If you haven’t heard of a Favorite Things party before, I could not be more excited to be the one to introduce you to your new favorite celebration. And if you’ve been embracing them for many years already, well then I’m excited to walk you through how you can have one virtually! Favorite Things parties have been around for several years now [or who knows, maybe longer than “several years” but in my world, it’s been several years!]. They’re seriously one of my favorite parties to have, whether it’s around the holidays or any other time of the year – there’s no right or wrong time to have one! I just typically tend to have them this time of year!

This year, there’s a good chance you aren’t getting together with friends and family like you have in years past. So we wanted to share some ideas on how you can still host a favorite things party, but in a virtual setting! And if you’re looking to host one in-person as usual, have no fear, we’ve got you covered with the how-to’s over here!

What is a Favorite Things Party?

First things first – If you’re new to Favorite Things parties, let me give you the breakdown. A favorite things party is where you get together with some friends, coworkers, family, whoever, for a fun few hours. However, in order to attend, each person must bring a gift under a certain price point for every attendee! So if there are 7 others who are attending, you’ll purchase 7 of that item to give one to each person. The favorite thing doesn’t have to be your absolute favorite thing of all time, but something you really love and/or use frequently! Your favorite hair ties, snack bars, pens, lip glosses, etc [keep scrolling for lots of ideas!]!

How to Host a Virtual Favorite Things Party

Once you’ve picked a date and time that will work for each person to be on a video call, everyone will want to get to ordering their products! You’ll want to decide on a reasonable price point, since you’ll be buying several of your favorite thing! We usually stick to a $10 or $15 budget, but if it’s going to be a larger group, we’d recommend keeping it under $5 or it could get quite expensive! Remember – no need to buy one for yourself unless you want another of your fav 😉 This can be approached two ways.

If you’re all local: Order the appropriate number of items to be delivered to your own home [5, 7, 10, however many!]. Individually wrap each item with the same wrapping or gift bag so you’ll be able to quickly say “okay, now open the green polka dot bag!” After your items are wrapped, you can make the rounds and drop off a gift on each person’s front step. OR everyone could drop their items at the host’s house and then the host can drop off a “set” of gifts to each person! Either way!

If you don’t live near one another: Send one of your favorite things to each guest’s house. Fill in the “to” spot on the shipping address to include their name, Favorite Things, and your name so they know not to open it until the party! For example: TO: Santa Clause – Fav Things – Rudolph. Really, you can label it however, you want, but you’ll want to make sure they know not to open it, and who it is coming from so you can all open them together! You also may want to shop at a retailer with free or low shipping minimums such as Amazon or Nordstrom so you’re not paying shipping fees several times!

Once everyone is on your Zoom, Google Meet, or however, you’re choosing to digitally connect, you can each go around and share which item you brought and why you love it so much! This will work best if everyone can tell which gift is yours based on the wrapping paper or the labeling on the outside of the package! And be sure to leave plenty of time for virtual cocktails and catch up time 😉

At the end of the party, each person will go home with something from everyone else, and maybe a few that’ll become their new favorites too!

The Living in Yellow Team’s Favorite Things

We stuck to a $10 budget for our gift! However, several of us chose to buy multi-pack items and split them up, allowing us the chance to gift several items! Here’s what the LIY team recently brought to our team Favorite Things party:

• Erin: Under Eye Gels // Bath Bombs // Kitsch Hair Coils // Tinkle Face Razors // NYX Lip Gloss
• Steph: Dry Fast Nail Top Coat // Buxom Lip Plumping Set
• Claire: Spray Hand Sanitizer // Lip Oil
• Hannah: Nail Polish // Wine Glass // Hair Coil // Wine
• Cassidy: Burt’s Bees Hand Salve
• Lauren: Foot Repair Ointment // Liquid IV
• Katy: Lip Plumper // Chocolate Bar

Additional Favorite Things Gift Ideas

Need some more ideas for what to bring to your upcoming Favorite Things party? Have no fear, we’ve got you covered from A-Z [literally].