How to start a Party favor side business

If I had to start a party pack business, this would be my 7-day plan.

If you follow each step and stick to the plan, by the 7th day you would have a business that’s ready to take orders.

Each day in the 7-day plan has a specific action you will take. These actions lay the foundation for your business and are extremely important.

What is a Party favor business?

I came across this business idea because I’m someone who loves to host parties for my kids. If you’ve ever planned a party, you know that putting the right party bag together can take time. From brainstorming the bag to use to searching for useful bag filler items. It can get so demanding that so many people choose to buy pre-filled themed party bags to save time. Hence this is a service that’s always in demand all year round.

As a party favor business owner, you will design, create, and sell the small, thoughtful gifts given to guests at events like weddings, birthdays, baby showers, and corporate functions.

This post will show you exactly how to get started.

What material and equipment do you need to start a party favor business?

There are a few things to invest in to get your party pack business started.

First you need a cutting machine, and my go-to is a Cricut explore 5.

Then you need an Epson tank printer - this is by far the chepeast printer that doesn’t miss the mark in quality.

You’ll also need a crimpet, serrated scissors, doubt sided tape, hot glue gun, heavy cardstock paper, ribbons, glossy paper, good sticker paper and good photo brochure paper. All of these will make your product look high-end and professional.

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How to Start Your Party Favor Business in 7 Days

So how exactly do you set up a party favor business?

I’m going to break it down into a simple 7-day plan. By the end of the week, you should have your first party bag made, priced, photographed and ready to sell.

Day 1: Decide What’s Going Inside Your Party Bag

The first day is about deciding who you want to sell to. Do you want to make themed party favors for busy parents planning kids’ birthdays, or favors for couples who want to keep their mini guests busy at weddings?

I personally love both ideas, and you can eventually do both. But start with one so you’re not trying to do everything at the same time.

Next, decide what goes inside your bag. Ideally, choose simple items you can personalise for different themes. I’d go with stationery, mini toys and snacks; perhaps an A5 notebook, crayons, ruler, bubble wand, small chocolate and Haribo sweets.

The same items can be customised for almost any theme. You just need a good printer , cardstock and sticker sheets, and I’ll show you how below.

For example, using our watermelon design, to personalise a blank ruler you only need to print a few stickers.

Day 2: Find Your Suppliers

Now it’s time to find the products that will go inside your bags.

Amazon is a good place to start because you can order small quantities while testing your business. Look for blank notebooks, crayons, bubble wands, clear PVC bags, ribbon, sticker paper and shredded filler.

Add them to your basket, but don’t buy anything just yet. Spend some time comparing prices with other suppliers first. Even saving 20p per item makes a difference when you’re making 20 party bags.

Day 3: Create Your First Pretend Party Bag

Today is the fun part. Pick a theme, let’s say watermelons, and make a sample party bag.

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This is the bag you’ll photograph and use to showcase your work before your first order comes in.

To personalise your blank notebook, ruler, crayons and bubble wand, create matching covers, wrappers and stickers in Canva. You can find the exact dimensions I use here.

Print your designs and attach them to each item. Then arrange everything inside your PVC bag with backing paper or shredded filler. Try both and see which looks better.

Don’t expect your first bag to be perfect. This is your chance to spot anything you want to improve before a customer sees it.

Finish it with a tag and ribbon. You can find my tag templates here and my go-to ribbons here.

Pro tip: Once you’ve created one bag, you can use Gemini AI to create mockups of the same product in different themes.

Day 4: Work Out Your Pricing

Before selling anything, work out exactly how much each party bag costs to make.

Include everything , products, sweets, packaging, stickers, ribbon and filler, and remember to account for your time.

Let’s say you’re making 10 party bags. Your rough costs might look something like this:

Party favor Estimate

On average you may spend about £26 making 10 packs. If you sell the 10 bags for £60 (£6 each), you’d have £34 left after the £26 material cost. If you sold them for £70 (£7 each), you’d have £44 left. Remember, that isn't all profit your time and selling fees still need to come out of it.

I’d also recommend selling your party bags in multiples rather than individually. Personalising one bag takes almost the same setup as personalising ten, so consider a minimum order of 5 or 10 bags and then let customers add more in multiples of 5.

Day 5: Photograph Your Product

Good photographs sell products.

Take bright, clear pictures of your finished party bag from different angles. Photograph the full bag, everything inside and close-ups of personalised details like the notebook, wrappers and tags.

You can also use AI to create lifestyle mockups for Etsy and Pinterest, but always include clear photos of the actual product customers will receive.

Day 6: Open Your Shop

Now it’s time to start selling.

Upload your photos to Etsy or whichever online store you choose, write your product description, add your personalisation options and publish your first listing.

It doesn’t need to be perfect. You can improve your photos, designs and listings as you learn what customers actually want.

The important thing is getting your first product live.

Day 7: Promote! Promote!! Promote!!!

Etsy already has millions of shoppers, but you’ll also be competing with other sellers. Give your product a boost by promoting it yourself.

I’d start with Pinterest.

Create around 10–14 pins for your product using different photos, layouts and text. Post them gradually and make sure you have a Pinterest business account so you can see your analytics.

Pay attention to the pins getting the most impressions and, more importantly, outbound clicks. Those are the styles you want to create more of.

Save your pins to relevant boards with searchable names such as Party Favor Ideas, Kids Party Favors or Birthday Party Bags.

Do this every time you add a new product. Create it, list it, make your Pinterest pins and then move on to your next design.

Final thoughts

Starting a business requires some effort. This post is all about the exact steps to get you started. And really, that’s it. In seven days, you’ll go from an idea to having an actual party favor business with a product people can buy.