Are you planning an 80th birthday celebration for someone special this year? If so, you may be looking for party favor ideas. Here are the top seven tips to help you find the right keepsakes to commemorate this milestone.
1. Plan ahead. Give yourself time to brainstorm and browse. If you leave this to the last minute, you may have to settle for what you can get. To find the best 80th birthday favors, you’ll first need to figure out what you want, then go out and find it.
2. Skip the dollar store. But don’t spend too much. Of course, you’ll want something unique and personal, which you probably won’t find in the bargain bin. But that doesn’t mean you have to invest a lot of money to impress your guests. A savvy shopper can discover cheap custom gems online. With a little perseverance, you should be able to find amazing, personalized party favors in the $1.50 to $3.00 range.
3. Choose something useful. By the time a person turns 80, they will probably have amassed a lot of dust collectors from other times. Don’t be tempted by that impractical trinket, no matter how attractive it is. Give your guests a souvenir; something they will really keep. Merely decorative items will eventually end up in the back of a drawer or worse. Instead, look for functional and fun favors. Some possibilities include picture frames, pocket magnifiers, key chains, mini spiral notebooks, mint tins, mugs, small flashlights, bookmarks, and photo albums.
4. Consider the personality of the person celebrating their 80th birthday. Don’t settle for bland, generic stuff. Instead, give a keepsake that is personalized to reveal something about the celebrant. For example, if he or she loves gardening, you can choose seed packets. Or if he or she is deeply religious, you can select personalized photo bookmarks with a favorite Bible verse. Or if the guest of honor is an avid golfer, they could opt for party favors with a golf theme. Make a list of your hobbies, interests, and likes. Then try to choose favors that reflect your uniqueness.
5. Include an element of nostalgia. Add an old photo of the birthday boy or girl and you’ll automatically transform your party favors into keepsakes. One possibility for a gift that sparks memories would be a personalized mixed media CD. It could be filled with the guest of honor’s favorite songs from every decade of her life. Another option is to select personalized bookmarks, magnets, notebooks or mint jars the year you were born. These provide a blast from the past by featuring prices, songs, major events, and sports and entertainment news from that year, and can spark conversation about the good old days.
6. Find something edible to please the crowd. This is always a safe option and will appeal to your guests of all ages. You could go with custom wrapped chocolate bars. You can order them online or make them yourself. They are a bit slow to make, but relatively easy to put together.
Another idea is to order unfilled personalized candy or mint tins, then fill them yourself with the guest of honor’s favorite treat. You can even put milk chocolate in kids’ candy tins, give adults the dark variety, and use the sugar-free kind for those on special diets.
7. Make it personalized. The best 80th birthday party favors will be unique because they are personalized. Whichever element you choose, it should include the guest of honor’s name and date of birth, and possibly a longer message and even a photo.
The 80th birthday favors you select are more than just a reminder. They’re also little gifts that say “thank you” to your guests for sharing in the celebration. Send them home with something practical, fun and personalized that reflects the personality of the celebrant. With just a little bit of effort, you can find souvenirs as unique as the guest of honor.