A party favor is a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their attendance, a memento of the occasion, or simply as an aid to frivolity.
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Traditional
It is traditional in some Western cultures for the guests at bridal showers and weddings to receive party favors; these vary in price and durability in accordance with the desires and budget of the host or hostess. This practice has spread to many other formal occasions.
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Social Gatherings
For small social gatherings such as birthday parties, guests may receive a simple and inexpensive favor such as a small toy. In some cases guests might receive a small "gift bag" with a handful of favors toys or trinkets, candy, pencils or other small gifts.
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Ephemeral Items
Party favors may also refer to ephemeral items which help partygoers celebrate, but which are not
meant to be lasting souvenirs. Examples include but are not limited to party hats, balloons, noise-
makers, blowouts (paper tubes that unroll when blown into), Christmas crackers, plastic leis, glow
sticks, streamers, deely bobbers and confetti. In Britain these are simply called "party bags" or loot
bags or goodie bags.
• Party Hat - A party hat is generally a playful conical hat made with a rolled
up piece of thin cardboard, usually with designs printed on the outside and a
long string of elastic going from one side of the cone's bottom to another to
secure the cone to the person's head. Its name originates with its use: Party
hats are worn most often at birthday parties, especially by the guest of honor,
with a significant minority being worn at New Year celebrations.
Non-conical hats worn to signify an occasion's informal and festive status include decorated top hats, hats made from balloons, the beer hat or "beer helmet," and Mickey Mouse ears. In more extreme cases, partygoers may wear other objects such as lampshades or beer boxes, although the wearing of such objects often meets with social disapproval even when other festive headwear is permitted.
• Gift tags - Small stationery items used for party favors and other presents. They can be
adhesive or non-adhesive, folded designs. Many couples customize their gift tags to include
their names and the date of their ceremony.
• Confetti - Confetti is a multitude of pieces of paper or metallic material which is usually thrown at celebrations, especially weddings (and game shows, following the end of a milestone or the occasion of a big win), although it is largely deemed appropriate for any and all situations which may arise. Confetti is made in a variety of colors, and commercially available confetti is available in imaginative shapes. A distinction is made between confetti and glitter; glitter is smaller than confetti (pieces usually no larger than 1mm) and is universally shiny. Most table confetti is also shiny. While it is called metallic confetti it is actually metallized pvc. The most popular shape is the star. Seasonally, Snowflake Confetti is the most requested shape. Most party supply stores carry paper, metallic, and plastic confetti. Confetti is commonly used at social gatherings such as parties, weddings, and Bar Mitzvahs, but is considered taboo at funerals.
The simplest confetti is simply shredded paper (see ticker-tape parade), and can be made with scissors or a paper shredder. Other confetti often consists of chads punched out of scrap paper. A hole punch can be used to make small round chads. For more elaborate chads, a ticket punch can be used.
• Party Horn - A party horn, also known as a blow-out, noisemaker or a squeaker, is a horn formed from a paper tube, often one that is flattened and rolled into a coil, and which unrolls when blown into, producing a horn-like noise. Modern variations have a plastic mouthpiece, which prevents the swift degradation of the device from exposure to the moisture of the mouth.
• Christmas Crackers - A cracker consists of a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly
decorated twist of paper, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. The cracker is
pulled by two people, and, much in the manner of a wishbone, the cracker splits unevenly.
The split is accompanied by a small bang produced by the effect of friction on a chemically
impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun).
Crackers are also a part of New Year celebrations in Russia (where they are called "хлопушка") and some countries of the former Soviet Union.
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