I LOVE getting party favors when I leave any event. Free goodies, yes please! Although not all weddings include parting gifts to their guests (and it is definitely not necessary), it is always fun when they do.
Mason Jar Cookies
There are so many different ways to do this, but for this post I am going to weave in my new favorite obsession: pudding.
Did you know you can make pudding into cakes, cupcakes, cookies and shakes? I had no idea. But you can, and it is delicious.
1. Start off by decorating your mason jars. Paint them,plaster them in glitter, or put a picture of the happy couple on them!
2. Cut out swatches of a fabric that corresponds with the wedding theme (you will use these later).
3. Next find your cookie recipe. I found this recipe on doubledippedlife.com:
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teas baking soda
1/2 teas. salt
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 small packages of INSTANT chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1 teas vanilla
3-4 cups of your favorite chocolate chips - Preheat oven to 350, or a convection oven to 325.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a very large bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended.
Stir in the eggs and vanilla.
Blend in the flour mixture. (Dough will be very thick! I mix by hand… or my husband’s hand…)
Finally, stir in chocolate chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. If you are using a convection oven, bake for 10 minutes.
Leave cookies on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, and then transfer to cool on wire rack.
4. Layer by layer place all the dry ingredients into the mason jar. Flour, some chocolate chips, sugar, pudding, more chocolate chips… you get the idea.
5. Once you have everything in the jar place the swatch over the opening and tightly secure the lid on top of the swatch.
6. Write (or type) out the wet ingredients guests will need to include themselves along with the baking instructions on a piece of paper.
7. Hole punch the instructions, thread ribbon through the hole and tie it around the jar. Done!
Ta-da!
Flowers
More accurately, flowers to be.
1. Buy packets of seeds (super easy to find at home improvement stores or plant nurseries) that match your wedding flowers. If you can’t find those, go ahead and just choose your favorite flower or one that grows well in your area’s climate.
2. For packaging think outside of the box. Here are a couple ideas to get you started:
- Envelopes
-Decorate the front with pictures, poems, or you could even hand them out after the ceremony as a cute way to give directions to the reception location.
-Make sure to include the plant info and growing instructions on the back. - Potpourri bags
-Pour seeds into the bags and tie with ribbon or twine.
-Type up all the plant info and growing instructions on a piece of paper and attach it to the string.
So sweet!
3. Hand them out to guests as they leave. This party favor is great because guests will always have a reminder of you in their yards!