So Saturday, December 9th was my 5th Annual Favorite Things Party. I cannot believe I’ve hosted five of these. I absolutely love this party and really enjoy having it between Thanksgiving and Christmas, even though that is a crazy time. I love the giving spirit that people are in and I love the great idea sharing for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. We had 12 ladies come, including my new neighbor and my two great friends from college who drove in from PA and NY. We had such a nice afternoon–sharing cool fave things, drinking wine, and enjoying some Trader Joes appetizers and treats. I vowed to keep this party simple and I did, for the most part. Mike took Caroline out for the afternoon so we ladies could have the place to ourselves. Isn’t it funny how that makes a difference?

I think I first read about this type of party on a blog, and was vaguely familiar with the concept from Oprah. Joy has helped me host this party each and every year, even in 2015 when she had just had Toby and couldn’t really even do stairs yet.

Here is how the party works:

• Round 1: I put #s in a hat, based off the # of people at the party. Each person draws a number and you go in order. When it’s your turn, you select the gift you want. Once a gift is chosen for that round, you can’t pick that gift again that round. This isn’t like a gag gift where you can steal someone else’s gift.
• Round 2: I put #1-12 back in the hat and have someone pick a number. Say they pick #4. That’s April, so anyone with an April birthday would start, the earlier in the month, the sooner you go. We’d wind up the round with the March birthdays.
• Round 3: This is Joy’s round idea–I call it the “giving round.” You are selecting a favorite thing for the person to your right. To start this round, you ask a question of the group that should have one clear winner, such as who traveled the furthest for Thanksgiving, who has the smallest/largest shoe, oldest/newest car, etc. Whoever wins that round receives the first gift of the round (chosen by the person on her right) and it goes from there.

• you get GREAT gift ideas
• you get to see what your friends are really enjoying
• you can invite anyone to this. Honestly, that’s one of the best features. You can invite ladies (or guys, too!) of any age, married or not, kids or not, etc. And you don’t need to know them very well either–it doesn’t matter. Anyone will have a good time. I love changing up my invite list to incorporate new friends.

So what are some of the best gifts?

• food and wine features: often from Trader Joes, often red wine and delicious chocolate pairings
• comfy items: infinity scarves, warm socks, candles, travel pillows
• makeup products: mascaras, lip glosses, lotions, moisturizers, dry shampoos
• kitchen gadgets: avocado slicer, veggie spiralizer, counter top sprays, wine glasses, mugs
• bed/bath items: face wash, body wash, scrubs, linen spray
• workout items: water bottles, workout gear
• practical cool finds: stain remover, scrub brushes, headlamp
• most unique: favorite underwear (!?!)

Some hits from 2017:

Portable wine chiller:

Fancy smancy top coat for your nail polish:

Lovely poinsetta:

Beautiful blanket scarf:

Awesome Sephora beauty box:

Good smelling product:

Best practical gift–flashlights:

Wonderful simplified home book:

Great toner beauty product:

Festive hand towels:

In shower-scrubber:

And that’s a wrap of the 2017 Favorite Things Party!