Most brides today wish they could go out and buy anything and everything they want for their wedding and reception, but unfortunately most know that they need to stay within a certain budget. Because of that, many brides wonder the appropriate amount to spend on every item and accessory, including their wedding favors. How much is too much, and how small is too small? Having a budget is a excellent thought and even commendable, but no one wants to come across as cheap or tacky. So what is a excellent amount to spend on your wedding favors, and how can you get “the most bang for your buck,” so to speak?

Obviously the answer as to an appropriate amount for wedding favors will be different for every bride and every wedding. The one thing to keep in mind regarding your budget and your particular wedding is that your favors should be appropriate for the occasion itself; a more upscale wedding should have more elegant wedding favors, whereas a more casual wedding would offer more affordable and perhaps fun favors. If you have a wedding that includes a designer gown that everyone knows cost you thousands, held in a very ancient cathedral with a reception at a fancy country club, your guests may very well be offended or insulted by cheap plastic trinkets. On the other hand, fancy silver candlesticks may seem somewhat out of place at your barefoot beach wedding.

The size of your invitation list will also affect the budget for your wedding favors. Obviously the more people you have, the more those favors will cost you. If you absolute must have hundreds at your wedding, you may need to be a bit more modest when it comes to your wedding favors.

Your best bet for deciding the appropriate amount for wedding favors is to start with your budget overall, and once you’ve figured your dress, the catering, deejay, hall rental, and everything else, see how much that leaves you for favors. If the budget is somewhat skimpy at this point, you might want to see where you can make adjustments. Talk to your caterer about some options such as serving one less side dish, or see if you can cut back a small on decorations.

In any event, always plot on spending at least one dollar per favor; while you may not really buy wedding favors that are a dollar each, if you multiply that by how many guests you have, you then have you budget for favors overall. Two hundred guests equal two hundred dollars for favors; you can probably make something at home for that much. Assembling bags of chocolates or personalized candy bar wrappers that you wrap yourself are both excellent choices.

And if you have the budget for it, you might even consider gift bags with an assortment of wedding favors. Each favor might be somewhat modest, but if you wrap them individually in gorgeous wrapping paper and then nestle them in tissue paper in the gift bag, your guest will feel like they’re getting a handful of gifts to take home with them.

But whatever your budget for wedding favors, make sure they reflect the fact that you place some time and effort into choosing them as a way of expressing your appreciation to your guests for participating in your special day.

Before the recent financial crisis there seemed to be no limit on what parents were spending on their sons or daughter’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah.  It seemed to be a “can you top this” situation where one party was more extravagant then the next.  The decorations were over the top, larger and more elaborate venues were being used, bands with 10, 11 12 members, food from the top chefs, and party favors that were unforgettable all without a budget in mind.

We went to a Bat Mitzvah held in an airplane hanger.  This venue obviously started out as an empty space, they had to lay flooring throughout the hanger, bring in tables and chairs, ovens for the chefs, lighting for the whole area, build walls around the area being used, a sound system, set up parking areas and god knows what else to make this a usable place to hold a party.  They had an elaborate video made, that included a trip on a private plane and numerous other settings.  They had a huge band and then to close the night they really had the original or what is left of the original “Village People” perform.  They all kinds of things for the kids to win, electronic items, clothing, etc., etc.  They gave out several party favors when the whole affair was over.  Was the party unbelievable, absolutely!  Was it over the top, absolutely!  Did everyone have a fantastic time, absolutely!  Was it necessary to do all this, how can anyone count anyone else’s money or tell them how to spend it, but I can guarantee since the latest financial hit there are a lot less of these kinds of parties going on across the country then there used to be.

With parents cutting back on how huge and how elaborate of a pary to give, they are alos cutting back on what they spend on their party favors.  Even though supplying party favors is our business and of course we make more when people are able to spend more, we know and appreciate what is going on in the country.  We also know it is not how much you spend on your party but what you give and you imprint it (to be covered in another article).

Your budget is your budge, spend what you are comfortable spending.  Take beach towels as an example, this is a fantastic gift, but depending on how you decorate the towel it can get a small pricey.  In this case reckon about imprinting with a one color imprint versus embroidering them.  Another example is a drawstring bag, you can get one for .00 or .00 or one for less then half that cost.  Does the more expensive one maybe have an extra pocket or a sharper looking design to it, probably, but in these financial times you have to reckon is it worth the the extra money?  In some cases it will be, in most the less expensive item will work just fine.  Your child has their set on a sweatshirt, reckon a crewneck one versus a hoodie with pockets, less expensive but very desirable as a party favor.

But don’t make the mistake of choosing your end of the night giveaway solely on cost.  We have so many parents contact us and the first thing they say is “this is my third bar mitzvah, I just want something cheap, so I can be done with this”.  You can get something less expensive but still have some usefulness to your child’s friends.  Why even buy something cheap just for the sake of giving something out at the end of the night that will be thrown out the next morning.  A excellent online party favor company should have a large selection of bags and other items that are less expensive, bu with the proper decoration would still be appreciated by your child’s friends.  Of course if you really are on a tight budget, reckon about doing a white t-shirt with a one color imprint, inexpensive and who can’t use another t-shirt, whether it is to sleep in or play sports in.

Just remember these are 13 year ancient kids, do they want to receive a party favor at the end of the night, most certainly.  Do they really care how much it costs, absolutely not.  They just want something they can use.

Before the recent financial crisis there seemed to be no limit on what parents were spending on their sons or daughter’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah.   It seemed to be a “can you top this” situation where one party was more extravagant then the next.   The decorations were over the top, larger and more elaborate venues were being used, bands with 10, 11 12 members, food from the top chefs, and party favors that were unforgettable all without a budget in mind. We went to a Bat Mitzvah held in an airplane hanger.   This venue obviously started out as an empty space, they had to lay flooring throughout the hanger, bring in tables and chairs, ovens for the chefs, lighting for the whole area, build walls around the area being used, a sound system, set up parking areas and god knows what else to make this a usable place to hold a party.   They had an elaborate video made, that included a trip on a private plane and numerous other settings.   They had a huge band and then to close the night they really had the original or what is left of the original “Village People” perform.   They all kinds of things for the kids to win, electronic items, clothing, etc. , etc.   They gave out several party favors when the whole affair was over.   Was the party unbelievable, absolutely!  Was it over the top, absolutely!  Did everyone have a fantastic time, absolutely!  Was it necessary to do all this, how can anyone count anyone else’s money or tell them how to spend it, but I can guarantee since the latest financial hit there are a lot less of these kinds of parties going on across the country then there used to be. With parents cutting back on how huge and how elaborate of a pary to give, they are alos cutting back on what they spend on their party favors.   Even though supplying party favors is our business and of course we make more when people are able to spend more, we know and appreciate what is going on in the country.   We also know it is not how much you spend on your party but what you give and you imprint it (to be covered in another article). Your budget is your budge, spend what you are comfortable spending.   Take beach towels as an example, this is a fantastic gift, but depending on how you decorate the towel it can get a small pricey.   In this case reckon about imprinting with a one color imprint versus embroidering them.   Another example is a drawstring bag, you can get one for $7. 00 or $8. 00 or one for less then half that cost.   Does the more expensive one maybe have an extra pocket or a sharper looking design to it, probably, but in these financial times you have to reckon is it worth the the extra money?  In some cases it will be, in most the less expensive item will work just fine.   Your child has their set on a sweatshirt, reckon a crewneck one versus a hoodie with pockets, less expensive but very desirable as a party favor. But don’t make the mistake of choosing your end of the night giveaway solely on cost.   We have so many parents contact us and the first thing they say is “this is my third bar mitzvah, I just want something cheap, so I can be done with this”.   You can get something less expensive but still have some usefulness to your child’s friends.   Why even buy something cheap just for the sake of giving something out at the end of the night that will be thrown out the next morning.   A excellent online party favor company should have a large selection of bags and other items that are less expensive, bu with the proper decoration would still be appreciated by your child’s friends.   Of course if you really are on a tight budget, reckon about doing a white t-shirt with a one color imprint, inexpensive and who can’t use another t-shirt, whether it is to sleep in or play sports in. Just remember these are 13 year ancient kids, do they want to receive a party favor at the end of the night, most certainly.   Do they really care how much it costs, absolutely not.   They just want something they can use.