Favorite Things Party

In the late winter, I was getting antsy for spring and needed to occupy my time. I decided to throw a Favorite Things Party.

I found the idea online and knew instantly this was right up my alley. I picked a date and started prepping. I sent a Facebook invite explaining everything.  I wanted to appeal to people of any budget and make the event very flexible and informal. Instructions were as follows:

1. Bring 4 of your favorite things; they can all be the same or 4 different items…up to you! The more creative, the more unique, the better!
2. Please do not wrap items. You can jazz gifts up with bows, ribbons, or clear bags if desired.

Everyone will go home with some amazing new finds!

Here is a sample list to get the brainwaves going. These are only ideas and meant to provide inspiration:

• A great makeup item
• Your favorite nail polish color
• A yummy tea or cocoa
• A cool kitchen gadget or cleaning product
• Fragrant candle or air freshener
• Your favorite sweet treat or snack

*Any purchased item should be $5 OR LESS as total spent should not exceed $20.

Of course, items don’t have to be purchased. Here are some low or no cost ideas:

• Put a bow on a good book you read (a great way to be green too!)
• Grow your favorite herb to cook with and include a good recipe
• Package a delicious, homemade treat
• Make body scrub, lotion or bath bombs
• Knit a scarf 
• Can a jelly, jam or salsa
• Handcrafted jewelry or hair accessories

OPTIONAL – Bring your favorite appetizer, treat, or a beverage to share.

Once of my favorite things is champagne so I decided to have a mimosa and lemonade bar. The signage turned out super cute.

 

I decorated take-home bags for people to put their items in with some of my favorite things: butterflies and glitter! I took a butterfly stamper and dipped it in some watered down glue to get the glitter to stay put.

Once everyone arrived, I had them put their name in a bowl 4 times. One-by-one, all my guests we asked to stand up and explain why what they brought was their favorite thing and any related details such as where to buy it, what it costs, etc… It was really fun to hear the explanations. After their presentation, names were picked (one at a time) and they got to choose from the 4 items just discussed.

We had a wide array of items. Here is a sample of what was exchanged:

• Seventh Generation Lavender Floral and Mint Dish Soap
• Aura Witch Hazel Hair Spray (Smells like Aveda)
• Method  Sweet Water Hand Soap
• Downy Unstoppables Fabric Softener
• Cereal Set (Frosted Flakes & Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
• NYC Sky Rise Lengthening Mascara
• Moscato Wine
• Vase of Gladiolas
• Great Smelling Candles
• 50 Shades of Grey Complete Book Set
• Nail Polish & Nail Art Decals
• M&Ms
• Homemade Bath Scrub
• Nightlight
• Non-Breakable Wine Glasses
• Homemade Framed Wipe Board
• Make-Up Bags

 

I loved hosting this party and can’t wait to do it again. It wasn’t about exchanging “stuff”. More importantly, I enjoyed catching up with my good friends. Even my 3 nieces (ages 6,7,12) got involved and presented their favorite things that they brought – in front of a group of grown women they didn’t know – I was quite impressed with their courage.

Annnnnnnd…. This is what happens when you ask the kids to take a group picture – they take a normal one and then instruct you to take a silly one. Love it!  <3

Martini Party Invitations

I have reached a realization - as of late I have become somewhat of an invitation snob. With all the services out there on the Internet there is no reason to hand-write invitations anymore. 

Etsy is full of people with unique and fun invitations for great prices. It has been my experience that you can have a customized invitation with your own wording created and printed for less then purchasing cute paper invitations that you have to manually fill out by hand. Who has time to do that? People are so much more creative than myself and I love seeing what fun ideas others come up with. 
Themed invitations get the invitees excited and provide a feel for the ambiance of the upcoming event. 

Here is the latest invite I had created by Paisley Prints Etc. It turned out so charming for a martini themed birthday party!!

Another way to really jazz up an invite is to give it a related/fun font for a little added "something". Here is the fun bubble font I used for address labels. Reminded me of my favorite champagne.  Fun!! 

Bachelorette Party Favor Gift Bags

I put these cute little gift bags together for attendees of the bachelorette party that I helped plan this summer. What a cute take-away idea and gave the impression that the day was edgier than it really was!

About the gift bags - I have a friend who works promotions and she usually has leftover swag so I asked her for extra merchandise.  She gave me everything above plus a ton of shirts (which served as prizes for some games we played) and random extras. Favors don't always have to be expensive if you can leverage your resources.

 I always believe that the right music can make the day memorable so I also put together a bachelorette dance mix for the event. That way when you hear a song down that road a great memory comes to mind. And who doesn't love new CD full of fun music?!?

Sexy Silhouette Bachelorette Party Invitation

I just got Lisa's bachelorette party invitations back from SLW Designs and they turned out fabulous so I thought I would share.