Favorite Things Party

A few years ago I introduced the “Favorite Things Party” into my various social gathering groups: sometimes friends or family, sometimes for a holiday or sometimes for no reason at all. It’s such a fun gift exchange and doesn’t take a whole lot to put together.

Here’s how it works:

1. Set a spending limit. Typically, I suggest $6 per item.
2. Pick your favorite thing at or under $6. Maybe it’s lipgloss, or soap, or a kitchen utensil. Maybe it’s a scarf, or something to decorate the house. Maybe it’s a little plant or a dish towel, a book… you get the idea!
3. Pick a number of items. I usually suggest 5. This means that everyone buys 5 of their favorite thing — which means they spend about $30 total.
4. Spread the word. Tell anyone who’s participating that they should bring 5 of their favorite things! It doesn’t matter how many people come. Not everyone will leave with one of EVERY item. But everyone WILL leave with 5 new favorite things.
5. Wrap and display. Everyone picks a number out of a bowl and then you all go through the rounds. #1 gets to choose 1 item first, then #2 chooses 1 item, then #3 and so on. You cycle through 5 times to make it last!
6. Open and ooh + ahh. Pick one favorite thing first and anyone else who chose that specific favorite thing should open it at the same time. Then pick another, and another, and another. It makes it so fun to discover what’s under the wrapping and then everyone sees what everyone else got at the same time!

I highly recommend this type of gift exchange. It’s such a great surprise to see what you get!! Last weekend, we did one during my weekend away with 11 women! Here’s what I ended up with: