Recycling Goes Glam With Eco-friendly Favors That You Can DIY

Eco-friendly favor ideas

Wishing you could give favors with an eco-friendly angle? The possibilities are actually endless, and quite exciting! The key is to think of items that can be recycled in an original and artistic manner, while still being stylish and useful at the same time. We’ve come up with our own favor ideas that are sure to satisfy the most passionate of tree huggers! Check out these inventive and fun suggestions that are sure to be party-pleasers:

Ordinary Household Items You Often Overlook

Glitter encrusted light bulbs as Christmas ornaments

What do you do with old light bulbs? You throw them away, right? Don’t! Turn them into a simple craft project by decorating them with all sorts of embellishments. Here, we’ve encrusted them with tiny glass beads in a whole range of festive colors. You can do the same with metallic glitter or sparkling sequins. You can even paint the bulbs with one-of-a-kind designs, decoupage them, or encase them in sheer fabric, patterned paper or gift wrapping. When you’re done decorating, simply attach a satin ribbon or metallic cord to the narrow end of each bulb. Viola, you’ve got unique, recycled favors for a Christmastime wedding! Hint: In our example above, we’ve given the light bulbs a rustic yet elegant look by finishing them with raffia strings and leaf-shaped tags. Lastly, we used a fabric-lined basket to present the finished goods.

Things You Don’t Expect To Reuse

A perfect idea for the household with avid wine-drinkers! Used wine bottle corks can actually serve a decorative purpose. See how we’ve transformed them into charming drink coasters that make perfect favors for a wedding celebration with a rustic setting, or a wine-and-cheese theme. How to make them? Just collect several used corks, use a sharp craft cutter to slice them into thin discs, and glue these onto a circular base. The coasters can be further decorated by stamping the faces of the cork discs with a pretty motif, or the initials of the bride and groom. Then, for a pretty presentation, tuck a pair of coasters into a lovely organza bag for each guest to take home. Hint: Styrofoam can also be substituted instead of using corks. Just be sure that it is sturdy enough to be cut into individual discs. You can also try to paint these discs to suit your color preference!

Containers That Are Reusable


If you’re set on giving something eco-friendly, but don’t have the time to make something from recycled materials—we have a suggestion for you, too. The next best option is to give favors that are too pretty and practical to be tossed into the trash, so they serve other purposes after the party. Here, we’ve filled abaca heart-shaped boxes with candies and cookies. As a finishing touch, we’ve decorated the boxes with unique gift tags made from dried cornhusks cut into leaf and heart shapes. How’s that for something artsy to save the planet!

Other green ideas for party favors:

1. Old newspapers – Cut out portions of the paper with striking text or a unique image, use decoupage glue to seal them into strips and make amusing, one-of-a-kind bookmarks.

2. Discarded fabrics – Craft home-made stress balls using fabrics from old sweaters and even socks. For something luxurious, use wool socks or scarves that are no longer needed or have gone out of style.

3. Out-of-date calendars, brochures, catalogs, and magazines – Create colorful and whimsical glass coasters by decoupaging cut-outs from these materials. If you can make these play along with your party motif, so much the better! Hint: You can even use old greeting cards and postcards that have been gathering dust in the closet.

4. Empty bottles – Decorate old bottles of different sizes, shapes, and colors, and make them into fancy vases and clever candle holders.

5. Previous years’ phone books – Instead of store-bought wrapping paper, why not use the pages of a phone book to create pretty packaging? Mix and match the yellow and the white pages for an unusual yet cool look.

Got an idea for an eco-friendly favor? Don’t be shy! Share it.

4 comments

  1. How nice!

  2. Those light bulb ornaments are beautiful. What a wonderful idea

  3. Do you know if I could order those lightbulb favors for a bridal shower?

  4. Hello Maureen! That’s a good question, but they are not available for purchase at the moment. They are actually part of a DIY project that we will be publishing soon. Thank you for the inquiry!

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