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Last night I kicked off the holiday season with a group of friends at a favorite things party. Favorite things parties are always so much fun this time of year! I’m pretty pumped because I am going to 3 of them this holiday season. The best because I get to spend time with 3 different groups of amazing friends and also the best because WOW.. so many fun gift ideas! You can be pumped right along with me because of course I’m going to share these fun gift ideas with all of you! Virtual favorite things after in person favorite things! Everyone is invited! Everyone gets a car!

Sorry.. flashback to Oprah. No cars. I got a little excited there. :)

A friend snapped this picture right after a few of us walked in the door and I’m bummed because I really didn’t take many pictures after that and I wish I would have! I didn’t even get a picture with my friend Megan – the beautiful party host who owns this house. You can tell by her stunning tree that she has an eye for design. Her home is gorgeous!

Her cute 8 year old daughter snapped this one quick before we walked into the party and I wanted to share it to show off that wall.. amazing right!? I love the way she layered black, white and gold frames that hold sentimental pictures on shelves. Such a stunning statement right when you walk into her home.

Bouquets of red, pink, gold and black balloons were going down her stairs and placed in other fun spots throughout her house.

Pink is always such a fun, unexpected color for holiday decor. Her kitchen looked beautiful and the food was amazing!

Snapped this of the balloons while everyone was in the living room and realized after that I was in the mirror.. Diet Coke in hand of course. Ha.

Most of you know the drill with Favorite Things parties – I’ve been sharing them on my blog for longer than I want to remember! ;) – but if you are new here and haven’t been to a favorite things party this is how it goes down. The host tells everyone how many gifts to bring and what amount. For this party we each brought 3 of one of our favorite things that cost between $15-$20. 3 of the same thing! (For the party I’m going to in a couple of weeks people are bringing 2 of the same favorite thing that costs between $25-$30). Either works! Then at the party each person gets up and tells about their item and why they love it so much. How the gifts are distributed can be done in lots of ways. At this party we all signed our names on 3 separate pieces of paper when we arrived and names were drawn after each person shared their favorite thing to see which 3 people got to take it home. Another way to do it is to all share favorites first and then start at one end of the room and go in order letting each person choose a gift. Then back again starting where you left off so the order reverses. Am I making sense? Anyway.. so many creative ways to do this! At the end of the day it’s just so fun seeing what your friends love. Usually if it’s a friend’s favorite thing it’s something you would love too! Each person goes home with 2 or 3 new gifts and even more gift ideas!

After a few hours of chatting, gift sharing and laughing these were the favorites shared last night. Perfect gifts for family, teachers, neighbors and friends!

1 – capri blue volcano candle  2 – madewell blanket scarf   3 – winter white holiday candle

4 – snowflake ornament  5 – olaplex blonde enhancing toning shampoo

6 – olaplex bond maintenance conditioner   7 – mini maker electric griddle

8 – hair finishing stick   9 – fullstar 4 in 1 vegetable chopper plus  10 – large makeup bag organizer 

 11 – true lime (with gift card for Diet Coke)  12 – self tanning facial  drops  13 – tarte mascara

All so good! As you know Anthro candles are long time favorites of mine and you can’t go wrong with anything Madewell! I brought Olaplex (LOVE all of their products) and so did a couple of others (the purple shampoo is great for blondes!). I actually wanted to bring my battery organizer full of batteries. I ordered it and shipping was delayed! It didn’t come in time for the party. Maybe only a nerd like me loves things like that anyway so all good. ;) They actually drew my name for the vegetable chopper and we all had a good laugh! Then my friend put my name right back in the jar and gave it to someone else. My friends know me well enough to know that a vegetable chopper wouldn’t get used much at my house.. ha. :) My friend Katy who loves to cook brought that and raved about it so it’s a great gift for anyone who does love to cook! We were laughing at my friend Darci who loves to put true lime in everything she eats and drinks. Perfect especially for water and Diet Coke! I’m dying to try the hair finishing stick and the tanning facial drops! The make up bag was a hit too! All such fun items.

1 – adubor silk pillowcase  2 – fir and firewood candle  3 – magnetic measuring spoons set

4 – it’s a 10 miracle leave-in product  5 – pumi bar    6 – japanese salut towel

7 – danish dough whisk  8 – tinkle hair trimmer  9 – rose quartz roller (use with Aloe Vera)

10 – battery organizer   11 – supergoop sunscreen  12 – epicurean lip balm

Silk pillowcases are so good for your skin and hair! My friend swears by this one. Firewood and fir is hands down the best scent for the holiday season (I have that candle going in my house right now as I type this!). The measuring spoons are genius.. never lose one again! I can vouch for It’s a 10! I started using that as a de-tangler after a favorite things party a few years back and love it too. Same with the tinkle facial razors. I want to try Supergoop.. people rave about that sunscreen! The dough whisk was another popular items for cookers and I linked my battery organizer in this collage because you know.. there might be another nerd out there like me who would prefer that over a vegetable chopper. Stranger things have happened! ;) One item that accidentally didn’t make it into either collage was this microfiber hair towel wrap.  Another fun item!

I hope this post gave you a few fun gift ideas! I’ll share more from other parties and also my own favorite things round-up at some point too!

If you’re feeling at all stressed about gift giving or any other planning that needs to happen this holiday season it’s not too late to download my free holiday planner! I don’t know what I would be doing without my never ending brain dumps inside of mine. I love having a place to keep all of my Christmas lists/planning organized!

You might even call it one of my favorite things.

Second only to my battery organizer.

;)