Summer Party Favor Ideas
Hosting a summer shindig can be a great way to gather with friends or family and celebrate a specific occasion, or just as an excuse to get together and enjoy the season. There are a few steps you should always take when hosting in the summer, like wearing an outfit you won’t overheat in—as if you need another excuse to wear your favorite summery cotton dress -- and wiping down any outdoor furniture to get your space ready for guests. Of course, you’ll also want to plan out some seasonal dishes or cocktails to serve and queue up the perfect playlist.
Once you have the essentials squared away, your summer party will go off without a hitch. And while that’s obviously an accomplishment in and of itself, as the host with the most you might be looking for ways to elevate the experience. And that’s exactly where party favors come in. Party favors are a hallmark of kids’ birthday parties—we all have memories of heading home after a friend’s birthday party with a goodie bag in hand – but we’re all in favor of bringing this trend to grown-up parties, too. Party favors will quickly make any gathering feel like a proper party and are an easy way to make your event even more memorable for your guests.
Read on for some summer party favor ideas you’ll definitely want to incorporate into your next seasonal bash!
Monogrammed Totes Filled with Summer Essentials
One super practical yet oh-so-fun summer party favor idea begins with a beach tote bag. Pick out a style that you think your party attendees will love, or a few different styles if that makes more sense after looking at your guest list. Next, pick a monogram to make it personal—like their initials, or a fun call back to the theme or occasion of the event.
A beach tote is already a summer must-have your guests will love and use all season, but you can take this little gift to the next level by filling it with beachy essentials. Throw in your favorite sunscreen, some fun novelty sunglasses with pineapple or flamingo leggings, and a summery bookmark your guests can use in their beach read.
Personalized Towels for Beach Days
Sticking with the beachy theme, another great party favor idea for your summer soirée is a personalized beach towel. Pick and fun and vibrant pattern or a more subtle print, depending on the vibe of your party and your partygoers, and then add a monogram to make this gift extra special.
Just like the tote, a nice quality beach towel is as practical as it is fun, especially if you pair it with a few of the summer essentials we outlined above. From pool parties to beach days or even their summer vacations, this will pair perfectly with your guests' favorite swimsuits and sunhat while they soak up the season.
Summery Scented Home Accents
Of course, your party attendees likely won’t be spending their entire summers at the beach (one can only dream, right?), so you might also want to pick a pleasant scent that’ll bring summery sunshine vibes to them wherever they are.
Something like a scented candle, with bright, outdoorsy notes, can be perfect for this. They can keep the candle by their home office desk and light it when they’re working late on one of those summer days when they’d much rather be outside soaking up the sun outside. Or opt for a reed diffuser with tropical fruit or bright floral scents, perfect for bringing a summery feeling into any room in their home.
Since a candle or a reed diffuser is a slightly smaller memento (which is still such a nice touch, by the way!), consider putting it in a cute little gift bag with another small goody, like some nice candy or a travel-size scented hand lotion.
Personalized Can Coolers or Koozies
Another great summer party favor idea is one that you can hand out at the beginning of the event, and then your guests can then bring home with them after the party ends. That’s why personalized can coolers (also known as koozies) are always such a hit.
You can go two routes with this: the first, which might be a bit more involved, would be to order a personalized cookie for each guest. This would be perfect for a smaller event, and you can make them funny by ordering one for each guest with a picture of their face on it (a lot of online retailers will do this!) or keep it simple with a fun print and their name.
The second route is still a great party touch but will take a bit less effort, which would be to order one batch of koozies with a single personalization on it. If the event is a birthday party, choose that person’s picture as the pattern for the can coolers, or a monogram that includes their name and the date of the event.
With one of these seasonal goodies or personalized gifts to hand out as party favors at your shindig, you’re well on your way to achieving host stardom. And beyond the notoriety, these are also all fun favor ideas that your friends or family will appreciate all season long!