I think they are nice, if there is something in there I really want. If it's just a bag of junky stuff then it's more work for you than its worth. The one quilt weekend I went to had a really nice bag but they are really large. We each got a fat 1/4, a pattern, pad & pencil or pen, coupons to the local quilt stores, a name tag holder that went around the neck, map of the college, survey for the end, I'm sure there were other things in there but thats what I remember. Some hard candy or mints would be nice. Oh, there were samples of different battings from Warm Co. They also had a table set up with things you could pick up. Guess it depends on how big your retreat is and how big the budget.