Party favors are a fun way to thank your guests for coming,
and can also serve a dual purpose as decorations. Here are
some suggestions you can use:
For New Year’s Eve, Bridal Shower, Wedding, or any
festive celebration use chocolate champagne bottles. I have
seen these in small sizes – about 5 inches tall, wrapped
in foil. Set these here and there along your buffet table
as decorations. Let your guests take them home at the end
of the party. As a compliment to these, a large chocolate
champagne bottle trimmed in ribbon curls and streamers makes
a great centerpiece.
For just about any occasion, fill small terra cotta flowerpots
with a small seasonal plant, herb, or tiny bloom. Cut fabric
strips and use them to tie bows around the pots. For Christmas
use a holiday patterned fabric and fill the pots with ivy
or rosemary. For a bridal shower, use strips of white tulle
for the bows and fill the pots with flowering herbs. Set the
pots along the buffet, on tables, etc.
Craft store and wedding supply stores carry place cards that
are actually tiny picture frames. At your next party take
lots of pictures, making certain to get a shot of each of
your guests. Put these photos in the place card picture frames
at the very next party where those guests are present. Again,
use them as decorations on your tables. These are a great
conversation piece, and your guests will be tickled at finding
their pictures. Let each guest take their picture home.
If you’re a wiz in the kitchen, food gifts also make
nice party favors. Make a batch of homemade jam or jelly,
sealing it in small, pretty jelly jars. Trim a pretty basket
with ribbons and flowers and fill it with the jars. Set this
next to your door and as each guest leaves present them with
a jar to take home. In place of jelly you could fill the jars
with homemade relish, BBQ sauce, whatever you like to make.
Or make two or three different items and let your guests have
their pick. This also works with small bundles of candy, cookies,
or tea loaves.
You can also come up with party favors that are specific
to the group you’re entertaining. For teenage girls
tie narrow ribbon around bottles of nail polish. You can even
match the colors of the polish to the paper plates and napkins
you’re using – silver, blue, pink, etc. Or fill
pencil cups with pens and pencils with big, feathery flowers
on the ends of them and use them for centerpieces. Each girl
gets to pick one to take home. For a fan club luncheon go
back to the place card picture frame idea, filling them with
small photos of the favored celebrity. A book club? Place
a pretty bookmark on each person’s plate.
Once you get your imagination working you’ll find the
possibilities are endless. Your guests will all go home with
a memento of you and the fun time they had at your party!
