Wedding favors are a delightful detail for any wedding shower, wedding reception, or wedding related gathering. There are thousands of things to pick from when it comes to wedding favors and the message you want to convey. They can be edible items, keepsakes or just small reminders from your big day for your guests.

The great thing about wedding favors is that there really is something for everyone's budget. There are pre-made favors, homemade favors and personalized favors. If you're willing to put forth a little effort, you can get dramatic results without spending a ton of money by making them yourself (with a little help from your friends, of course).

Here are some unique favor ideas broken down by seasons of the year.

Fall:

* Directions for preserving leaves (found on the internet) inside a small picture frame decorated with leaves.

*Soap with a Halloween or leaf motif.

* Recipe for pumpkin Cookies and a pumpkin cookie cutter in a small box. Wrap the box With brown tissue paper and tie with raffia. Tuck in a small orange flower.

* A small glass, ceramic or plastic pumpkin filled with roasted pumpkin seeds.

* A glass, ceramic or paper turkey filled with candy corn.

Winter:

* Snow Globes (you can make them yourself from internet directions).

* White divinity candy wrapped in silver paper tied with blue or white ribbon.

* White M&Ms wrapped in white tulle and tied with a silver ribbon.

* A small grapevine wreath painted white and sprinkled with silver glitter, with white babies breath tucked in.

* Chocolate candy samplers in a small heart shaped box (great for Valentine's Day).

* A heart lollipop with rosebud tied to it with ribbon.

* Small simply decorated Christmas tree.

* Candy Canes in a pretty little container or box.

* A clear Christmas ornament with Christmas candy inside.

Spring:

* Mini straw Easter bonnets decorated with coordinated ribbon and flowers.

* Mini baskets stuffed with shredded cellophane or paper and topped with filled plastic or candy eggs.

* Plant a mini "garden". Place oasis on mini terra cotta pots. "Plant" some pastel Lollipops in the pot and add a little moss to finish it off.

* Wrap large homemade or bakery purchased sugar cookies in plastic wrap or cellophane And top off with a silk Daisy.

* Buy bulk flower seeds and pour into small cellophane bags. Tie tops with raffia (be generous) then add printed instructions for growing.

Summer;

* Place a single, shortly trimmed sunflower in a glass, bud vase or any interesting container.

* Make paper boats from the newspaper "comics" pages (these are great for tucking in place cards.

* Tuck printed homemade lemonade recipes into mini-pitchers. Decorate the pitcher handle with raffia and a fake lemon slice.

* Fill tiny beach pails with mini shells, a votive candle, or fun summertime nostalgic candies.

* Give each guest a paper fan.

There are tons of products to choose from on the market today. The internet, craft stores, and super stores carry everything from pre-made favors to materials to make your own. The sky is the limit here and you can go as far as your imagination can take you. Remember that you can also personalize many of these and other favors with homemade printed labels or ones you order from a printer. Of course, you can always stick with the good old mints, but it's so much more fun to work with your theme or colors or time of the year.

For more wedding favor tips see http://www.cheap-chic-weddings.com/cheap-wedding-favors.html

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Susan Bain is the co-owner of several popular websites including http://www.cheap-chic-weddings.com, http://www.just-Christmas-decorations.com, and http://www.small-dog-info.com