M is for MOXIE.

Favorite Things Parties are all the rage back home. I was surprised to hear from friends here in Nashville that no one had really heard of the concept--which naturally fueled my desire to host my first one. Oh, you've never heard of a Favorite Things Party either? Quite simply, you corral your BFFs, all of whom bring a snackeroo and five of their favorite under-$5 item (or whatever you decide on, collectively--some people go for a three items under $10 situation. I say, you do you, boo)... you nosh on all of the food, swap items and go home with something fancy you otherwise likely wouldn't have bought for yourself.

More specifically, here's what I did:

• Sent a crafty e-vite to all my best girls. It was a prime opportunity to overlap my friend groups, all in the name of food and fancy little surprises.
• We agreed upon the five under $5 model, and everyone decided which dish they'd bring--we stuck to appetizers, desserts and BYOB which worked like a charm. Gifts were to be wrapped and kept a surprise.
• Pre-party, I wrote everyone's name down on five colored snippets of paper and tossed them into a fishbowl--after we socialized and stuffed our faces, everyone was instructed to grab five slips from the bowl (being careful not to grab their own color).
• Keeping their names secretive, we gradually went around our circle, describing our item of choice, and joyously passed each of our five items to their new owners!
• At the conclusion of the gift distribution, I passed out a quiz I had created, listing all kinds of favorite things--everything from favorite breakfast food and favorite quote from a parent, to favorite part of town and place to spend a rainy afternoon in Nashville. It was a really funny way for everyone to get to know each other better. Each girl got a point for an original answer--just like Scattergories (for each answer that was duplicated, the responders had to mark that one off--no points gained!). At the end, the girl with the most points received a prize I put together (Starbucks gift card tucked in a paper cup, reusable Target bag, fun socks, etc.)
• Prior to the party, I had also personalized bags, so each gal had something to toss her gems into (as seen above).
• I also put together some of my favorite things as favors for each attendee: sharpie pens, Tazo teabags, stationery that I created just for the occasion.

Here are my spoils from the evening! Nail polish was a huge trend--I gave my beloved top coat away.

// clockwise: eos lip balm, nail polish, hair bands, chocolate covered almonds and nail buffer. //

Some of the other goods that were brought were mascara and coffee mugs. My friend Mikki has a friend with an etsy store who created custom hair ties for our party--and stamped Mikki's face as a seal of approval on the tag!

Sidenote: Mikki (who originated as a work friend) is leaving Nashville in a few weeks, and I have now immortalized her adorable stamped face in my office forever.

And some more snapshots from the eve (forgive the shoddy iphone origin):

 

// all of our gifts, waiting to be unveiled. //

// alex, getting into it. //

// my friends are crazy animated. so fun, having them all together. //

// hard at work on my customized survey. //

// gah, my friends are gorgeous. and so, so fun. //

We had a ball--this is certainly going to be an annual event, and I'm just happy to have been able to bring a teeny piece of Texas here, albeit in a subtle and simple way.   I'm grateful that my girlfriends are such troopers, and up for anything--I highly recommend this type of event to anyone wanting an excuse to get together.

Happy planning!