As humans, we seem to have this inherent love for celebrations. We celebrate holidays, major milestones, and other life events. Social celebrations such as religious observances and even sports events are observed all over the globe. Of course, this never comes as a shock.
These celebrations satisfy our inherent need for socialization. They can also help us express our emotions when going through major moments in life. Celebrations and gatherings are essentially social functions that unite various individuals and communities.
Traditions in Celebrations
With celebrations come many traditions. These are the practices and behaviors that are practiced during these celebrations. Of course, many traditions have been developed throughout numerous types of celebrations.
Putting up a Christmas tree for people who celebrate Christmas is one example of traditions in celebrations. Another example would be the practice of fathers walking their daughters to the altar during weddings. There are many traditions tied with all kinds of celebrations. One of the more overlooked customary behaviors that people practice to this day is the giving out of party favors.
The Party Favor: An Important Tradition?
Party favors are essentially any object that party hosts give to their guests during celebrations. These objects can be anything. They are given out during celebrations like birthdays and baby showers.
But they are mostly observed during wedding celebrations. Couples would have various things prepared for their guests. Some would give out a bag filled with small useful things like bottle openers or lighters. Others would prepare small commemorative items that they would place in small, clear boxes for protection.
Deciding what a party favor to give out is totally up to the host. They can opt for things that have a functional application for daily living. They can also go the other route and give out things that are purely for decoration.
Why Do People Give out Party Favors?
While many people find party favors normal, it does seem to be surrounded with peculiarity. Why would a party host give out small gifts to guests? Shouldn’t the guests bring the gifts and offer them to the party hosts?
Appreciation
It does seem strange at first. But party favors are essentially gestures of appreciation. Hosts want to express their appreciation to the guests for taking the time to celebrate a special event with them.
That’s why these party favors are incredibly common in events that revolve around major milestones in life, such as weddings and baby showers. These events are often celebrated with the people who are closest to us. It is only right that hosts show their appreciation to the people they celebrate with.
Mementos
We all love keeping mementos and keepsakes of certain events. These help us reminisce about these crucial moments in life. Party favors can act as a souvenir for guests to keep.
These can be mementos that commemorate the celebrations. Close friends and relatives may appreciate keeping this memento. This can be the tangible object that can help them remember these special events.
Assessing the Need for Party Favors
Party favors are nice gestures that can be heartwarming to guests. They can also help hosts ensure that their guests will have a wonderful at their party. But are they necessary?
Giving out party favors is never compulsory. People can ignore this aspect of a celebration, and there would be no harm done. But since many people have widely practiced this gesture, party hosts are compelled to distribute them to their guests.
Should You Give out Party Favors?
One of the things that will directly come with these party favors is the added expenses. Parties are already costly as is. Buying party favors will essentially make the party bills go higher.
For this reason, people buy small tokens that are relatively cheap. But even if a party host decides to buy inexpensive party favors, they have to remember that they are buying for many people. Giving out party favors can still be costly despite buying relatively cheap objects.
Of course, people should also assess if a celebration merits a party favor in the first place. This will depend on how meaningful a celebration is to the party hosts. Events that are shared with many people, such as weddings, deserve to have party favors given out. But it can be okay to ignore this section of the celebration during smaller events.
At the end of the day, the hosts get to decide if they should hand out party favors. This may depend on their spending ability and, of course, their willingness to give their guests something to remember them by. Ultimately, celebrations are not about party favors. They are about spending time with the people who matter most to us.
