These are a few of our Favorite Things - 2013

For the last several 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. In 2013 we had an early snowstorm the night of the party and the roads were basically impassable. I had people walking in the snow for over a mile to get to my house because driving wasn't recommended. I sent my husband out in our SUV to pick people up and another husband used his F150 to run a taxi to and from the party. The pile of snow boots and ski pants and coats at the door as people arrived was so awesome. All but two people came and one of those would have had to travel on the interstate which would have been really dangerous, so I totally understood (but she is from Wisconsin and KNOWS how to drive in the snow, so she would have been fine but the interstate was at a standstill because other people have no clue.)

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 $6 and each person brings 5 of that favorite thing. Everyone's name goes into a hat 5 times at the beginning of the night. Everyone draws 5 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 5 items you brought with you to the 5 names you drew from the hat. Everyone will go home with five new favorite things to keep for themselves! Hooray!!

Here are our favorite things from our 2013 party. Just in time for holiday gift giving! You can find the list from our 2015 party here and the 2014 party is here.

My favorite thing that year was inspired by a media fast I did as part of Jen Hatmaker's book 7. I hosted a group of women for a book club that fall and we read through and did the 7 Experiment all together. The week of the media fast, I send all the women a handwritten note through the mail. It was such a breath of fresh air, to put pen to paper and send them some personal words of encouragement that week. So, for my favorite thing, I packaged up a set of pretty notecards and stamps for mailing. I'm a sucker for stationery - and I'm an even bigger sucker for personalized stationery. These aren't the ones I used, but they're all so lovely...

Bethany brought us awesome beverage dispensers. There's no way she followed the cost limit rule this year, but I didn't even care because I got one of these and I have used it so many times. Here's a picture of mine. Its all heavy plastic and so its perfect for kids. Bethany said she kept it filled with water all the time so her kids could get their own water and getting it from a fancy dispenser like this is so much more appealing for kids than the plain old faucet.

Shonna loves to get her nails done and she has a thing about keeping her nails filed and cuticles neat. So, she's ALWAYS got emery boards and fingernail clippers at the ready.  

In keeping with the nail theme Stephanie recommended Nailtique Protein Formula polish for building strong nails.

Amy wanted us to be on trend with some charcoal colored nail polish. I don't remember which particular one she shared but I've tried one from Sally Hansen Called Insta-Dri in Slick Slate. She also gave us mini bottles of Wild Turkey American Honey bourbon. Kentucky is the bourbon capital of the world, so it seemed totally appropriate!

Sushannah has tried to convert me to the institute of Trader Joe's, but our closest store is 25 minutes away in a very congested area, so I can never muster the fortitude to make the trek. Regardless, I love the snacks she shares from TJ's. This year she brought Dried Mandarin Oranges! So tasty! She also brought us a travel sized bottle of CHI hair product.

Andrea from Oak Ridge Revival shared the awesome paper stripey straws. The perfect touch for a gathering! In fact I had some out for everyone to use that night, but mine said "made in China" on them. Hers did not.   

Kelly is another Trader Joe's devotee and she brought us his Honey Mango Shave Cream and his Gingerbread Baking Mix. The shave cream smells delicious and the bread tastes delicious!

Ingrid is my hair spirit animal. She can throw her hair up in a messy bun at a moment's notice and she always looks effortlessly chic. Even when she's digging in the dirt. The bonus is that she comes and helps me dig in my dirt sometimes. Anyway, her hair always looks good. Must be because she's mastered the use of dry shampoo. She recommends Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo.

Lauralee is always baking and cooking up something good. She shared a little trick she's been doing with chicken. The Beercan Chicken Rack holds a whole chicken upright with a can of beer inside so while the chicken cooks on the grill the beer penetrates and seasons the chicken. She gave us the rack and she also graciously gave us a can of beer!

Sandy is a tea drinker. Its the one area where we differ. She won't do coffee and while I will drink tea, I will always prefer coffee. She discovered Harney & Sons Tropical Green Tea at Fort Thomas Coffee. She also gave us a cute little plate with a teabag on it.

Erin is a woman after my own heart. I love nothing more than a good reusable straw cup. She gave us just that as well as a bag of Peppermint Bark just like William Sonoma.

That's it from the 2013 party! Hope it gave you some good gift ideas!

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!