🎁 Party Favors: Yay or Nay for Weddings, Showers, and Graduation Celebrations?

Let’s talk about guest favors—you know, those little “thanks for coming!” trinkets that have become a staple at everything from weddings to baby showers to backyard grad parties.

But here’s the honest truth: do your guests actually want them? And more importantly—do you really need to provide them?

💭 Where Favors Even Came From

Historically, favors were a sweet little thank-you to guests—sugar cubes, almonds, something meaningful from the hosts. But over time, we moved from thoughtful tokens to mass-ordered knickknacks no one knows what to do with.

(If you’ve ever left a wedding with a custom koozie that doesn’t fit your cups… I see you.)

👰 Not Just a Wedding Thing Anymore

Once reserved for weddings, favors are now popping up at:

• Bridal showers

• Baby showers

• Graduation parties

• Birthday bashes

• Even retirement parties

The pressure is real—especially when Pinterest makes you feel like every guest needs a monogrammed candle and a hand-poured soy wax thank-you.

Spoiler: They don’t.

💸 Let’s Talk Budget

If you’re already stretching the budget to feed folks, provide drinks, and offer entertainment—favors can fall off the list guilt-free. No one’s leaving your event thinking, “Ugh, I didn’t even get a mini lotion jar shaped like a baby foot.”

Focus your funds where they’ll matter most:

• A solid guest experience

• Great food

• A fun atmosphere

• Maybe better chairs. (Seriously—never underestimate comfortable seating.)

🧠 But If You DO Want to Give Favors...

Make it worth the guest’s time (and your money). Favors work best when they’re:

• Edible: Cookies, candies, mini s’mores kits—always a hit.

• Useful: Bottle openers, chapstick, reusable bags, even pens.

• Local or themed: A nod to your hometown, your culture, or the party theme.

• Donation-based: Make a contribution to a cause and leave a card explaining why.

Bonus points if it can double as decor or place cards.

🚩 When Favors Flop

Here’s the tea: If it ends up in a junk drawer, it’s probably not worth your time or money.

Things to avoid:

• Anything personalized with your name (your guests don’t want a magnet with your wedding date)

• Trinkets that don’t have a clear use

• Bulk buys that feel generic or last-minute

🎓 Favors at Graduation Parties

This one’s newer on the scene—and while you can offer favors at a grad party, you absolutely don’t have to. A heartfelt thank-you, good food, and some solid photos of your grad’s journey go a lot further than a bowl of plastic sunglasses.

If you do go the favor route:

• Tie in the grad’s personality (mini notebooks, quote cards, stickers)

• Keep it light, fun, and affordable

• Don’t stress if not every guest grabs one—they won’t

🍼 Same Goes for Showers

Baby and bridal showers have made favors almost expected, but again, you get to decide what’s worth it. Want to do a cute “tea for two” bag or a tiny bottle of bubble bath? Go for it. Feeling overwhelmed and already making 200 deviled eggs? Skip it. No one's unfriending you over a lack of organza bags filled with pastel M&Ms. Promise.

🙌 Final Thoughts

Favors are optional. Thoughtfulness is not.

If you want to give your guests something memorable, great—just make it meaningful, useful, or edible. And if it doesn’t make the cut? That’s fine too. Your presence (and open bar?) is the present.

Need help planning a party with or without favors? AK Events is here to help you skip the stress, avoid the overkill, and make sure your guests remember the experience—not just what they carried out in a tiny gift bag.

📩 Contact Me | 🎉 Let’s plan your chaos-free celebration