Hi there! Well, I am back from vacation. What a great time I had! My husband and I took a road trip from our home in Massachusetts to Mackinac Island, Michigan. It is a wonderful place. I plan on telling you all about it in the coming weeks. However, this week I will be working on doing the flowers for a special wedding and there won't be much time for writing and blogging once I begin that process. So while I have a minute, I thought I would share Part Two of my "The Joy of Little Gifts" post with you. If you would like to see Part One, you are welcome to see it here.
As mentioned in my previous post, I love giving and receiving, for that matter, favors, hostess gifts or small gifts. I have always felt they add a little something to an event and also bring joy to the recipient. That is always a good thing.
Some of the gifts I am sharing today are ones that I have made and some are ones I have received at events to which I have been invited. I love to see the creativity of others. It is so inspiring!
The gift below was a favor I received at a baby shower. The theme of the shower was Winnie that Pooh, such a cute theme for a baby shower. Of course, the theme was no surprise to me since I have known the mother-to-be since she was a little girl and she has always loved Winnie the Pooh. Who wouldn't, right?
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I also quickly made a label via Word on my computer. I then tied the plastic bags filled with the goodies with a ribbon and voila! There they were...all ready for the party! As I said, they were last minute and not my best, but fun anyway. The kids seemed to like them and they looked pretty sitting on the buffet table :). My son-in-law did a great job with the party too!
The next question was....how do I do that?
Well, I found this can of fish chowder and oyster crackers~~good fish theme items.
Everyone loves receiving a colorful flowering plant. This is never a bad choice :).
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Some of the gifts I am sharing today are ones that I have made and some are ones I have received at events to which I have been invited. I love to see the creativity of others. It is so inspiring!
The gift below was a favor I received at a baby shower. The theme of the shower was Winnie that Pooh, such a cute theme for a baby shower. Of course, the theme was no surprise to me since I have known the mother-to-be since she was a little girl and she has always loved Winnie the Pooh. Who wouldn't, right?
Aren't these labels just the cutest? The quote is so apropos.
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The jars, of course, were filled with honey.
I love the addition of the yellow and white striped fabric. The whole idea was adorable!
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These next party favors were a last minute creation of mine for a milestone birthday party.
The party girl happened to be my daughter and she was celebrating a special birthday. Her husband had planned a BBQ at their new home and was a bit overwhelmed with all that that entails. At the last minute, I realized he probably had not thought of favors. What guy really would? You can't blame him. Anyway, I thought favors would be a nice addition to the party. Since there were going to be many young children at the gathering I thought filling plastic baggies with some of the birthday girl's favorite childhood things would be a fun idea. She still actually loves these things anyway.
Disney World, Zebra Cakes and chocolate were some of her favorites as a child so, I quickly focused on those things. I found some Mickey horn blowers at the local party store, purchased boxes of Zebra Cakes and bags of chocolates at the grocery store and quickly put the favors together.
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The next little gift idea was inspired by this cute fish plate I found at the Christmas Tree Shop. I loved the color...so summery! Anyway, I found the plate and thought it might make a nice hostess gift somehow.
The next question was....how do I do that?
Well, I found this can of fish chowder and oyster crackers~~good fish theme items.
I then arranged all the elements on the fish plate as best I could...
placed everything in a plastic bag and tied it with a blue and white striped ribbon. All set and ready to go to for the hostess. Somewhat easy peasy :) -- once you buy all the ingredients.
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Of course, one of the easiest gifts to give someone is a potted plant but you want it to look as pretty as possible. This one is placed in a rustic burlap container tied with twine. Using some moss to hide the soil is a nice way to add an overall pleasing look, as well.
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These next "little gifts" I am sharing were take home gifts I received at a Hangar
Opening, if that is what you would call it. My husband works in the private aviation industry and sometimes I am invited to go with him to special aviation events. This event was the dedication, if you will, of a new airplane hangar that had just been built. The hangar was pretty impressive; very clean and shiny and beautifully decorated for the party.
The whole affair was quite elegant, if you can believe it. I was even able to tour beautiful, jaw-dropping corporate planes. There were two large planes in the hangar along with the all the dining tables and decorations. The food was amazing and the conversation was very interesting. At the end of the night each guest was given these take home gifts. The brightly colored jars were filled with mini cheesecakes in various flavors. I told you the affair was quite elegant...in a hangar no less!
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Pretty containers filled with simple flowers make a great gift, as well. Pink carnations are easy to find anywhere and look so lovely in this tri-vase collection.
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I love to find cool containers and dress them up to be given as hostess gifts, as well. This was a colorful condiment set I had found a while ago.
When I was invited to a pool party I thought it would make the perfect hostess gift for the occasion. I filled a few of the cups with some brightly colored candy I found at the grocery store. I tied the candy bags with red raffia ribbon to add to the bright colors of the condiment set.
I loved the fresh and vintage look of this "little gift". I think it could be one of my favorites this time around.
I loved the fresh and vintage look of this "little gift". I think it could be one of my favorites this time around.
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Finally, here is my wine bottle bouquet. I know I just shared it with you but, you have to admit...it kind of is the perfect hostess gift. Everyone loves receiving wine and who wouldn't love flowers to go with it? If you would like to see how I made this wine bouquet, you are welcome to see it here.
Well there you have it--the second installment of "The Joy of Little Gifts". I hope you have enjoyed the second gift journey. For me, it never gets old. I hope that is true for you, as well ;)!!
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