Because everyone loves a good recommendation, I decided what better way to kick off the holiday season than to get all my closest girlfriends together to share our favorite item and a fun way to get some gift ideas. This was an easy party to organize quickly and everyone seemed excited to participate! This was the first favorite things party that I hosted and I thought it was a huge success! Here are all the details to the party and some things I would change for next year in case you want to throw a similar style party this holiday season. It would also be a cute party idea for the New Year or Galentine’s day!
The first thing I did was create invitations and sent them to my friends by text message. I created these in canva. You can design your own using the free version or simply just text your friends the party details and rules! I thought it would be great for each guest to leave with two items, so everyone brought two identical items that were a $40 price limit. Some people brought a few items that added up to $40. Since we wanted to see all the recommendations, no one wrapped their gifts but instead tied a bow or wrapped the gifts in ribbon.
Each guest brought their favorite dish and I supplied the drinks. I made these cranberry & rosemary ice cubes to go with the signature drink of the night which was a cranberry margarita! Everyone’s food contribution was festive and delicious! We had a wide variety of items like homemade donuts, Christmas Cookies, cheese plates, bacon wrapped butternut squash, Italian skewers, guacamole with chips & party dogs. Next year I will have to-go containers for the guests to take food home since there was so much leftover. We also ran out of sparkling rose early so I noted to have more of that on hand for next year!
A few special touches I prepped before the party were number tags for each gift placed on the table with gold stands from amazon. I made these winter themed ones in canva and had them printed at Staples. I found these $3 snowflake cocktail glasses at Target for favors. These gold mirror name stirrers are from Etsy and helped when glasses were placed down so they didn’t get mixed up!
Once all the guests arrived and placed their gifts behind a number on the gift table we went around in a circle and everyone presented their gift and quickly said why they brought it. This was a good ice breaker and put context behind each gift. Many gifts were very thoughtful or favorite traditions so it was nice to hear the story behind each gift! Then we passed this slip of paper around and everyone voted on which gift they wanted the most. There was also a best dressed prize (above are the two prizes!)
Everyone wore holiday pajamas! This kept the party casual and cozy. I picked up these pretty wreath pajamas from Bloomingdales and it was fun to see the beautiful pajamas all my friends wore that night! Of course we had a fire going and Christmas music playing in the background.
We did two rounds of drawing numbers out of a bowl with a 30 minute intermission in between to chat about what we got and refresh our drinks. I think the $40 gift amount was perfect. You could also have everyone bring one gift for $50 or bring two gifts (one for $40 and one for under $20). We didn’t do a traditional secret Santa this year but I think that could be fun if the gifts were wrapped! We made sure no one got their own number or the same number on the second round. I gave this hydrojug 40oz cup as my favorite thing! It’s my favorite because the straw bends down and I can throw it in a bag without worrying about it spilling. Below I’m sharing all of the favorite things my friends brought to this years 2024 party!
I had this polaroid camera out for photos. I thought it would be cute to make a photo album each year with the photos. We didn’t end up using it but next year I will make a point to! I also sent an email out to all the guests after the party with the links to each persons favorite things. My friend gave me a wine bottle wrapped in this tea towel as a gift and it was so pretty I wanted to share!
Here is the list to all of the favorite things for 2024!
40oz Cup / Daily Peel / Favorite Book / Hair Spray / Lip Balm / Car Emergency / Face Toner / Bayberry Candle / Setting Spray / Pocket Blush / Lip Gloss Tubes / Eye Patches / Hair Repair / Chocolate / Eye Gel / Gua Sha / Scalp & Body Scrub / Body Oil / Detox Shampoo / Family Game / Dominos / Stemless Flute / Milky Toner / Hair Conditioner / Scalp Massager / Keychain Wallet / Eye Gel / Belt Bag / Candle / Ornament / Slouchy Bag / Chocolate
I hope this helps you plan your next favorite things party or gives you some ideas of what products to try next! I would love to hear in the comments what is your favorite $40 or under item of all time? :)
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