Guests will remember your party for a long while if you give them hand made party favors as they leave. Party favors don’t have to be elaborate gift bags filled to the brim with expensive items. Instead, favors should be small, thoughtful tokens that will help guests remember your party fondly.
Cookies, Candy and Other Edibles
Food makes a great party favor since guests will generally eat it within a few weeks of the event and it won’t add to the clutter in their home. Give sweet or savory party favors depending on the age of your guests and the type of party you’re hosting. Caramel or dark chocolate candies make good favors for a wedding or baby shower while small cookies cut into fun shapes are good favors for a child’s birthday party. You could also give a special spice mix or a homemade hot chocolate mix. Package the edible favors in small paper bags that you’ve decorated or wrap in several layers of tissue paper.
Crafty Favors
Small arts and crafts favors are simple to make. Glue a small magnet to the back of a clothespin. Paint and decorate the pin and then place a small photo or card in it. Guests can use the clothespin as a magnet on their refrigerator.
If you sew, you can make small coin purses to give as party favors or make several small drawstring bags to hold other favors in.
Pictures
Before the party, gather several pictures. The photos can be of the guests and yourself or can be of landscapes or inanimate objects somehow connected to the party. Shrink the pictures down to a small size and place in small frames. Arrange the frames at each guest’s table setting.
You can also set up a picture taking stand at your party and have someone take instant photos of your guests that they can take home with them.
Favors for Children
At a birthday party for your child, get the guests involved in making their own favors. Have a crafts table set up so that children can make beaded jewelry, make funny shapes out of pipe cleaners or sculpt animals from pom-poms and felt. If you have time before the party, make a papier mache pinata and fill it with snacks and candy. Give each child paper bags decorated with each child’s name or initials to collect the pinata goodies in.
Candles Light the Way
Fill empty baby food jars or tiny, old teacups with melted wax and a wick to make party favor candles. You can purchase wax to melt or you can re-purpose the wax dripping from other candles. Insert a wick into the candle before the wax hardens. You can make scented candles by adding a few drops of scented oil to the melted wax. Place each small candle in a gift bag or box and attach a small book of matches to the outside of the package.
Photo Credit
- white and blue bubbles wedding image by Paul Retherford from Fotolia.com
