How to Have a Favorite Things Party in 2020

What is a Favorite Things Party?

Every other year my whole family gets together for Thanksgiving. There are some of us that are there every year, but due to the married couples who go to the in-laws every other year and other situations, our family is mostly together every other year.

A few years ago, one of my sisters started a new tradition for our “on years” when (almost) everyone is home.

It’s our Favorite Things event.

Based on the idea that Oprah started soooo many years ago – gifting her favorite things to her lucky studio audience during the week of Thanksgiving.

How Our Event Works

All the adult women in the first generation – myself, my sisters, mom, and sisters-in-law buy one of our favorite things from the current year for each person participating, plus one for the younger generation grab bag.

In our case, we buy 10 items; 9 for each other plus 1 for the grab bag.

For as much as we’d love to be able to say “…and you get a car, and you get a car!” while pointing at each other, it’s just not our reality.

So we keep the price limit for gifts up to $25 each. Or whatever you can afford.

At some point after Thanksgiving dinner, when we’re full and cozy, we all sit around in a circle (for those who can’t make it to our gathering, we facetime with them).

All gifts are wrapped individually and passed out to each person.

After everyone has all of the gifts in front of them, one person explains why their gift was their favorite thing and then we open that one gift all at the same time. We repeat the same as we go around the circle until all the gifts have been opened.

There is inevitably a gift that brings us all to tears. We are a sentimental bunch. *shrugs

Some of Our Favorite Things

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Here are some of the items that have been shared in recent years:

My Konjac Sponge – This one is still talked about, years after the first Favorite Things event. It makes your skin feel incredibly soft and clean. You just add water and gently clean your face and/or body.

While it may appear to be a lump of coal, it is not even close, and so much more! Seriously, a great gift idea for yourself and others.

Kuhn Rikon Silicone Chef’s Tongs 6″ Red – These small tongs are great for grabbing toast out of the toaster without burning your fingertips. Plus grabbing and turning small items while cooking. The silicone stays cool and is easy to clean.

Car Coasters Absorbent Ceramic for Cup Holder – These ceramic stone coasters are great for your car. They absorb the sweat from cold drinks keeping your cup holders dry. There’s a handy notch on one side, so you can easily remove them for cleaning. This set comes with 6, so you could easily break it up and have 3 gifts of 2 coasters or 2 gifts of 3 coasters, you get the idea.

Dreamfarm Supoon – Silicone Sit Up Scraping Spoon with Measuring Lines This gadget is great! It will help you simplify in the kitchen since you can measure teaspoons and tablespoons, scrape and scoop all with this one item. Plus, with the notched neck, it will keep your counters clean.

NIKIBIKI Women Seamless Long Sleeve Crew Neck Top, One Size – This is such a great layering piece for the cold midwestern winters, without adding a bunch of bulk to your outfit. Don’t let the one size scare you. This top stretches to fit almost any sized body. Plus it smooths all of those lumps and bumps that may have appeared after the holidays eating festivities.

Lucky Brand Two-Tone Tribal Pendant Necklace, 30″ + 1.5″ Extender – While this necklace was a little over our price limit, it is definitely a favorite. It is so versatile with the silver-tone and goldtone mix. It goes with everything! Plus whatever you’re wearing it with, shows through the opening of the pendant making it look different with each outfit.

Anlive Guardian Angel Bracelet – Sometimes I Just Look Up Smile And Say I Know That Was You – this definitely brought some tears around the circle. Such a lovely sentiment and a reminder of the guardian angels in our lives.

Jergens Wet Skin Body Moisturizer with Restoring Argan Oil – this lotion is wonderful. And saves time, since you apply it while you’re still in the shower. It quickly absorbs into your skin and works best when your skin is still damp. Even though it has oil in it, it’s not greasy at all.

Grab Bag For The Young Ones

After we are finished with the first generation exchange, we all put one gift into a grab bag for the second generation – all of the nieces that are there with us. And they get to pick one item for themselves.

It’s always so fun to watch these ladies have fun with it – teasing, laughing, and being silly with each other aka bonding.

As you can see, the variety of items shared in our Favorite Things event is wide. That’s the best part!

We’ve all been introduced to things we may not have ever tried or seen before and we learn a little more about each other in the process.

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Have you ever hosted or attended a Favorite Things party? What did you do differently? If not, tell me what your favorite thing is this year. We may add it to the mix for our event. 🙂

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