These are a few of our Favorite Things - 2015

For the last 5 years I have hosted a Favorite Things party. The first year I did it because it seemed like a fun idea and I'd seen it floating around on Pinterest. Then, it was so fun and everyone loved it, so I did it again the next year. Then, it became a "thing" and people started asking me in the early fall about that year's party. So, its become an annual tradition for about 15 of us. One year we had an early snowstorm the night of the party and I had people walking in the snow for over a mile to get to my house because driving wasn't recommended. Crazy!

If you're not familiar with the Favorite Things Party concept, here's the deal:
Each person brings their favorite thing (anything you like... your favorite lip gloss, kitchen tool, gift wrapping supply, gift card for coffee, etc.). It can't cost more than $10 and each person brings 3 of that favorite thing. Everyone's name goes into a hat 3 times at the beginning of the night. Everyone draws 3 names out of the hat (making sure you don't have any duplicates and you don't get your own name). You each have a chance to tell everyone about your favorite thing and then you give the 3 items you brought with you to the 3 names you drew from the hat. Everyone will go home with three new favorite things to keep for themselves! Hooray!! (The first 4 years we did it slightly differently. We did 5 items costing no more than $6 each. So there was still a $30 cap, but it seemed like our $6 per item limit was making it tough to come up with an item year after year. By upping the per item budget this year, we got some super cool stuff!)

Every year I write down all the items from the party so I can send the list out to all the guests afterward. That way, if you didn't get something that was given at the party, you don't have to try and remember what it was while enjoying your wine. Soooooo, now that I have this little blog I thought I would share our favorite things from this year's party with all of you. Just in time for holiday gift giving! Here are links to the posts for our 2014 and 2013 items.

My favorite thing for 2015 was this pack of conversation starter cards - Chat Pack for Kids. We have used another set of cards called the Melissa & Doug Family Dinner Box of Questions at our house. Our son LOVES to break these out when we have people over for dinner. The Melissa & Doug set is great, and I would highly recommend them. The only reason I didn't get them as my favorite thing is because the box is big and the cards are round. When I was reading through the comments for some other sets I saw someone say she carried the cards around with her in her purse for downtime in the car, waiting at the doctor's office, etc. I thought that was brilliant and I thought the smaller cards would be more portable. Although, I guess you could just as easily put the round cards in a zip top bag and be on your merry way. I clearly was overthinking and decided that a rubber band around the cards was the only option. My bad.

 

Here are the other items that topped my friends' lists this year...


Ingrid - Paper Sky Lanterns (think the lanterns that float up into the sky in the movie Tangled...). I can't wait to use these with our family! Ingrid's neighbor has used these on New Year's Eve and she writes a New Year's wish on each one before sending them up in the air. What a great idea. I might save mine to use at the beach next summer. There are 10 lanterns in the pack I'm linking to.   

Shonna - It seems like there's always someone who wanted to bring something different but the budget limit for the party wouldn't allow it. Shonna wanted to bring us the meatloaf pan that drains away the fat. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds lovely. What she DID bring us was awesome in it's own right - Benefit Cosmetics Boi-ing 02 Eyebright, Shonna sang the praises of this product for its brightening power to camouflage dark undereye circles. Sold. For those who live near or like to shop online at Ulta, its a couple dollars cheaper there.

Sushannah has very dry skin so she uses Bio-Oil as her daily moisturizer. Its fast absorbing and is also great for scars and stretch marks. Also available at Ulta.

Jen (from VickyandJen) has a husband who works in the beer and wine distributing business so she is our authority when it comes to that type of stuff. She recommended a particular Cotes du Rhone red wine (which we have had several times and I can attest to the fact that its a nice weeknight wine) and the Govino shatterproof wine glasses. Great for having a glass of wine out on the deck or with kids running around!

Susan gave us a set of Chalk it Up Canisters she found at TJMaxx. The cute little chalkboard label makes these perfect for sitting out on the counter. She uses hers for oats, nuts and other fun breakfast mix-ins. Great idea! If you have a TJMaxx or Homegoods nearby, you would probably find them cheaper than Amazon.

Lauralee told us a couple of years ago that her true favorite thing was her awesome strawberry huller, but it was too expensive to share with everyone when the dollar limit was $6. This year she was able to find one that fit the $10 price limit! She gave the Khun Rikon Strawberry huller and knife.

Jessie has a 2 year old daughter who is apparently quite the fashionista because she inspired Jessie to start wearing legwarmers. Jessie's three people got a set of super cute Lucky Love lace trimmed legwarmers. They could also be worn peeking out the top of some boots!

Andrea (from Oak Ridge Revival) had some shipping issues so she went with a backup item that she also really loves - holiday gift wrap and twine from Hobby Lobby! The paper is really thick and durable and the rolls are really long, so you're totally getting your money's worth. Plus, Hobby Lobby is always running 50% off something and if you wait a week or two the thing you want is bound to go on sale. Apparently, the word is out about the awesomeness of their paper,  and the selection at our closest store was slim, so she recommends hitting them early to get a good selection. Our party was the first weekend in November, but they put Christmas stuff out in June, so the earlier the better.

Bethany always cracks us up with the presentation of her item and this year was no different. It was definitely a "you had to be there" kind of moment, so I'll just get right to it. The Shick Hydro Silk TrimStyle Razor and Bikini Trimmer. This is a razor that has a battery powered trimmer on the other end for some of your more - ahem - delicate areas.

Erin gave us what may have been the most practical gift of the night, because just like the book says "everyone poops". Poo Pourri is a toilet spray that claims if you "Spritz the bowl before you go, no one else will ever know." A could different people in our group said it really did work and so I think this would make an awesome stocking stuffer! You can also find this locally (in a holiday scent!) at Monera in Ft. Thomas. You can find them on Facebook under Monera Jewelry.

Stephanie gave us a whole bunch of favorite things this year! Her favorite IKEA spatula (I have one and use it all the time!), Blistex Medex her favorite before bed chapstick, Zone Perfect nutrition bars (in double dark chocolate during certain times of the month), and Papermate Profile pens. She (just like me) prefers blue ink!

Kelly shared Mrs. Meyers cleaning products and how the amazing scent of her products inspired her to new dishwashing heights while on vacation! She gave everyone a Mrs. Meyers hand soap, dish soap and multi-surface cleaner. Kelly gave the lavender scent. My favorite scent is either basil or their seasonal clove scent.  

Sandy likes to shop local. More importantly she likes to shop at Fort Thomas Central! We love Fort Thomas Central! One of the jewelry designers that is featured at FT Central is Sherry Steffen. Sandy commissioned Sherry to create earrings for our party at our price point and boy did she deliver! They were all unique and so lovely! Make sure to check our Sherry's designs the next time you stop in the shop! You can also find her under Sherry Steffen Designs on Facebook.

Over the next few weeks, I'll post about our previous Favorite things, so you'll have a huge wealth of options when it comes to holiday hostess gifts, quirky items for that hard-to-buy-for cousin and things you'll want to keep for yourself! Everybody wins!

P.S. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links to my Amazon store, so if you click through and actually buy something through my Amazon link, the Heindl Haven will get a tiny percentage. You get a favorite thing and you support the Haven at the same time. Again... everybody wins! Happy shopping!

These are my awesome friends who come share their Favorite Things. This is the first time in 5 years that I've actually taken a photo at the party with people in it. Usually I just take a picture of the food. Priorities.