Why should kids have all the fun? Or wedding guests? We love the idea of having casual, pretty party favors at even the smallest gathering.
It's a chance to practice recipes, wrap and package ideas, and show your guests how much you wanted them to have a little something to remember the gathering. To keep it fun and manageable, "little" is the operative word here: think of these as small tokens of your appreciation. Eschew grandness for small, delicious, and pretty. Here are a few ideas currently inspiring us:
• Newspaper-Wrapped Candies Wrap up a few of your favorite candies in pretty papers or last week's news!
• Hot Chocolate On a Stick: Send your guests home with something to warm up with the next morning. Choose your favorite blend of dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolate.
• Customized Drink Mixes: I love sending guests home with a small token of the evening, and a way to remember the cocktails you all enjoyed together.
• Sweet, Savory, Salty Snacks: All jarred and ready for your friends to choose which they'd prefer.
• Customized Herb Rub Your favorite blend of spices, herbs, and salts makes a party favor that your guests can use on a few occasions.
Related: Fast, Pretty Party Favors: Re-Wrap Store-Bought Candy!
(Images: Chelsea Fuss, A Pair of Pears, Martha Stewart, 100 Layer Cake)
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I made Hot Chocolate on a Stick for Xmas care packages this past year. Biggest hit ever. Everyone loved them, could not stop raving about them. I used the Avery project wizard to make labels and they looked so professional, people kept asking if I was selling them.
I've always thought that small Mason jars full of unpopped popcorn with a little note that says "Thanks for popping in" would be really fun to send home with people after a party.
i love to give away little party favors at dinner parties. i've done hot chocolate on a stick (with homemade marshmallows), spiced nuts, homemade tea breads, custom tea blends, savory & sweet granolas, homemade caramel corn, custom sugar cookies, homemade grainy mustard ...
each gift gets a custom label and a little thank-you to my guests for coming over. such fun!
Dang, @Rebecca_F, can I get invited to one of your parties? Lol.
For wedding favors I once saw a Martha Stewart spread with cherries in little glassine bags. I love those things. And with a cute customized sticker? You could put in berries, candies, candied fruit, nuts, etc. and it would look just adorable.
Here in the South we've been giving out adult "party favors" forever. We call them "happys" as in "Here's your happy!" They are traditional give-aways, tailored to the occasion, that a hostess hands each guest on her way out the door.