Party Favors Ideas

Party Favor Ideas

Coming up with party favor ideas doesn't need to be a challenge. From simple to elaborate the party favor is a simple offering to your guests, letting them know you appreciate their attendance.

Many pre-made favors can be purchased at party supply stores. In this article, however, we'll be looking at simple party favor ideas we can assemble or craft at home. Specifically, let's talk about party favor ideas for weddings, baby showers, graduations, and birthday parties. If you're planning an event other than one listed, feel free to tailor the ideas to your specific occasion.

Weddings

The focus here is obviously on the bride and groom. Personalizing favors with the wedding couples names and wedding date is customary. Think sentiments of love, togetherness, romance, etc. As weddings often have a theme color, you may wish to keep that going and coordinate the packaging or gift in a similar hue. Here are a couple ideas to start your brainstorming:

• Wrap Hershey's chocolate Hugs and Kisses in a piece of netting tied with raffia or ribbon.
• Write or find an appropriate poem and transfer the words to a small handmade book. Include a small note thanking the guests for joining the celebration. Tie it all together with a bow.

Baby Showers

Who doesn't love to celebrate the birth of a new baby? For baby showers or Christening parties your party favor ideas should reflect the enthusiasm and joy of the new arrival. Consider:

• Chocolate bars with a custom wrapper that includes the name, birth weight, time and date of the newborn. Design this on your home computer, include a photo if you have the design savvy, print and cut to size.
• Create a gift pack of cards and envelopes that celebrate children. If you've got the skills, create your own, otherwise consider purchasing them through organizations that support humanitarian efforts or advocacy groups for children.

Graduations

Graduation is an exciting time for everyone. It's a beginning and an end. It's more than appropriate to celebrate both! In your party favor ideas, try to come up with something that honors the graduate for their hard work and accomplishment. Feel free to play on the different phases of life or in the sense of adventure in things to come.

• If your guest of honor is relocating after graduation, send your guests home with postcards and a note that includes the graduates new address.
• Create a set of mini magnets with photos of the graduate. Gather pictures from birth, school days from elementary to high school, a graduation photo and a simulated photo or cartoon of what's to come. Print the photos, use a peel and stick magnetic sheet and cut the magnets to size.

Birthday Parties

Here's where the fun really begins. You've got a single person to celebrate. No doubt he or she has some very specific interests and personality traits. Play them up! If you're daughter is a photographer, disposable cameras are a party favor idea that may come to mind. Mini airplane models could be favors for a pilot's party.

• For a girlie-girl party like a sweet 16 put together a mini pedicure kit for the guests. Include a small file, clippers, toe separators and polish.
• For younger kids, party favor ideas should come easy. From superheroes to princesses or whatever your child chooses as a focus, there is no shortage of trinkets to match. Gather a goody bag, toss in a few trinkets and a sprinkling of candy and you're good to go.

You Get the Idea

Party favors don't have to be elaborate. In fact, they can be quite simple as evidenced above. The point to keep in mind is that a party favor idea is a little link between the guest of honor and the guest. It's a little token of appreciation and a small gesture to say "Thanks for celebrating with me!"