Sunday, February 14, 1999

50 fabulous favor ideas

By TRACY L. GUTH

Scripps Howard News Service

Here are 50 fabulous favor ideas from The Knot:

SEASONAL/HOLIDAY FAVORS:

-- Mini Easter baskets filled with foil-wrapped chocolate eggs

-- Little plastic pumpkins filled with candy corn

-- Simple Christmas ornaments

-- Blow-up beach balls with your names and the date on them

-- A New Year’s champagne flute with your names and the date emblazoned on it

-- Miniature watering cans filled with spring blooms

-- Miniature Christmas wreaths (perhaps wrapped around the base of a red candle)

--Chocolate coins in gold foil

-- Scarves or mittens (for a nippy winter wedding day)

-- Sparklers for the Fourth of July

KEEPSAKE FAVORS:

-- A copy of a memorable photo you have of you (or both of you) with each guest -- very personal

-- A love poem written by one or both of you, or just one that you love

-- A pretty picture frame

-- Potpourri

-- Several sheets of pretty note paper with matching envelopes, tied with a ribbon

-- Miniature soaps or fun, brightly colored glycerin-soap "slices"

-- Fragrance -- small vials of perfume and/or cologne that you love, or that was created expressly for the wedding

-- Pretty paper fans (to beat the heat, and/or to represent your Asian or Spanish ancestry)

-- Decorative pillboxes

-- Mini-replicas -- or picture postcards -- of landmarks in the town where you marry (the Empire State Building in New York, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

EDIBLE FAVORS:

-- The classic: candied almonds

-- A single, amazing petit four

-- A chocolate truffle

-- A chocolate-chip cannoli

-- Gourmet jelly beans

-- Chocolate Kisses wrapped in tissue paper (in your wedding colors, perhaps)

-- Mints with your married monogram on them

-- Gourmet coffee beans in mugs

-- Rice-Krispies treats (everyone loves them!)

-- Big, round old-fashioned lollipops

-- A sample of a local specialty like jelly, jam, mustard, or maple candy

‘LIVING’ FAVORS:

-- Tree saplings or flower bulbs

-- Donations to the charity of your choice in each guest’s name (leave a small paper scroll or card at each place explaining)

-- Packets of seeds -- your favorite bloom, or one with significance to the two of you

-- Potted plants from African violets to cactus

-- Flower leis

-- "Adopt" an animal at the zoo in your guests’ collective names

-- Aromatherapy candles

-- "Favors" from the bride and groom -- certificates that promise "one heart-to-heart," "a year of e-mail," "afternoon tea," "a day of helping you move," etc., personalized for each person

-- Boutonnieres and corsages for every single guest

JUST FOR FUN:

-- Astrological readings (on mini scrolls) for each guest

-- Pez dispensers (complete with the candy!)

-- Silly kids’ party favors

-- Bottles of bubbles

-- Post-It notes in your wedding colors (everyone can use ‘em)

-- Super Balls or Slinkies

-- Cans of Play-Doh (regress to childhood, everyone!)

-- Tennis or golf balls with your names and the date on them

-- Calendars (little plastic ones or funny rip-off-the-date ones)

-- Lottery tickets (give guests a chance at good fortune)