I am a planner. Or at least I like to think of myself as one. When little Miss Whimsy decided she wanted a sleepover and pool party for her 11th birthday I immediately started planning. One challenge was the party favor. I found to my surprise, especially here in the south where decorum and tradition live long, that the party favor seems to be a lost art. Not in the Whimsy household. I am a stickler for tradition. My challenge; however , was what to put in this favor that wasn't junk that would be immediately tossed or candy that really was not needed by any of us!
When I asked Little Miss Whimsy what she wanted to do for party favors her reply was "Vera Bradley" my reply was "yeah right". Then I did some research and found that with enough planning I could find Vera Bradley at clearance prices. Would I rather spend a sum on this or buy a lot of small junk and spend the same? The answer was an easy one. So we got to work. I watched the Vera Bradley clearance section on line to see what I could get for $5 or less. I found a coin purse in older patterns. I had just about decided upon it when.........I ran into Hallmark for something and discovered these adorable wristlets marked down with an extra 40% off the mark down price. SCORE! Lucky for me they even had 10!
I saved a couple dollars on the Vera Bradley which left me some money to put towards something else. Another surprise find. Some great nail polish for $1 a bottle. The best part they came in great colors. Perfect for the tween. Orange, purple, aqua, green, neon's you name it.
My last find was a pack of Vera Bradley Pencils that I could break up to supply 1 pencil per favor. Works for me! In the end we had some great party favors for around $5 per girl.
They were a big hit. Imagine that! The best part was my daughter was old enough and excited to put them together herself. What a perfect project for her. It is amazing what you can come up with if you allow yourself time and planning. Knowing your target "audience" doesn't hurt either. Remember too, often times finding items online are your best bet. Web sites for popular brands, like Vera Bradley, often have clearance sections where you can find things for a fraction of the store cost. Also remember to search for "outlets" of your favorite brands. Have fun in your party planning endeavors! Happy planning!
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Wow, great ideas. I love giving party favors and this was definetly a 'SCORE'. Kudos to planning, determination and being a great Mom.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the jackpot!
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to plan for my daughter's 15th birthday in November. I will definitely check out the VB clearance section, thanks for the great idea :)
Those are so great! I just got finished putting Jameson's gift bags together, and I am sad to say that other than my ultra clearance american flags, the rest is just junk!
ReplyDeleteWe used to always buy tons of "junk" stocking stuffers for my husband's super-huge family...then I realized I was still spending TONS of money. So, two years ago, I decided to buy each family a decent amount gift card so they could buy whatever they wanted.
It was a huge hit and no fuss!
{{{HUGS}}}
Robin :o)
It's me again - just hit my local VB retailer and found the "kiss-lock" coin purses that retail for $18 marked down to $3.50. I bought eight of them.
ReplyDeleteThank you VERY much for such a great idea :)
Perfect part favor! So glad you got a deal on them.That makes them extra perfect!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful!!! Glad it was a big hit for you! Nancy
ReplyDeleteJealous that when I was that age, we NEVER got party favors like these...way too cute!
ReplyDeleteWe love party favors as well - though only useful ones as opposed to the Party City plastic stuff. Yours were fabu!!!!!
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