My daughter recently had a little birthday party and we came up with some really simple and cute party favors for her guests. I thought I would share this idea for princess or ballerina party favors because it was pretty inexpensive and very cute. The little party guests couldn’t wait to get a little jar of their own and my birthday girl was absolutely thrilled when there was one left over, just for her.
These little jars can hold slime, candy, playdoh, small trinkets like earrings or jacks or stickers or you might make your own bubble solution. (I have a recipe for homemade bubbles as party favors here.) You could put beads for homemade bracelets… the possibilities are endless.
Here is how to make these little jars yourself.
I started by hunting down tiaras. This was actually tricky because I couldn’t find cheap and small ones in bulk anywhere. We happened to be at Party City and spotted these mini tiaras in the party favor section for $.25 each.
Next we took our tiaras into Target and wandered the aisles looking for a jar that would fit. Many of the standard mason jars in the kitchen section were too big and I wanted something without type and quilting on the jar (smooth sides). We wandered the food aisles and found a few that would work but they were a little pricey. So off to the baby food aisle and boom! I found Beach Nut organic baby food and the size was perfect!
We don’t need baby food so I bought applesauce and pear sauce flavors and my kids actually liked it. Next up was paint- we stopped at Joann’s and picked up Rustoleum spray paint, ribbon and little gems to glue on front.
I already had a hot glue gun at home and that was it for supplies.
The kids peeled all the labels off the jars and we ran everything through the dishwasher. Once the lids were completely dry, we placed them on cardboard and spray painted. I probably did 4 very light coats or so of paint over a few hours and we let them sit overnight to completely dry. I moved the jar lids before painting another coat just to reduce sticking to the cardboard (and having the paint peel off). I didn’t need to paint the underside of the jar- spraying the tops and sides provided enough coverage.
We screwed the lids back on the jar and originally I planned to use the white ribbon only to tie a bow around the jar and then adhere little crystals to the front. We had some leftover pleating trim that I used on a tote bag awhile back and my 9 year old had the idea to trim the jars with that first. It looks fantastic and totally reminded me of the ballet production the girls just finished. This little jar looks exactly like one of the fairies in the production so I have to remember this project for any ballerina parties we have.
We bent the little tines of the hair clip back and twisted them and then trimmed them off the tiara. I dabbed just a little hot glue to the underside of the tiara and adhered them to the jar lid. The tiaras dried very quickly and the dab of hot glue was enough to keep them very securely on top.
We cut the pink trim to fit the jar and dabbed a little hot glue to secure it under the lip of the jar. You want to be sure the jar can easily be opened and closed so don’t glue to the lid of the jar. Next I placed the jar on a table- lid facing me and tied thin white ribbon around the top of the pink trim. I find if I tie a bow upside down it looks nicer.
Last but not least we dabbed a little glue to the crystal and placed it on the front of the bow and that was it!
My little princess was determined to have candy as a party favor and I chose salt water taffy in pink, yellow, blue and white. I wanted candy with a wrapper since the lid of the jar had been spray painted- something that would fit and that wouldn’t cost a fortune. Salt water taffy is actually pretty reasonable (versus jelly beans or gum balls) and we fit about 8 in per jar.
All done!
And if this project seems complicated you can certainly eliminate that extra bit of ruffled trim and just use a simple ribbon. The jars will still be lovely. Also I should mention I did one jar as a sample and ran to the store for a few things. When I got home, my 9 year old had finished all of the jars herself. Every bit of the process except the spray paint. This really couldn’t be simpler as a craft project.
I literally did this project the day before and the day of the party so we didn’t have much time to hint for fantastic deals or wait for sales. Here is a very rough cost estimate on the supplies for 18 jars:
Tiara $.25- Party City
Jars $1.29- Target
Spray Paint $.22 ($4.00 with coupon) – Joann’s
Ribbon: $.66 (4 yards of pink pleated trim and 2 rolls of white ribbon) – Joann’s
Crystals: $.50 (you can probably find cheaper ones. I found Swarovski 6pks in the beading section at Joanns)
We made 18 jars so around $3 per jar. Again with a little advance planning and savvy shopping, you can probably get that price down even lower.
We did have 2 little girls that do not like anything princess-y whatsoever. For those girls I just bought Hot Wheels and put them in a clear treat sack with saltwater taffy and tied with ribbon. Easy and they were happy.
If you decide to give this project a whirl, please come back and let me know how it works out for you!
And here are a few other ideas you might like:
Unicorn Slime Recipe
Rainbow Fruit Cups
