Message in a Bottle

Create a nautical theme with easy DIY message in a bottle place cards. Simply slip a note marked with each guests' name inside of a reused glass bottle and leave at every plate.
Photo: Martha Stewart

Terracotta Cupcake Holders

Create a cupcake display by reusing wiped down terracotta pots. The small pots are just the right size to house these tasty treats and will look pretty for a garden party or other outdoor event.
Photo: Emmaline Bride

Modern Herbs

Rustic herbs look modern on a tabletop when dressed in sleek metal containers.
Photo: Martha Stewart

Custom Bottle Stoppers

Create custom bottle stoppers with pretty found knobs. Simply adhere the knobs to corks for instant vintage glamour!
Photo: Martha Stewart

Archive Love: Farm Fresh Favors

Help support local agriculture by offering your guests seasonal produce, such as beautifully colored heirloom tomatoes, as favors. For a farm stand feel, arrange the produce in large baskets so that guests can take their time sorting through them. You can also supply guests with eco-friendly burlap bags, which they can use to carry home their produce, and then use again after your party.

Photos: Brides

DIY Favor: Vanilla Extract

We love this fun favor idea for a culinary themed affair: homemade vanilla extract. Check out the easy DIY steps here.

Photos: Ruffled 

Artisan Bread Favors

Looking for some favor inspiration suitable for all your foodie friends?  Treat each guest to a small loaf of artisan bread! When left out for guests at every place setting, the loaves help to enhance an already rustic tabletop. 

Photos: Emmaline Bride

Succulent Place Card Holders

Keep things fresh at a spring or summer gathering with easy succulent place card holders. These quick, cost-effective DIY table-toppers are a breeze to assemble and will serve as a small keepsake for each guest to carry home.
Photo: The Wedding Chicks

DIY Herb Favors

Consider looking to your recycling bin for some favor inspiration. A collection of clean tin cans are the ideal vessels for planting individual herb or flower gardens for each of your guests.
Photos: Ruffled

Fruit Favors

Small samplings of locally grown fruits are the perfect way to end an already sweet affair! Browse local farm stands to find fun fruity options that can serve as refreshing warm weather favors. 

Photo: Ruffled

Upcycled Plant Caddy

Fast food drink carriers can easily be converted into one-of-a-kind plant caddies. The caddies will serve as pretty spring centerpieces (invite guests to take the caddies home post-celebration).

Photos: I Do It Yourself

Matchstick Favors

Matchbook favors are nothing new in the world of entertaining. Put a modern eco twist on this old classic by creating your own DIY matchstick favors. Clean glass Mason jars are the ideal vessels to display handfuls of strike-anywhere matches for each of your guests to take away.

Photos: Ruffled

Spring Favors

Spring has (almost) sprung! Offer your guests pretty party favors inspired by the new season. Reused aluminum cans filled with bulbs are a charming and thoughtful take-away gift for any spring celebration.
Photos: Once Wed

Edible Cones

When in search of storage for small favors, rather than purchase paper cones, which will more than likely end up in the trash, organize your treats in edible waffle cones. Fill each waffle cone with small tasty favors, such as roasted nuts. Rest one cone at each place setting for an inexpensive and relatively waste-free favor option that is just as simple as it is sweet.

Photo: Food Network

Heart-Healthy Favors

Treat your Thanksgiving guests to some heart-healthy favors this year by creating cones made from reclaimed fabric remnants, which can then be filled with nuts or other small snacks.

Photo: Martha Stewart

Vintage Gift Tags

Looking to decorate a small favor or gift? Etsy offers recycled and upcycled gift tags that range from traditional to quirky to sweet. Book lovers will adore the assortment of eco gift tags made from the pages of vintage poetry books and recycled library catalog cards. Have a foodie in the family? Check out the many gift tags crafted from the pages of vintage cookbooks.

Photos: Etsy

Jelly Jars

Personalized jars of locally made jellies and jams serve as thoughtful and affordable favors year round. Customize each jar with vintage ribbons and one-of-a-kind labels or print special messages on tags made from recycled cardstock.

Photo: Once Wed

Floral Pin Place Cards

When it comes to place cards offer your guests more than just a designated place to sit. Instead, offer them fun, quirky pins as small favors. A simple search on sites such as Etsy will provide a number of vintage retailers who carry gently used secondhand jewelry, much of which can be purchased in bulk for a fair price.

Photo: The Knot

Cheers!

Some events, such as weddings, call for a celebratory “Cheers!” If you’d like to greet a new couple or a new year with confetti be sure to release something eco into the air. Offer guests adorable corked test tubes filled with birdseed or wildflower seed or eco-friendly cones filled with fresh daisy or rose petals. 

Photos: Brides & 100 Layer Cake

Bandana Table Setting

The next time you're cleaning out closets and dresser drawers be sure to hold onto vintage scarves and gently worn bandanas. Brightly colored bandanas are a smart way to add bursts of color to a tabletop. Spread the washed and ironed bandanas down the center of your table to serve as a fun and colorful table runner. For kid-friendly favors consider wrapping small candies or toys in the jewel-toned bandanas. Because of their basic square shape, reused bandanas can also be used as festive cloth napkins.
Photo: Bridesmaid