I have been wanting to host a “Favorite Things” party for a while now, but life happened and I was never able to do it. So this was the year! A “Favorite Things” party can take on many variations. It’s an especially cool concept because it can be personally tailored to fit your group of gals.
Here’s how I did it….
1.) Create a fun invitation that outlines the details and rules. Many of my friends were not familiar with the concept, so the invite was a key part for the party to run smoothly.
2.) Hand them out to a fun group that will appreciate the party and will love to join in on the fun!
3.) Ask every girl to come in their festive PJs or sweats, as well as bring a favorite bottle of wine and/or appetizer.
4.) Each girl should choose one favorite thing of theirs and purchase/wrap three of them. We kept our prices to around $10 for each gift, but I have seen up to $25. The more secretive, the better! Gifts could include candles, face masks, earrings, essential oils, candy, decorations/decor, etc. Also, colors and styles can vary. If someone brought a scarf, they could have three different colors of the same scarf.
5.) The day of the party, I set up a table for the gifts to be displayed, as well as a place for the food and wine. Since everyone was bringing libations and snacks, I only had to have the paper products ready, wine glasses out, and I ordered a large Sicilian pizza from our local pizzeria and had them double cut the pieces.
6.) I also printed sheets of paper for each guest to write their names three times which they placed in a large, pewter champagne trough. In addition, I also had a few raffle prizes to hand out but this is completely optional.
7.) Once the guest arrived, I instructed them to place their gifts on the table, drop their names into the baskets, and enjoy some food and fun!
8.) There are many ways to conduct the actual gift giving, but we decided to do it this way: One person at a time would stand and describe why their gift as a favorite thing without saying what it is. We had a lot of fun trying to guess and anticipate what was in the packages! Then, that person would draw three names from the bucket. The three gals then opened the gifts together. I’ll tell you, we were loud at this part! It was so fun seeing what everyone brought and hearing why they brought it! We continued around the room until everyone had three new gifts to go home with.
9.) Afterwards, we had dessert (and possibly more wine) and sat and chat. We chose to have the party on a Thursday night since the holiday season could get so jam packed with other family and friend events on the weekends. This turned out to be a perfect day as most people were able to attend.
Note: These pictures were taken through the furry wreath that I have on my coffee table. It turned out to be a cool effect!
I sent everyone home with a small treat as a token of my thanks. I purchased black and white cookies and put them in little treat bags.
By the end of the night, everyone was raving about our fun time and we decided to make it an annual tradition. All in all, this idea was a hit! It was so fun and super easy. Everyone contributed to making the night a special time to remember! And looking back, I know for sure that I am blessed to have so many special women in my life that I can call my friends! xo
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