How to Throw a Favorite Things Party
Favorite things parties are a really fun way to celebrate the holidays (or really, anytime!) with your friends. Today, I’m chatting about how to throw a Favorite Things Party, along with a few of Favorite Things Party gift ideas!
Have you ever been to a Favorite Things Party? I threw one with some of my friends earlier this year, and it was a blast. As the holidays are (rapidly) approaching, it felt like a really good time to revisit the idea of a Favorite Things party, and share some of my best tips for throwing one or picking out gifts if you’re invited to one!
What Is a Favorite Things Party?
Basically, it’s a party where you get together with your friends and everyone brings a favorite thing to gift to guests. It’s a great party to throw sometime in December, but we did ours near Valentine’s Day. Of course, it would really be a hit any time of year! You don’t need an excuse to get together with your best girlfriends, you know?!
There are a few different ways it can be done, but here’s how we did it:
- I asked everyone to bring 3 identical gifts. There are no rules about what it is, just something you use and love.
- Be sure to set a price limit, keeping in mind that they’ll need to buy 3. We went with $15 per gift for our party. You can bring the gifts wrapped or unwrapped. We kept them wrapped just because it’s fun to open presents!
- Grab some slips of paper and write everyone’s name three times. Then, put them into three separate bowls (with each bowl having everyone’s name once). You can put it all into one bowl, but it can lead to some people not getting anything until the very end. This happened to us and it wasn’t ideal, so if I was doing it again, I’d do 3 bowls and work through them one at a time so that everyone gets at least one gift before anyone else gets a second!
- Decide on an order for giving out your gifts. We just had people volunteer when they wanted to go, but you could also draw numbers to determine order. When it’s your turn, stand up and say a little bit about your gift and why you brought it. We tried not to give away what it was at this part! Then, draw names to give the gift out to three separate recipients. Of course, if you draw your own name, just put it back and try again.
- Then, pass the gifts out and let the guests open them! If you want to expand a little more on why you brought the item once they see what it is, you can go for it. Then, the next person goes!
Alternate Rules: White Elephant Style!
Another way to run a favorite things party is similar to a White Elephant party! You could set all of the gifts on a table, have people draw numbers to determine order, and then allow people to pick (and steal) gifts. This is also a really fun approach, and if you do it this way you could just have people bring one of each gift.
If you want more details on how to do a White Elephant gift exchange, click here!
These are the only two photos I took when I threw my own Favorite Things party, haha!
Tips for Throwing a Favorite Things Party
Honestly, a favorite things party is just like any other party once you’ve decided how you’ll handle the gift exchange! Decide on your date and your budget, send out some invites to your friends, and get to planning!
I recommend having everyone bring something to share, potluck style. Just ask them to bring along a favorite appetizer, dessert, or cocktail. Bonus points if you have them share the recipe for it. Another fun idea is to ask everyone to bring a board of some type. We did this for one party with neighborhood friends and it was a blast. We had a board of hamburgers, a Taco Bell board, a sushi board – the creativity was so fun to see!
Favorite Things Gift Ideas
Now let’s get to the fun part – the gift ideas! Of course, the whole point of a Favorite Things party is to bring your favorite things, so maybe you don’t need any inspiration. Something like your favorite mascara, your favorite candle scent, the nail polish you use all the time, or the lip balm you can’t live without are all great ideas. Beauty products are always a huge hit!
If I was headed to a favorite things party this Christmas season, here are some of the things I’d be considering (all $20 or less!).
- The best-smelling countertop spray ever. Is it expensive? Yup. Is it totally worth it? Yes! This is one of those fun splurges most people won’t buy for themselves, but I promise they’ll fall in love.
- The Big Book of Sudoku. This year I became a tiny bit obsessed with Sudoku, and I bought this book for myself! It’s such a fun little puzzle game, and it’s really good for your brain too.
- A silk pillowcase. It’s great for your skin and your hair (I’ve seen a notable difference since I switched!), and they feel so great to sleep on.
- The Plan by Kendra Adachi. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you this book changed my life this year. I think everyone needs to read it, especially if you’re planner-obsessed like I am!
- These mini glass bowls. Maybe a random one, but I bought these for myself earlier this year and have really fallen in love with them. I can’t even tell you how often I pull them out, and having a huge set of 16 is truly so useful.
- This set of 9 hoop earrings. I wear something from this set almost every single day. They’re so pretty, there’s a great variety, and you can’t beat the price!
- These magnetic measuring spoons. Bought these for myself after eyeing them for a really long time, and I love them. My measuring spoons actually stay organized instead of constantly being in chaos, and I know I won’t lose the tiny ones.
- Play Nine. My family really got into this game this year – it’s so quick to learn, it’s a blast, and it never gets old. I love bringing games to Favorite Things parties!
- These bow clips! I got these for myself and have been surprised at how much I wear them. They dress up any outfit and just take a second to put in. Bows are big right now!
- A set of banana hooks. Any little kitchen tool like this that makes life easier is always a hit. I absolutely love having this in my kitchen, and I love that it folds right up when we don’t have bananas!
- The prettiest faux flowers. I’ve bought a lot of faux flowers in my time, but these are probably my favorite. They’re stunning.
- A box of Mighty Patches. All of your friends probably already know and love these, but everyone is always grateful to have some more to stash away!
- My favorite sunglasses. Sunglasses make a perfect gift to give at a Favorite Things party – I’ve been wearing these nonstop all year. They’re so cute and they’re cheap, which is key for me with sunglasses because I’m bound to lose them eventually.
- A favorite book. I love the idea of bringing a book to one of these parties! You can bring any book you love, but try to pick one that you know will be mostly universally appealing!
- A silly gadget. Have a silly little gadget in your home that you absolutely love? Bring it! For me, it would be this little drink dispenser. We use it in our milk and it makes it so much easier for the kids to get their own!
- Some claw clips. And finally, claw clips are very popular right now. They’re such an easy way to toss your hair up, they look great, and these have beautiful patterns.
And there you have it – 16 things I’d love to bring to any favorite things party! I hope you decide to give this a shot with your friends this year. I’d love to hear about it if you do!