Need Ideas on Shower Favors

We did one last spring and gave out little pots of fresh herbs in pots.. . Oregano, basil, parsley.. with salad dressing recipes. They looked and smelled great.

Seemed like everyone liked them.

We are doing my sister's shower next month and are skipping the gifts for the guests. The game winners will received bouquest of flowers that are also doubling as decorations on the tables.

I went to one shower where I received two Yankee candle votives, so awesome! Another shower I received a personalized bottle of champagne. I don't drink...but still, it was clever. Also little bags of personalized M&M's. But all of those are pricey, which is why we are skipping the gifts for my sister's event.

We are hosting a lunch that is a little on the pricey side...so something had to give.

Lotto tickets; scratch offs. My DIL loves to do scratch offs, so I bought pink M n Ms, filled a little bag an attached the ticket. Everyone absolutely loved it and people did win some money. Gave lotto tix at my wedding 38 years ago. Again we had a decent winner and a couple of small. For my DIL baby shower, I looked at every favor. The ones that might not get thrown out were very expensive. Scratch offs were a lot less and more fun.

I don't like to keep stuff in general so favors are almost always thrown in the garbage on my way out (sorry, everyone I've ever known that got married). I even threw out the crappy dollar store candle that I got at my own shower.

I DID however keep a pen I got at one shower. Writing that, it sounds a little ridiculous. But it was a really nice pen.
Instead of a guest book the bride wanted postcards written to her. So at the shower we got a cool vintage postcard to write our sentiments and this fancy pen. At the wedding there was a mailbox to drop off your card (and spare postcards if you lost yours or happen to be a guy).

I don't know if this helps a lot - but in general maybe it will help to think of something special the bride wants done for her wedding and connect the favor with that.

How about a fresh flower.

How about homemade bath salts in pretty jars?

Ikea's spice jars are very nice looking. I fill them with bath salts that I make.
Here's the recipe!

2 cups Epsom salt
1 cup baking soda
1 cup coarse sea salt
approximately 30 drops of essential oil (not fragrance oil)

I just made a batch of peppermint/ lavender salts, but I also love rosemary and bergemot; grapefruit and bergemot; citrus essential oil of ANY kind; citrus and vanilla....... the combinations are endless! Be sure to print of pretty labels to affix to your jars. :)

I also love the idea that Patty suggested. Who doesn't love a pretty, fresh flower?

OK, you are after something either consumable or reusable-

My suggestions might not scream shower, but they certainly fit the bill-
1. a flash/ thumb drive.
2. starbucks instant coffee sachets/ starbucks gift cards.
3. reusable tote bag
4. a Mr. clean eraser
5. pretty bath soap.
6. the every ubiquitous hand sanitizer.
7. a sugar cookie shaped like an umbrella
8. a mason jar filled with your favorite soup mix, your favorite cookie dough, your cousin mildred's famous macaroni salad (dry ingredients only).
9. peanut brittle
10. microfiber cleaning cloths/ chamois cloths (folded like roses or swans or something else decorative).

With the right presentation, and a clever catch phrase, all of these things can be cleverly presented as shower gifts.

good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

where are you having it? what kind of food and decorations?

The reason I'm asking is to have the favor go with the look or theme. To appeal to the masses (different ages, backgrounds, etc.) consumable is probably your best best.

Look on Pinterest or Etsy for some fun unique ideas.

What is the theme? My wedding theme was frogs - cartoony frogs because the invite had them. We got sqeeky frogs for everyone, and 14 years later, when we've visited friends, they have them still! They're not useful, but they were a fun reminder ;)

What about those really fun wine glasses? There are some decorated, painted, and some have sparkles on them. Very girly, and fun. You can use those over and over. And they are pretty inexpensive. I've seen them for about $15.

We did these..
http://www.favorfavor.com/page/FF/PROD/4801/?utm_source=m...

Heart shaped measuring spoons.. I just did the link for the picture, not sure where my MIL got them.

It is usable. :)

I once bought chocolate molds of roses and then made chocolate lollipops for each guest. The ribbon color was the same as the bridesmaid dresses.

Hello
The best ones have been chocolate..
Personally, I have used.. Hercules Candy Company << had GREAT Experience with them.. check out their website.. lots of good ideas.. also, their chocolate is soooooooooooooooo GOOD!!!! I've had the chocolate covered oreos, peanut butter cups and milk chocolate that was used for my favors..

Also, The Chocolate Vault.. Had mini chocolate accordions made.. (my son plays the accordion) and for his 7th bday, wanted a Lawrence Welk themed bday. hence the accordions :)

Lastly, hersheys.com << had my son's first communion favors done here. which were personalized chocolate bars with his name and communion info..

I've good experiences with all three companies..

goodluck

I threw a shower a few months ago. I bought a bunch of bud vases, and for a little filler some pretty crystals in the wedding color along with some clear crystals. One flower in each, and then put them around the tables/food area/ etc. I also put a little tag on each that coordinated with the bride's wedding invite. The vases were a great decoration for the shower, and then everyone got to take them home. I also like the herb idea.

I love items that are actually usable and won't end up in the trash or in the regift box.

No idea what your budget is, and I assume that you'll want a few prizes for games so my ideas run the gamut on pricing:

Electronic wine opener (Oster makes one for about $15 and it's great).
Folding wine opener (you can probably get them personalized)....these are nice to have in a purse.
Chapstick, gum, and low fragrance lotion in a little bag
A cute mirror compact
Little bottles of wine or liquor
Gourmet chocolate
Angora gloves
a couple of chocolate covered strawberries in a little box (easy to make!)
Tote's purse-sized umbrellas

Best of luck!
C. Lee

I did small bud vases for my bff. You can buy a bulk group of 6 on amazon ... like these (est. $6-$7 a piece).
http://www.amazon.com/Imak-Mini-Vases-Set-6/dp/B008I3S738...
Or even on Etsy I saw some small bud vases going for $2 each!
Then get large single blooms to fill (I used gerber daiseys) and they can double as flower decorations for the table. Group them together in the middle or place one at each setting. You can also choose to decorate each vase as you wish (ribbon, tag with wedding date and bride/groom names, etc).

I did bath salts for the last shower I did for my girl friend, ordered them on eBay, took clay flower pots and decorated them to match the theme (bought plastic ice scoops for the salts) and place an empty container on each place setting for each person to fill on their own so they could pick their own scent. It went over pretty well!! (I even had leftovers for myself).

I love to give Pampered Chef tools - like the mini serving spatula and/or the $1 cookbook and the $1 citrus peeler - I am a rep - so contact me if you need help - I can get stuff at a discount - when you are ordering in quantities

For my baby shower in the summer they did an owl theme to match my nursery decor. They had custom owl sugar cookies made and placed at each seat. It was cute, decorative, and in a clear bag tied with a ribbon for them to take home. I have a friend from HS who is a pastry chef who did the cookies, but I'm sure most bakeries can do this for a reasonable price.
We've done caramel apples dressed in tulle to look like a bride and that was a big hit, though it was $5 each from Rocky Mountain.

You can make custom labels to put on a chocolate bar.

A frame with a photo from the shower would be a great and very long lasting gift. A wonderful way to remember the shower for years to come.

Also, just a thought-a friend just had a fortieth birthday party. In lieu of gifts, everyone brought food for the local food pantry. At a bat mitzvah recently, all the table decorations were donated to homeless kids. Obviously, everyone will (and should!!) bring gifts for the wedding shower. But, in lieu of favors, how about putting together a small collection of something(canned food, etc.) to donate to a local charity? Now, that would be a favor that would really be used!!
No matter what you decide, have a great time at the shower!

I like to give out chocolate covered pretzel rods for party favors. They sell pretzel bags at Michaels/Joann that hold two pretzels each. Make one milk/dark chocolate and the other white chocolate & decorate with sprinkles or drizzle with a different colored chocolate. Tie the bag with a pretty ribbon in one of the wedding colors. Easy, inexpensive and looks great. The kids can even help you!

I buy the tubs of pretzels at Aldi or Costco (the bags have so many broken ones). I use either a candy coating called Almond Bark sold in the baking aisle at grocery stores or the colored candy chips sold at Michaels/Joann.
Good luck & have fun!

The only one I recall actually keeping and using was a wine stopper shaped in two hearts. And even that rarely got any use.

Anything edible is also a hit - and it would be somewhat inexpensive.

I would also use seeds to plant dressed up in a cute little box or a plant or flower - I am into that kind of thing, though.

I honestly would spend my money elsewhere! People won't even notice not getting something half of them will end up throwing away!

We had nice ribbon book marks with little metal shells on the end. you can also do nice wine glass charms.