A favor is the one line on a shower budget you buy per head for something nobody asked for. Thirty guests, thirty small objects, ordered weeks early, tied by hand — and a few still sitting on the table after the last car pulls away.
So answer a different question before you shop: does this shower need favors at all? Often it doesn't. When it does, one property decides whether the money worked — whether the thing leaves the building in somebody's hand.
The etiquette authority never asks you for favors
The Emily Post Institute's guide to hosting a baby shower walks the event end to end: the conversation with the honoree, the guest-list ceiling, invitation timing, greeting arrivals, running the gift opening, tracking who gave what, loading the car afterwards. Search that page for "favor" (checked August 2026) and the only hits are Favorites and favorite in the site's own navigation. Not one in the hosting duties.
What that does and doesn't mean: it is not a ruling against favors — plenty of lovely showers have them. It means nobody is holding you to it, so a favor is a flourish priced against the things the guide does ask of a host. Nobody remembers the favor they didn't get. Everybody remembers cold food and a gift opening that dragged.
The take-home test: four questions, one minute
When you do want favors, put the idea through this before ordering thirty of it. Each one is a yes or a no.
- Does it survive a handbag? Coat pocket, car, possibly a toddler. Glass, meltable and fragile all start at a disadvantage.
- Does it get used up? A consumable can't become clutter. It gets eaten, burned, planted or spent, and then it's gone, guilt-free.
- Does it do a second job at the party? The best favors earn their place before anyone leaves — as the place card, part of the centerpiece, or the dessert.
- Would you take one? Not "is it cute in the listing photo" — would you carry it into your own kitchen and keep it.
Score it. Three or four yeses — buy it. Two — buy half as many and make them nicer. One or none — that's the favor that gets left on the table. Move the money to the food.
Four tiers, ranked by what actually leaves
Nearly every favor idea online lands in one of these four. The ranking is by exit rate, not by how it photographs.
| Tier | Looks like | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shelf-stable consumable | Local honey, coffee or tea, wrapped chocolate, seed packets | None worth naming. The default that works. |
| 2. Small useful object | A good bar of soap, lip balm, a plain candle, a cotton tote | Scent is personal — go unscented or very mild. |
| 3. Perishable edible | Cupcakes, cake pops, anything with cream or fresh fruit | On a clock from the moment it leaves the fridge. |
| 4. Decorative keepsake | Engraved trinkets, mini frames, anything printed with a name | The abandoned tier. A keepsake of someone else's baby means something to two people. |
Favors are priced in hours, not dollars
The money is rarely the problem — our shower cost breakdown puts favors at a couple of dollars a head, a rounding error next to food and venue. The cost hosts underestimate is assembly.
Do the multiplication first. A favor that takes three minutes to fill, tag and tie costs 90 minutes at 30 guests — and that lands the night before, on top of cleaning and chilling drinks. Pre-packaged beats hand-assembled nearly every time, and one nice thing per guest beats a bag of five small ones.
Counting is simpler than the internet suggests: one per confirmed adult head, taken from the RSVP list rather than the invitation list, plus a couple spare for the plus-one who materialises. Children will take a cookie instead and be happier.
🏆Prizes and favors are different jobs with different budgets, but one bulk buy can quietly cover both — the nicest few go to game winners, the rest go on the table.See the prize picks →Edible favors have a clock on them
This is the rule that turns a thoughtful favor into a problem, and the one the idea listicles skip. A favor sits out for the whole party and the drive home.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service is blunt: "Never leave food out of refrigeration over 2 hours. If the temperature is above 90 °F, food should not be left out more than 1 hour." Bacteria multiply fastest between 40 °F and 140 °F — the agency's "Danger Zone".
A shower runs two to three hours before goodbyes start (see the order of events), so a cream-filled favor set at each seat is outside the window before the guest reaches the car. Two fixes:
- Move perishables to the door. Keep them chilled and hand them out as people leave — the clock starts at the end of the party, not the beginning.
- Keep the seat favor shelf-stable. Chocolate, honey, tea and seed packets sit out all afternoon with nobody thinking about it.
The favors that are secretly a chore
These aren't bad objects. They just hand the guest a small ongoing responsibility, which is the opposite of a thank-you.
- Live plants. Mini succulents are the internet's default, and they're lovely if your crowd gardens. But University of Minnesota Extension notes they need modest water but abundant light — so thirty office colleagues is a coin flip, and a garden-themed shower is where this one earns its place.
- Anything printed with the baby's name. The host's favourite idea and the guest's least portable one: a name that isn't theirs, on an object they now feel rude discarding.
- Multi-item goodie bags. Five small things means five decisions about what to keep, and five times the assembly.
- Anything needing a fridge at the guest's end. Half of them are running errands afterwards.
Skipping favors? Replace them with a send-off, not nothing
What a favor really fills is a small ritual at the door, so the party ends deliberately instead of trailing off. You can fill that without buying anything.
- Send the leftovers home. Keep a stack of containers ready. Extra cake, extra cookies, the table flowers at the very end — all of it beats a trinket, and you wanted it out of your kitchen anyway.
- Let the games do it. Games with prizes already send several guests home holding something, on a separate budget.
- Say the thank-you yourself. Standing at the door thanking each guest by name is what the favor was standing in for.
FAQ
Are baby shower favors required?
No. The Emily Post Institute's hosting guide sets out a host's duties in detail and never lists favors among them. They're a nice extra when the budget and the hours are there.
How many favors should I order?
One per confirmed adult guest from your RSVP list, plus a small spare allowance for plus-ones. Order against replies, not invitations sent — that gap is where over-ordering comes from.
What is the difference between a favor and a prize?
Favors go to every guest as a thank-you; prizes go to game winners only. Different budgets, different counts — our game prizes guide covers the prize side.
When should favors be handed out?
Shelf-stable favors can sit at each place from the start and double as place cards. Perishable ones stay chilled and go out at the door, so the two-hour clock starts as guests leave.
Do virtual guests get favors?
Only if you were already mailing them something. Posting a favor alone costs more in shipping than the favor is worth.
Sources
- The Emily Post Institute — Baby Showers (hosting guide) — the full host-side duties, with no favor line in them.
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service — "Danger Zone" (40 °F – 140 °F) — the two-hour limit quoted above.
- University of Minnesota Extension — Cacti and succulents — light and watering needs for the internet's favourite favor.