Every holiday season, the same group of girlfriends gathers for what we call our Favorites Party. There are 15 of us now (16, until one of our crew moved abroad), and our hostess started this tradition about 15 years ago now! It has changed shape over the years, but the core group, our hostess, the time of year and that celebratory vibe have never changed.
How Our Favorites Party Started
The rules that first year were simple: bring 15 of your favorite thing. So if your favorite nail polish was the one you couldn't live without, you showed up with 15 bottles of it. There wasn't really a price point, but since you were buying for 15 people, nobody went overboard.
Then we took turns. Each person explained what she brought and why it was one of her favorites, and everyone went home with one of each. You'd leave the night with 15 little treasures, and our hostess usually made a cute bag for everyone to tote them home in.
And then there was the friend who didn't quite understand the instructions. She brought 15 DIFFERENT items! We all howled, and it made the night so memorable. That was probably 15 years ago, and I can still picture it!
How It Works Now
These days, everyone brings one gift worth around $100, and we do a gift exchange, Dirty Santa style. When it's your turn, you can open a new gift or steal one that's already been opened. It can get a little feisty!
Last year our hostess switched it up. Everyone started with a gift, and then through a series of instructions we passed them to the left or the right until everyone ended up with one at the end. It was fun, but personally? I like the version with stealing better!!
The Gifts Everyone Fights Over
Here are some of the most sought-after gifts from our party over the years, plus a few I've got my eye on. Most land right around that $100 mark, with one splurge thrown in for good measure.
01Anything MacKenzie-Childs
If you want to start a fight at a gift swap, just bring something in that famous black-and-white check! Over the years, MacKenzie-Childs pieces have been some of the most-stolen gifts at our party. The minute someone unwraps one, you can see everyone in the room start plotting. A utensil holder, an everyday bowl, it doesn't matter. If it has that check on it, it's not staying with its first owner for long!
And if this ceramic owl vase showed up at our party, I would absolutely steal it. My grandmother loved owls, and I keep a small collection of them in her honor. This one would fit right in!
02OUAI St. Barts Body Bundle
The OUAI body scrub in St. Barts is in my shower right now, and I am obsessed with the smell! It's soooo good. For a swap, bundle it with the matching body cleanser and a travel-size scrub, and you've got a gift that feels way more luxe than one single item. Trust me, this one won't make it through the night without getting stolen.
03Gorjana Parker Bracelet
Jewelry is always a safe bet at a swap, and Gorjana is one of those brands everyone recognizes the second the box comes out. The Parker bracelet is easy to wear every day and stacks with whatever you already have on. Full confession: I've snagged at least two of my favorite layering bracelets at this party over the years. So if you see me eyeing yours, hold on tight!
04Ember Mug
I brought an Ember mug a few years back, and my friend who went home with it told me later how much she loved it. It keeps your coffee at the exact temperature you like, and it's one of those things most people would never buy for themselves, which is exactly what makes it a perfect swap gift. I'm even buying one for my husband this year, because he is constantly walking from his office to the microwave to reheat his coffee!
05Case-Mate Jelly Tote in Ballet Pink
This Case-Mate jelly tote in ballet pink is so fun, and it might just be the one I bring to the swap. It's the kind of gift that gets an "ooh!" the second it's unwrapped, and the jelly material wipes right off, so it can go from the beach to the gym without a second thought. I love it so much I'm adding it to my ballerina daughter's gift list too!
06nodpod Weighted Sleep Mask & Blanket Bundle
Who doesn't want a better night's sleep? This nodpod bundle pairs their gentle-pressure weighted sleep mask with a compact weighted blanket, and the wisteria color is so pretty. It comes packaged in the cutest canisters, so it's basically gift-wrapped already! I've been eyeing this one for a while, and if it shows up at our party, I'm definitely stealing it!
07Le Creuset Mini Cocotte in Shell Pink
I just think this is SO cute and so luxe! It's a tiny Le Creuset cocotte in the prettiest shell pink, with a gold star on the lid and a pattern pressed into the top. It's from their Noel holiday collection, so it's perfect for the season, and who doesn't want a little Le Creuset in their kitchen? On its own it comes in under the $100 budget, so bundle it to round out the gift. Pair two in different colors, or fill it with gourmet hot cocoa and tie a Le Creuset spatula on with a bow!
08Pink Travel Mahjong Set
Not quite everyone in our group is in on the mahjong trend yet, but enough of us are that someone will definitely want this cute travel set! The mini tiles are pink and come with their own zip bag, four racks and a how-to-play booklet for anyone just getting started. It's perfect for game night on vacation, and who knows, it might be the gift that finally converts the holdouts!
09Barefoot Dreams CozyChic Lite Wrap
I never travel without a cozy wrap, and living in Texas, mine gets year-round use too. It can actually get cold here in the winter, and in the summer every restaurant and office is over-air-conditioned! If you're going to splurge on one, Barefoot Dreams is the gold standard of cozy, and this CozyChic Lite wrap is the one everyone raves about. It drapes beautifully over leggings, and dove gray goes with everything (but it comes in lots of colors).
10Louis Vuitton: The Birth of Modern Luxury
Okay, I may have just changed my mind about what I'm bringing this year! This coffee table book is SO gorgeous. It's all about the history of Louis Vuitton and those iconic trunks, and it looks stunning stacked on a coffee table or a nightstand. Now I'm torn between this and the jelly tote! It's the kind of luxe gift nobody buys for herself, which makes it prime stealing material.
11Gold Champagne Saber (The Splurge)
Okay, this one comes in a little over budget, but it's gorgeous!!!! A gold champagne saber with its own stand is the kind of gift that has the whole room yelling "steal it!" Our hostess is known for her love of champagne, and if she didn't already have one of these, I would get it for her in a heartbeat. Consider this your splurge pick, and maybe practice on a few bottles before the party!
What Makes a Gift Worth Stealing
After all these years of watching gifts get snatched, I've noticed a pattern. The gifts that get stolen are the ones people want but would never buy for themselves. A name everyone recognizes helps too, because the whole room knows what it is the second the paper comes off. And presentation matters! A pretty box or a smart bundle makes a $100 gift feel like so much more.
Pay attention to current trends, too. The recognizable, "hot" items of the moment are the ones everyone has been eyeing all year, so they're almost guaranteed to start a stealing war. And over time, you'll learn what your group loves. You'll start to notice which gifts get stolen again and again, and which ones seem to stick with their original opener!
Want to Host Your Own?
Honestly, either version is a blast. For the original, have everyone bring enough of their favorite thing for the whole group, take turns sharing why you love it, and send everyone home with a goodie bag. For the swap, set a budget (ours is around $100), draw numbers for the order, and decide on a steal limit up front. A lot of groups say a gift is "frozen" after its third steal, which keeps things from getting too feisty!
Then decide where to host it. We've had the same hostess every single year. She's the one who started the tradition, and now it's really "her" thing! She tried moving it to a restaurant for a year or two, but it just wasn't the same as being together in her cozy home. If no one in your group wants to claim it, you could also take turns and switch hostesses every year.
The same goes for the guest list. We stick with the same group year after year because that's part of the tradition for us, but you can invite whoever you want!
Whatever you do, make it a tradition. Fifteen years in, I can tell you the gifts are fun, but the friendships are the real favorites.
—Kim