new idea for wedding favors

sari5765

I was hating on the idea of wedding favors. But then...

I was reading the Creative Jewish Wedding Book and came across another idea- personalized tzedakah boxes! Decorate them as you will, and include (or announce at some point) a little note saying that you'd appreciate your guests using them and then eventually giving the proceeds to a charity that means something to us. It's a mtizvah that you can take home! And even the non-Jewish guests can get involved! I've found a few sites that sell them, although unfortunately the ones I really want only come in very large quantities, but I'm going to keep looking. 

What do you guys think?

LBRM_NJ

Well, I'm not really a fan of favors, but, this isn't a bad idea.  The only part I don't really like is asking people to make donations to a charity of your choice - I may not want my hard earned money to go to a charity of your choice, you know.  It would be more palatable to me if I received a tzedakah box and was told to give to a charity of my own choice.

sari5765

Good point. I didn't think of it that way. Thanks!

parker624

Sari, my mom did this for my and my sister's bat mitzvahs.  She is a potter (she has a wheel and kiln in the basement) and created a different favor for each of our bat mitzvahs:  I had a spice box (my bat mitzvah was havdallah), one sister had tzekdah boxes, and another had a kiddush cup.  They were so special and had the date etched into the bottom.

Now, I'm not offering for my mom to make them for you, since she is in the middle of planning our wedding, but maybe check on etsy.  I think its a great idea.  How many guests are you having?  you'd only have to get 1 per couple, too.

slbriz34

Well, if it's in lieu of gifts, which would go the couple anyway, then donating to their choice of charity wouldn't be that big a deal.  It's done all the time.  But since some folks might have an issue, I'd just give the boxes out and just encourage everyone to be more charitable and humanitarian.  I'd also just make/offer one per couple.

leoraanna

We aren't doing favors and we aren't really doing anything in lieu of favors. We are going to be making a donation in honor of our guests to a charity.

penaltyshot

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_jewish-weddings_new-idea-wedding-favors?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:399Discussion:58240205-64ed-40c5-91d6-bdc17a392d79Post:285ccbd5-dc70-4fd6-954c-ca2b3efc4a8a">Re: new idea for wedding favors</a>:
[QUOTE]We aren't doing favors and we aren't really doing anything in lieu of favors. We are going to be making a donation in honor of our guests to a charity.
Posted by leoraanna[/QUOTE]
This is what we did as well. We donated money to ASPCA who gave us information cards to put on the tables.

arielleb

i love the tzedakah box idea! which websites have you found that sell them? I have been looking but haven't been able to find anything yet.