a big hit. We'll probably do something like that again, but I'd love some new ideas. We're thrilled to have trinkets that appeal to people of all ages, but our main goal is making sure youth and teens feel seen, validated, and supported.
If you're active in supporting LGBTQ+ youth associations or clubs (or even better, if you're an LGBTQ+ teen or youth) I'd love your input. Are wristbands still popular, or are they old news? What's the hot item? I've been thinking about enamel pins; those seem to be pretty popular. What else is fun and cool and something you'd wear to school to represent your identity?
Best answer: I tabled with a button maker at Pride and it was a freakin hit with all ages. If possible, invest in a heavy duty button maker; the cheap ones don't last and are harder to use. The individual button components are quite cheap.
posted by toastedcheese at 4:46 PM on October 18 [2 favorites]
posted by toastedcheese at 4:46 PM on October 18 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: D'oh! I should have mentioned that I do have a button maker and I love it! "Free Mom Hugs", "Free Dad Hugs", and "Free Hugs" rainbow buttons have been hugely popular, and I've been making smaller 1.25" pronoun pins. It is so heartwarming to see someone light up and go "Ooh, look! They have my pronouns!" I also keep a supply of blank inserts so if I don't have someone's pronouns, they can write their own and I'll make a button right on the spot!
I like the Crocs idea; I'll think about that. Thanks!
posted by xedrik at 5:32 PM on October 18 [4 favorites]
I like the Crocs idea; I'll think about that. Thanks!
posted by xedrik at 5:32 PM on October 18 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Friendship bracelets! (the beaded kind)
posted by ApathyGirl at 5:33 PM on October 18 [6 favorites]
posted by ApathyGirl at 5:33 PM on October 18 [6 favorites]
Best answer: Asexual and aromantic representation has been replaced by the +. It would be great for ace and aro teens to see themselves represented at your booth! (Maybe this is included in your variety of flags! If so, thank you!)
posted by Juniper Toast at 5:55 PM on October 18 [3 favorites]
posted by Juniper Toast at 5:55 PM on October 18 [3 favorites]
Best answer: The local booth had, for younger kids, pencils that had rainbow lead so they could draw in rainbows. They were very popular!
posted by lepus at 6:08 PM on October 18 [3 favorites]
posted by lepus at 6:08 PM on October 18 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I recently had enamel pins at a high school voting outreach event and they were hugely popular. If I'd had some different designs for people to compare and trade it'd have been even better.
posted by teremala at 6:37 PM on October 18 [3 favorites]
posted by teremala at 6:37 PM on October 18 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Washi tape in all the different flag stripes, and with little scenes or characters in different pride colors. Great for decorating school stuff and personal effects in ways that are easy to remove or make look cool with less than perfect precision and skill.
Shaker charms are pretty popular among my nerdy queer section of the internet, all the young crafty entrepreneurial folks seem to sell out of them fastest. Little clear charms with printed outlines on each side and cute items sandwiched between, that you shake around like a snow globe. Could fill with little gay heart sprinkles, or colorful shapes in different pride combos, little trans tigers and sharks, etc. I’ve seen them shaped like potion jars, crt monitors, cauldrons, magic mirrors, dance floors, swimming pools, teacups…
posted by Mizu at 8:09 PM on October 18 [2 favorites]
Shaker charms are pretty popular among my nerdy queer section of the internet, all the young crafty entrepreneurial folks seem to sell out of them fastest. Little clear charms with printed outlines on each side and cute items sandwiched between, that you shake around like a snow globe. Could fill with little gay heart sprinkles, or colorful shapes in different pride combos, little trans tigers and sharks, etc. I’ve seen them shaped like potion jars, crt monitors, cauldrons, magic mirrors, dance floors, swimming pools, teacups…
posted by Mizu at 8:09 PM on October 18 [2 favorites]
Best answer: So many awesome ideas! Water bottle stickers may work.
posted by bookworm4125 at 9:03 PM on October 18 [2 favorites]
posted by bookworm4125 at 9:03 PM on October 18 [2 favorites]
Best answer: My teens would both be into stickers & pins (with cute/funny pictures or sayings, not just pronouns). One likes the silicone wristbands, but the other doesn't.
posted by belladonna at 6:46 AM on October 19 [2 favorites]
posted by belladonna at 6:46 AM on October 19 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I asked an LGBTQ+ youth I had on hand and was told the answer is kandi bracelets (which will get traded) and pins (pronouns, pride flags, etc).
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:33 AM on October 19 [2 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:33 AM on October 19 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Mini pop-it fidget toys for keychains and zippers were a huge hit at Pride. They didn’t have custom colored ones but seemed to have bought a batch of ones with sort of various mixed colors and a number of them ended up in trans colors or rainbows or the like.
posted by brook horse at 11:08 AM on October 19 [1 favorite]
posted by brook horse at 11:08 AM on October 19 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My kid gets super excited when she sees pan stuff. She goes for vinyl stickers (water resistant for use on water bottles), enamel pins, and buttons. You might find neurodiversity-positive stuff has a grateful audience in that crowd too as there’s some significant overlap there.
posted by eirias at 2:00 PM on October 19 [3 favorites]
posted by eirias at 2:00 PM on October 19 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Blow up sharks never disappoint
posted by Geameade at 6:48 PM on October 19 [1 favorite]
posted by Geameade at 6:48 PM on October 19 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: So many wonderful ideas! Thank you so much. I had to look up "kandi bracelets", but now that I have a name for them, yes I have definitely seen kids wearing those. And a sort of DIY station would be a fun way to engage! I really like the washi tape too, but not quite sure how to make that work. A "decorate your notebook" station would be fun, but people would have to know ahead of time so they could bring things to decorate. Gonna think on that one. Thanks for the great insights!
posted by xedrik at 10:04 AM on October 20
posted by xedrik at 10:04 AM on October 20
Best answer: Could you maybe get a bunch of beads in different colors and let people make their own necklaces and bracelets so if they're, say, trans pan and intersex they could make themselves a custom necklace with everything?
posted by an octopus IRL at 2:20 PM on October 20 [1 favorite]
posted by an octopus IRL at 2:20 PM on October 20 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Could you maybe get a bunch of beads in different colors
That's the direction I was leaning for the friendship bracelets & kandi bracelets mentioned above, a sort of crafting station with a couple seats. I'll see about having materials for necklaces, too!
posted by xedrik at 7:34 AM on October 21
That's the direction I was leaning for the friendship bracelets & kandi bracelets mentioned above, a sort of crafting station with a couple seats. I'll see about having materials for necklaces, too!
posted by xedrik at 7:34 AM on October 21
Think about getting wooden or glass beads and cotton string to cut down on plastic use. It's disappointing to see almost all of the suggestions be plastic or vinyl (even worse).
posted by Mournful Bagel Song at 9:51 AM on October 21
posted by Mournful Bagel Song at 9:51 AM on October 21
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posted by hydra77 at 4:37 PM on October 18 [2 favorites]