How to start a Party favor side business
Updated: Aug 18
Sharing the tea on business ideas you can start with £1-£5 products has become my recent interest.
The good thing is, these are businesses you start with little to no capital, so the risk is low and if you can manage to do it well, it will be the beginning of even more explosive business ideas that can earn you 6 figures.
I recently made party favors for my sons birthday, so now more than ever I know what it takes to start a party favor business and if I had to start one today, 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 carrier 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 being a supplier of such bags is a product business that’s always in demand all year round.
As a party favor business owner, you will curate and sometimes design a little bit, small, thoughtful gifts for guests at events like weddings, birthdays, baby showers, and corporate functions.
This post will show you exactly how to get started.
What supplies 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 something to cut paper - a simple paper trimmer and a Cricut explore 5.
Then you need a great printer. Ever since I bought the epson ecotank printer I’ve never looked back. It is by far the cheapest printer with long lasting ink that doesn’t miss the mark on quality.
For the party bag itself, I usually prefer pvc bags because they’re more aesthetically pleasing than cardboard boxes.
Finally, you also need heavy cardstock paper, ribbons, sticker sheets, good photo brochure paper, a crimpet, serrated scissors, doubt sided tape, hot glue gun, and 120-135gsm glossy photo paper. All of these will make your product look high-end and professional. I’ve linked my favorite brands below.
How to Start Your Party Favor Business in 7 Days
Day 1: Decide What’s Going Inside Your Party Bag
The first day is to decide who you want to sell to and by extension the sort of bag filler you’ll be buying. No matter the niche, I will typically go for simple items that can be personalised for different themes.
Stationery - rulers, A5 notebook, pencil cases, water bottles, crayons, bubble wand, small chocolates and Haribo sweets.
These items can be customised for almost any theme. You just need a good printer , cardstock and stickers.
Day 2: Find Your Suppliers
Now it’s time to find where you’ll buy these items.
Amazon is a good place to start because you can order small quantities while testing your business. Look for the blank notebooks, clear water bottles, crayons, bubble wands, clear PVC bags, ribbon sellers etc
Add the ones you like to your basket, but don’t buy anything just yet. Spend some time comparing prices with other websites like Temu and Faire wholesale. The goal is to get great quality at the best price. Even a saving of 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 and make a sample party bag.
This is the bag you’ll photograph and use to showcase your work before your first order comes in.
Today you’ll create stickers and books covers to match the theme you choose. Then you’ll personalise your blank notebook, water bottle, ruler, crayons and bubble wand etc. Not sure the dimensions to use? you can find the exact dimensions I use for notebooks here and for all other items 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:
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.
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