How to Host a Favorite Things Party

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I hosted a Favorite Things Party a little while back for a small group of friends and family. I made my party a Christmas theme, but this party can be done for whatever occasion! You could make it a girls night, a couple’s party, a family get together, a bridal shower, a baby shower, or just for the fun of it!

We had so much fun hanging out, seeing what everyone brought, and going home with a few of each other’s favorite things! I love throwing parties and this one is pretty simple!

What is a Favorite Things Party?

You get a fun group together and everyone brings a few of their favorite things! And then they get to go home with a few different items and lots of great ideas!

Everyone was to pick their favorite thing and bring 3 of that same item valued at around $8. So everyone showed up with 3 of the same thing, and got to go home with 3 different things that were someone else’s favorites!

I decided on this because it meant guests only had to spend about $24 total and I know around the holidays, money gets tight. There are lots of fun items to chose around that price point.

Invites

I made my invites using PicMonkey. They have great free fonts! I made the background brown kraft paper and tied them up with a string!

This type of party requires specific invite instructions so be sure to let guests know what to bring. Let them know on the invite they need to bring 3 of their favorite things, unwrapped, which should all be the same gift, and priced around $8 each.

I choose the amount of gifts based on the number of guests invited, and unwrapped so we could see what everyone brought. You could change the amount of gifts, the dollar amount, or even have guests wrap the items!

Party Theme

I was having mine as a Christmas party. The house was already decorated and I used plaid and gold glitter accessories.

Instructions when guests arrive:

Have each guest place their group of items together on a table. I had each guest write their name and what the product was on a little card. This was a really cute, easy way to display the gifts and easy to “shop” around the table.

Each guest also wrote their name down on 2 different slips of paper and put into a bowl for the game.

Lastly, I had each guest fill out a Favorite Things Questionnaire. This was just a simple word document I made and printed out. Guests wrote their name at the top, their favorite food, dessert, holiday, favorite thing about Tennessee, favorite thing to do on a day off, and favorite clothing. These were secret and were folded and put into a bowl for the game.

We ate before we played the game, so everyone could meet and mingle! I love a girls night!

We also had a photo booth!

Our Menu

Food:

Bacon Phyllo Cups

Ham & Cheese Sliders

Black Bean Salsa & Tortilla Chips

Chex Mix

Rotel Velvetta Dip

Dessert:

Mint Chocolate Brownie Bites

Fudge

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Peanut Butter Balls

Drinks:

Water

Fruity Punch

Wine

Ready to play the game?

As an introduction, I held up each gift that was brought and introduced the guest. They would then explain why that was one of their favorite things and what was so cool about it.

I then pulled a questionnaire out of the bowl, and read it aloud to the guests. Everyone would guess whose it was. Whoever guessed correctly first, got to go shopping for 1 item.

I had brown paper bags (tied up with string!) ready for guests to grab and fill with their goodies.

When they returned from shopping, they picked up another questionnaire, read it aloud, and had everyone guess. Again, the person that guessed correctly first, got to shop for 1 item. Once guests had shopped, they were not guessing anymore.

Once everyone got to shop for one item, we then drew names for the remaining gifts.

I started with my gift. There were 2 of my baking mats remaining, so I drew 2 names from the bowl, and gave the gifts to those 2 people.

If someone had already picked up that gift or you drew your own name, then we kept drawing. If someone only had 1 of their gifts left, they would only draw 1 name or if all 3 were left, they would draw 3 names.

Everyone had so much fun picking out a gift and then seeing what else they would get! I was so impressed with what everyone picked out, we had a great variety of gifts!

My party guests’ favorite things:

Bath and Body Works hand soap and sanitizer
Bath and Body Works candles
Glitter Bottles
Phantom of the Opera movie
Baking Mats
Hairspray and lotion
Hair Towel Turban, Facial Spray, and Lip Balm
Kitchen Towels, Kitchen Knife
Snowman Tumbler
Chocolates
Scarf and Tea

Here are some alternative ways to host a Favorite Things Party:

Have your guests bring a different number of gifts or a different dollar amount. You could say 5 gifts at $5 each, or you could up the amount to $10.
Have your guests shop for all 3 items with no drawing of names. This would allow your guests to choose all the gifts they go home with.
You can draw names for all of the gifts.
You can have guests wrap the items, so it is a complete surprise what they open.
Throw a Favorite Things party for a different occasion! Bridal shower, baby shower, couple’s party, or just for fun!

However you choose to host your Favorite Things Party, I know it will be so much fun and a party to remember!