It's a Minnie Party: Favors!

I spent several months planning for Paityn's birthday party, and I became a total Etsy addict.

In the end, it went fairly well, although I didn't do as much as I had pictured.  My husband is smack in the middle of a major software release at work, so I've been spending most evenings and weekends taking care of the girls myself.  This doesn't lend itself to doing lots of party prep.  But, as I work with my husband and really need him to finish the software so I can finish my testing of it, I kinda understood.

I'm going to break out all the different parts into several posts.  AND... I am super excited that one of my very favorite Etsy finds, Claudia Cupcake Lady, will be doing a giveaway of a set of cupcake toppers!! So stay tuned for that.

We were having a smallish party with several adult friends and two families whose daughters are Paityn's best friends.  Since I was only buying for four girls (I included Livie and set hers aside for when she is older), it meant there was a little bit more money to spend on purchasing nicer favors.

I took to Etsy and spent hours scouring for some unique favors.

I found these adorable Minnie bracelets from Stargazing Lily that I had customized with each girl's name.  They are so cute!  I've never seen anything like them in stores.  They came in little pink bags- perfect for favors.

I wanted something really unique and fun for the girls.  After a lot of Etsy searching, I came across The Laughy Giraffy.  They sell these cute little crayon rolls that are perfect for traveling or taking to dinner to pass time.  Since there's not much Paityn loves more than coloring, it was perfect.

But the Minnie roll they had wasn't quite right simply because the color did not match the party color scheme of pink and black.  Never fear!  The Laughy Giraffy loves custom orders!

The Laughy Giraffy can do large crayon rolls, which I purchased, that hold 16 crayons, or small rolls that hold 8 crayons.  The crayons were included.

Pink Minnie polka dots!

 
Early on in my planning, I fell in love with the black and white polka dot boxes I saw for holding favors.  I contacted several Etsy stores that sold them, but all refused to sell me such a small amount (I only needed four).  I was getting worried when I came across Just a Little Favor.  Jody sold me the exact number I needed, and they were so adorable!

The favors fit perfectly in the boxes.  In the bottom, I used the packaging that came with my order from Shop Sweet Lulu.  I love recycling!

I couldn't leave out the adults!  I had already purchased Minnie Mouse cookies from A Cookie Jar, but I was concerned because I was only a few weeks away from the party when I decided to use the cookies as favors plus have some on the table.  I knew I hadn't ordered enough.

Susan was so kind and added on another dozen to my order, which was a relief.  They came in little clear bags with ribbon, so all I did was repackage one of each size back into one of the bags and tied a tag I printed from my Minnie printables set.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of my repackaging. I set one aside after the party to take a quick shot, but my daughter ate them before I could!

The cookies arrived beautifully packaged.  They were packed so carefully in bubble wrap that not a single one was broken.

Paityn was sooo impatient to sample one!

They were pronounced to be delicious.

Favors done!  Finally, at midnight on Friday night.

Up next, decorations.

Etsy stores mentioned in this post:

Stargazing Lily

The Laughy Giraffy

Just a Little Favor

A Cookie Jar

Photo Designz

Also:

Shop Sweet Lulu

Get an update with my after-party posts:

It's a Minnie Party: Decorations!
It's a Minnie Party: Outfits!