The kids loved them long after the party (my 3 year old pup and her pup have been using it every day for 3 weeks now - wouldn't recommend for dogs). True, the string comes out sometimes, but for the money it's great! They came in a bag and were easy to pull out and put in tote bags, or I made them as win-win toys for kids. They were used the most (at least at a party) along with punchballs and sticky hands. Hope that helps ;)