DIY Bar Mitzvah Party Favors

Bar Mitzvahs are a time of celebration, fun, and serious spending by the parents in many cases. In many ways planning the bar mitzvah can be almost as harrowing and complicated as planning a wedding. One way to cut down on the cost, have some fun, and personalize the affair is to make your own favors. Here are three ideas for things you can make that your guests will love.

1. Make Your Own Chocolate!

What you need:
--Chocolate for melting
--Chocolate mold (Any shape that fits your theme)
--Double boiler
--Aluminum foil (colored if you like)

What to do:
This is an easy and fun favor to make. Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate of your choice. First cut up the chocolate bar you have chosen into pieces. To use the double boiler it is best to bring the water to a boil and then turn the stove off and put the cut up chocolate into the top pan to melt. When it is melted, spoon the melted chocolate into your mold. These molds are cheap, only about $3.00 per mold set and you only need one pan and can be found in a whole lot of places in a huge variety of shapes for the perfect diy party favor. When the chocolate is in the mold, tap the bottom lightly on the counter to get rid of the air bubbles and then just pop the mold in the freezer until the chocolate is set (about 5-10 minutes) and then you can simply pop the chocolate out of the mold. In the aluminum foil of your choice wrap the chocolate and suddenly you've got personalized chocolates for your guests!

Variations:
--You don't have to use chocolate, there are many types of candies that can be molded. If you can melt it you can mold it, so try this with different flavors if chocolate isn't your thing.

2. Party Envelope Favor

What you need:
--posterboard initials
--White paper (sturdy, preferably linen)
--colored pencils, paint
--straight edge ruler
--decorative scissors
--M and Ms

What to do:
Cut the thick white paper into 8" x 4". On one of the 4" ends cut it with the decorative scissors, creating a neat flap for the envelope. Fold in the long edges about ½". Next, fold the flap side down about 1 ½". Fold in half, using the fold from the flap as your top. Glue all of the edges. While this is drying, use the colored pencils or paint, or really anything your heart desires, to decorate your initials in posterboard. You can always go and buy the stencil, but I think that it is just as easy to use the wide variety of letter types that word processing programs have to get the right style and then print this. This letter can then be used to trace out on posterboard the letter you have chosen for your perfect bar mitzvah favors. When the glue is dry, glue the initials to the front of the envelope. Then fill the envelopes with M and Ms and you have a great diy party favor.

Variations
--M and Ms are just my suggestion, branch out to different forms of candy, or stickers, or anything small you can fit into these cute little holders
--You do not have to use your initials, try using a Star of David, or anything related to your theme if you prefer.

3. Personalized Tin Containers

What You Need:
--contact paper
--2" round picture of your choice
--tin container (check: http://www.amazon.com/2-oz-Round-Tin-Container/dp/B001SUMHOS/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1245431719&sr=1-26)
--M and Ms

What To Do:
This is perhaps the easiest and best of them all. These little tins are very cute and cheap. Print out one copy of the picture for each of the tins on the contact paper. Use scissors to carefully cut out each one and paste to the top of the tin. Fill with M and M's and there you go -- a beautiful, personalized and fun bar mitzvah favor.

Variations:
--You can vary what you fill the tins with. Almost anything will fit, be creative! Also, don't forget to think about the variations you can put on the top of the tin. You could find a picture of yourself, a Star of David, or a picture related to your party theme.