Ladies Favorite Things - Basket of Gifts

The theme party that I hosted was called a Favorite Things Party.  I sent out invites 2 months early and I invited only those who I kept in close contact with and that I was pretty sure were up for it.  I handmade invitations. They said "Have you heard...Oprahs Favorite Things is being hosted this year at ...Main St. USA And you have been given the prized ticket to this most desired event. I asked that everyone RSVP within 2 weeks so that I would have the exact total of guest to expect.

On that date I phone everyone to let them know the total amount of guest. I included a note with what this party was and then explained how this party was going to done.  I explained that everyone is to bring enough of their favorite thing for that number of guest.  I set the price range of $5-10 per item. (Or at least valued at that dollar amount) Which is why I sent out the invitations so early.  I wanted to give the guesr time to look for sales. However, I had a friend who was expecting a baby so her amount was lowered. We had a total of 8 ladies in attendance.

Everyone invited came.  Two weeks prior I made reminder calls.  I purchased wooden laundry baskets for each guest. I decorated each basket with tissue paper and color coded place cards, which I attached to the baskets. With the help of a friend we planned a meal with 2 types of chicken wings, sausage rolls, quiche, veggie & cheese trays, sweet potato casserole, red velevet cake, and mini pies(pre-wrapped to take home). Some of my favorite foods.  I served Raspberry Iced Tea, which is my favorite drink. (I had other drinks for the ladies as well) I was hosting this party and I wanted it the be a success so I looked through sale flyers all the time for the stuff that I considered my favorite things.  Wal-mart put the paraffin wax foot spas on sale, so I bought several. I also bought a $10 Wal-mart gift card. 

After everyone ate we started playing a few games. I gave the gift card to the guest wearing my favorite color, which is red.  And Wal-Mart is my favorite store. I was prepared with a different question just in case more than one person was wearing red. Which was to ask those wearing red , where I met my husband? And then we played an Oprah quiz game.  I went online and looked for info on Oprah and created trivia questions and the person with the highest score won the paraffin wax foot spa. Some Questions that I asked were what is the name of her studio, how did she get her name, who is her best friend. It was a total of 10 questions. 

Now onto the fun...I had each guest stand with the item they brought and explain why it was their favorite thing.  I took pictures during this time.  I then had them place their item into the baskets, which I had lined up in the hallway. As each lady brought out their item or items (one guest brought a small basket filled with a pedicure kit and nail polish) you could see the excitement on the faces of the guest. I was completly suprised by the creativity of my friends. Some of the items brought were the Wall plug-ins from Bath and Body works, fluffy house socks, pedicure kits, candles, thick bath towels from JCPenny, small bottle of perfume, gift basket filled with chocolates, scrapbook kits (brag book size), pedicure kits, and a spa cd with a bath pillow.

Overall each basket contained about $175 worth of items.  Just before everyone left I gave out the last paraffin wax foot spa to the first person who arrived.  (Not the friend who helped me cook) At the end of the night I took pictures of the guest leaving with their gift baskets. I sent out the pictures with a note thanking them for helping to make the Favorite Things Party one of my "Favorite Parties".  I had calls for weeks telling me about the reactions of their husband, mothers, and sisters to the gift baskets. 

This party turned out better than even I planned. The key to hosting a party like this is know your guest list. Have some ideas of who can afford what and try to adjust your price according to that. However, I do suggest making exceptions to your set price range. Don't worry too much about the price.  It's just a guide.