Our mission is simple: to get more people out of their houses, connecting and enjoying each other’s company. And what better way to do that than with a party? Don’t worry…we love to keep things easy and stress-free—after all, the point is to enjoy being together! And this season, why not host a Valentine Favorite Things party?
Favorite Things parties are perfect for a fun girls’ night. While we hosted one last summer, Valentine’s Day is another fantastic opportunity to gather the girls for an evening of wine, dessert, and sharing favorite things. We’ve got all the tips, checklists, and links you need to host a seamless Valentine Favorite Things party your friends will be talking about for months to come!
Remember: Keep it uncomplicated because the joy of being together is the real favorite thing.
How a Valentine Favorite Things Party Works
A quick search on Pinterest will tell you there is no wrong way to host a Favorite Things Party. Generally, most people think of this as a holiday event, but we’re here to tell you that you can host this any time of year!
At its core, a Favorite Things party is a fun gift exchange where guests bring their favorite items to share. It’s the ultimate “friends share the good stuff” gathering—everyone introduces something they love and swear by, and you leave with exciting new favorites to try.
For your party, you can choose a theme (optional) like beauty items, kitchen gadgets, books, etc. You should set a price limit, and you should decide how many of the item each guest should bring.
- We like the $20 per item limit. We asked that people spend as close to $20 as they could to be fair to everyone. In some cases, friends brought 2-3 favorite things that totaled $20, which was also lots of fun!
- For our summer party, each guest brought three of their selected item; then everyone went home with three new things to try. If your group is small, you could ask everyone to bring one item per person. You could also try setting a higher price and have everyone just bring one “luxe” item.
The Valentine Favorite Things Party Invite
Once your party details are set, send out invitations a few weeks in advance with all the key info, like what to bring and the spending limit. Paperless Post is a great option for stylish Galentine’s Day invites, and they make it easy to send reminders. A week before the party, send a reminder to recap what to bring so guests have time to finalize their shopping.
This is the wording we used in our summer invitation to make sure the directions were clear to all our guests. Feel free to copy and paste it!
Bring THREE identical $20 beauty, makeup, or skincare items. (You can also combine 2-3 items totaling $20.) You’ll go home with THREE new products to try! Suggestions include makeup, haircare, organizers, skincare, lotion, travel products, or anything you love in your daily routine! YOU DO YOU and get creative! Please make sure your item is close to $20.
Make it a Pajama Party!
Nothing says “favorite things” like a pajama party! Have your guests come in their favorite Valentine inspired PJs.
Everything You’ll Need for Your Valentine Favorite Things Party
A favorite things party truly is an EASY party to host, and it is easy on the budget, too. The list of what you need is short and we’ve linked it all to make planning a breeze!
- invitations
- your party basics: tablecloth, plates, cocktail napkins, cups, wine glasses, utensils
- food, drinks and ice
- party favor tote bags (optional; see below)
- a bowl/vase, plus slips of paper and pens, for guests to write their names on
MEGAN’S FAVORITE THINGS PARTY PICKS
CHRISTA’S FAVORITE THINGS PARTY PICKS
And, be sure to check out our post with our favorite entertaining essentials. With these items on hand, hosting any party is a cinch!
A Favorite Things Party Planning Checklist
We LOVE a checklist, especially when someone makes it for us! Checklists ensure that there will be no major hiccups and no fire drills the day of your event. Stress free party planning is what we’re all about!
How We Exchanged Our Favorite Things
As guests arrive, they add their gifts to the display table, write their name on one slip of paper for each item they brought, and put the papers in the bowl. Start the evening off by having the first guest who arrived tell the group about their favorite thing. Then have her pull three lucky names out of the bowl to receive her item. The first name pulled is the next person to present their item. Each friend told about her product and drew three names. The show and tell of each product is the best part! Pro tip: be sure to keep a list of what each person brought, so you can email it to all your guests after the party.
Party Favor Tote Bags
At Style Among Friends we LOVE a goodie bag, so we knew our summer party favor had to be a tote bag to take home all the goodies from the party. Etsy shop Finding Hope and Joy has great personalized products and Rebecca will do custom items (like our bags) as well. We have ordered from Rebecca several times and she is creative, fast, accommodating and a JOY to work with. Christa designed our logo, which we think is pretty amazing. As a little treat from us to you, we are sharing it with you all (see below) in case you want to download it for your own bags. And it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day! You can find blank canvas totes on Amazon, Wal-mart, MIchael’s and Hobby Lobby.
Download our free design for your own favorite things party totes!
Not sure what to bring? Let us help!
For a “favorite things” party, get inspiration by browsing your order history from your go-to stores—think trendy skincare products, chic accessories, or that amazing kitchen gadget you can’t live without. These little treasures can make thoughtful and fun gifts everyone will enjoy! Still need ideas? We have a few linked below.
Megan’s Favorite Things Ideas
Christa’s Favorite Things Ideas
What to Serve for Your Favorite Things Party
If this is the part that stresses you out, you are not alone. One option is to ask everyone to bring their favorite appetizer or dessert. That tends to be a lot of food, and we find that our girlfriends spend more time socializing than they do eating. If you prefer to keep it simple, we have a few ideas of what you can serve that won’t have you spending hours in the kitchen.
The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, has already created a Valentine themed menu for us! The cocktail, Cosmopolitans, can be made in a pitcher earlier in the day. Fig and goat cheese toasts are assembled an hour before the guests arrive and vanilla rum panna cotta with salted caramel sauce can be made four days in advance. Make these in the cute little heart shaped disposable containers linked above for a little wow factor!
And a few more of our favorite recipe ideas:
Need more party ideas?
- How to Host a Flower Arranging Party + a Planning Checklist
- How to Host a Care Package Party
- How to Host a Book Club with Your Friends
- How to Host a Movie Night with Your Friends
- How to Host a Summer Favorite Things Party
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