Tag: Gourmet

Special Party Favors

The trend of giving handmade items is not only limited to birthdays. In fact, in almost all special occasions these days, handmade items are popular as party favors. Giving handmade items has also become a common practice to people who would want to give others person something special as a “thank you” for attending the event.

If you are one of those who would want to give the people who attended your party something special, now is the time to consider what type of handmade party favor you can give him or her. If you dont have much of an artistic knack, the simplest thing that you can come up with is an elastic friendship bracelet as a “thank you.” These are bangles or “wristlets” that are used as a piece of fashion accessory but in this case, these can be worn by your friend to symbolize the friendship that you both have.

Before doing this activity, the first thing that you need to do is to ask your friend/s if he or she has/they time to do this activity with you. If they agree, then make sure that your friend will be a part of the entire process such as choosing the materials, the designs, as well as the dominant colors to be used. The following are step-by-step process of making a handmade friendship bracelet that could be given out as a part favor:

– complete all the supplies needed. The first step in making the friendship bracelet is to buy the supplies needed which include sets of colorful beads of your or your friend’s choice, elastic nylon string, a pair of scissors, glue gun, pieces of glue stick, tape measure or ruler, and a round nose pliers if you choose to add locks and other metal items in the bracelet. You can find old stuff in your house or buy these in the crafts store nearby.

– designate tasks. Once you have all the materials that you need, designate your tasks. You can ask your friend to segregate pieces of beads according to his or her preference. Or to make the process faster, you can segregate bead pieces by yourself. Next is to come up with a bracelet design and draw in on a piece of paper. Here, you can ask your friend to come up with his or her design and incorporate it with yours.

– start with the process. After this, get the elastic nylon. Using a tape measure or a ruler cut the string according to your desired length with a pair of scissor. Then, gather the beads that your have segregated and selected earlier and start stringing the beads into the elastic string. After that, knot the two ends of the string after you threaded the beads in it. Make sure to tie the final knot twice so it will not loosen up. Cut the excess nylon string using a scissor. To make sure that the ends would not loosen up, you can put glue on the knots and flatten it with round nose pliers.

Now, you have just finished a special handmade party that you can give to your friends as a “thank you” gift and as a remembrance as well when they attend your event.

Scrapbook As Party Favors

Many people are now getting into giving personalized presents as party favors during special occasions. Why? This is because they feel the personalized items are more personalized and have a touch of utmost sincerity in it.

Today, one of the most popular personalized gifts that people can give as party favors are scrapbooks. This is because scrapbooks are versatile and can be given to any kind of occasion. And since one canpretty muchmake his or her own scrapbook, it adds up to the uniqueness of the personalized present.

If you are one of those who would want to give out scrapbooks as party favors, now is the best time to get started with it. Since scrap booking may require a lot of your time, it would be best if you start conceptualizing the theme and getting the materials ready as well.

How to get started

When you visit different scrapbook stores, you will find different scrapbook kits that will trigger your desire to be a budding scrap booker. But then, these kits, scrap booking magazines, and materials can be quite expensive. If you are interested in scrap booking but dont have enough budget to buy such expensive materials and scrapbook guides, here is a simple guide in scrap booking.

1. Paying attention to the basics is one of the first things that you need to need to focus on scrap booking. Just like in doing artworks and crafts, scrap booking requires a lot of materials and supplies, but this doesnt mean that you have to allot a huge amount of money in order to create a scrapbook. Today, so many products are being offered by the scrap booking industry. Since these products are especially created to provide ultimate comfort to those who are greatly indulged in scrap booking, they can be quite expensive.

2. Dont be overwhelmed by these scrap booking materials. What you need to do is focus on buying the basic materials and supplies which include album and sheet protectors that come in different sizes and colors, scissors or paper trimmers that will allow you to cut lines without hassle, adhesive that is inexpensive but easy to use, photo tabs or photo splits to keep the back of the photos clean and can be easily removed, papers and cardstocks that is the foundation of the scrapbook page, and journaling tools such as a wide variety of pens.

3. Learning the basic techniques in scrap booking is also a must. Scrap booking magazines can be quite expensive because these are created for a special segment of the market. If you are tight on budget and you would want to create scrapbook all by yourself, it will pay if you start pumping out your creative juices. Aside from creating your own style, you can also get ideas from the Internet about the basic techniques used in scrap booking.

When done nicely, scrap books can be a nice and unique part favors for any occasion. Just make sure that you have enough time to do it so it would turn out nice.

Plan your party, food and favors with the least possible

Plan your party, food and favors with the least possible cost

With the economy down, most people are foregoing with organizing parties and just celebrate by treating their guests out for dinner or lunch. But some people are still dreaming of having their own party despite the rising costs of organizing one. You can actually organize one, complete with the drinks and the party favors at minimal costs just as long as you know how to budget.

Here are some tips that can help you.

1. Plan early

If you really want to save up for your party then better plan ahead and take advantage of upcoming sales and promos. Sale seasons to watch out for are the Thanksgiving Sale and the Fourth of July Sale which are great ways to buy materials for your party. Of course, you cannot buy the food in advance but all others can be bought early like the decoration, the party favors and even the drinks and some hors d oeuvres. If it is a childrens party that you are planning, try to take advantage of the after Halloween sale where they will be selling candies and chocolates as well as costumes and decors at half the price or sometimes even a quarter of the price.

2. Recycle and Reuse

When planning your party make sure that you know the things that you need to buy and the things that you can get from your home. As much as you can, try to make use of plates and glasses that you already have in your home. The plates and cups dont have to match. They just need to be clean. You can put the designs of the pieces one after the other. With a pattern, it will not be as evident that they are not matching china.

When planning for party favors for childrens parties, you can recycle plastic cups, paper plates and other items that you can transform into masks, telescopes and other great fun toys that children during the party can play with. There are many things that you can reuse and recycle. You just need to make an effort to look. Besides by doing this you will not only be saving money, you will also be saving the environment.

3. Call in invites and RSVP

Another great way to cut costs is to forego with the invitations and just call them in to inform them about the event. Make sure also that you emphasize the need for an RSVP so that you can have a final head count days before the event. This will help you a lot in planning and in deciding on the food and the drinks.

If you just want an intimate dinner and do not have the budget for people that you dont really know, tell your guests from the onset that they are the only ones invited and that they cannot bring anybody with them. By telling them about it when you invite them, you will minimize confusion and problems of excess people on the day of your party.

Personalized Party Favors

If you are one of those people who are depressed just by thinking of how much money they need to spend in buying party favors for their party, then this is the best time to consider giving personalized items.

It is best if you stop feeling low because you dont have much money to spend in buying expensive party favors for the people who will be attending your part. But, you really need not worry so much because there are so many party favor ideas out there perfect for all occasions. All you need to do is to make a list of the people whom you’ll give the items to and jot down at least one or two of their interests or favorite activities.

After doing this, you can now visit various department stores, specialty shops, novelty stores, and craft shops to find the perfect party favor item for your friends without having to spend so much money.

Unisex items as party favors

While giving presents such as party favors would really touch your guests’ hearts during a special occasion, it is important to remember this should not rob you off your money. Instead of spending money in buying items as party favors, why not try to create your own “gift” using your creativity and resourcefulness? If you have the time and the talent, ideal party favor ideas perfect for any occasion might include:

1. Personalized items. These can be considered as the most inexpensive yet valuable item to give out in almost all occasions. Personalizing items does not only save you some money, time, and effort in strolling shops looking for that perfect item because you can do in inside the confines of your own home. This is actually one of the best party favor ideas out there because you can literally personalize just about anything. All you need to do is to ask the person about his or her favorite item or interest and create your own masterpiece out of it.

2. Sweets and treats. For people with sweet tooth, sweets such as chocolates, cookies, and sweet breads are surefire hits. If you that knack for baking, you can bake your own goodies and wrap them in a special colorful box or jar to make it presentable.

3. Custom-made stationeries made at home. For those who are into writing letters, one of the best gift ideas for them is a collection of custom-made stationeries. What you can do is to collect all unused envelopes, specialty papers, and unique items to come up with a custom-made stationary set.

The good thing about this is that it will not only help you save money by buying cheap materials for the party favor but can also serve as a bonding activity for you and your family members or friends. Aside from that, the process of making the items itself is fun and easy. While doing the items, you and your friends can squeeze out your creative juices and each other to explore different possibilities of the craft to make it more beautiful.

Party favors that everybody will enjoy

Most of the time with any parties, we end up having to carry a party favor that will only clutter our homes. But since we have so much respect for the people whose party we attended, we do not have the heart to throw them in the trash. Instead we put them anywhere imaginable until they become eye hazards inside our homes.

This is not to say that party favors in parties are ugly. The opposite is true. Party favors are carefully chosen by the party planner to represent the mood of the party and the occasion that the guests are celebrating at that time. However, they are often useless. Among the really popular party favors that are beautiful but utterly dispensable are small figurines and magnets.

Although beauty is good, one must also remember the function. It is important that what you give people when they leave your party is something that they can use after. That way, they will remember you every time they use it. That is after all the reason for giving party favors, as a souvenir or something that will make guests remember that they have been part of the event.

Below are some ideas for party favors that people will actually be able to use.

1. Cake

One of the best things that I received when I attended a wedding is a party favor in the form of a cake. A very delicious cake at that. It was so yummy, I even asked the newlyweds where they had it baked. This is the kind of thing that you can give your guests. They will not have another clutter in their closet and they also have a full stomach.

2. Music Cd

Another brilliant idea is to give music cds as party favors. You can give a compilation of songs that will best describe the event. For the newlyweds, maybe some songs that played a great part in their lives. In a childrens birthday party, maybe a couple of your kids favorite songs or maybe even an recorded episode of his or her favorite TV show. Its cheap and its light and its not much work. Best of all, guests can store the data into their computer and throw away the cd if they so incline.

3. Perfume or cologne or any cosmetics products

Depending on what the occasion is, you can give cosmetic products that you know they will be able to use as party favors. Maybe some lip balm for the younger ones, perfume for a wedding. You can find a lot of cheap products in grocery stores. What is great about giving these products is the fact that they seem more expensive than they actually are.

Party favors need to also be functional so that guests will be able to appreciate them more. There are a lot of things that you can give that can symbolize the party without sacrificing practicality. In this time of crisis, function is actually essential.