All About the 2″x2″ Wedding Favor Box (and a Wedding Candy Calculator)

I was reading today’s hotfreshserving of Junebug and those ladies reminded me of the favor packaging-travaganza that is Bliss! Weddings Market.

Bliss! is not just some faceless company, it is headed by Queen Cheryl who you could basically call the Martha of wedding favors. And one thing she has a fierce grasp of is how to personalize those little details that people focus on at your wedding. And happily for those of us who never made it much past blunted scissors and paste in the design department, she has a huge section of "Bride Ideas" full of ideas for making just about any type of favor clearly your own.

And we’re not talking "cover in 24K gold leaf" or "hire a team of Himalayan midgets for a two-week shift." (Right now I’m remembering a bride who tried to get a Martha cake recreated at her venue, who lamented, “it required expensive custom infrastructure …”) We’re talking totally doable ideas. That involve things like bits of ribbon, pretty papers, a rubber stamp, a label, that sort of thing, … but the sum is more than the parts.

So if the contents of your favor containers are something really thought-out and personal … like, say, a jar of homemade jam, Grandma’s famous caramel, lavender Madelaines or whatzit and you want the packaging to say, "I am at THIS wedding for THIS couple and not at the five other weddings I attended this year," spend a few minutes at Cheryl’s "Bride Ideas". No joke, you’ll come out with something good, it might even inspire easy ideas for personalizing one or two more corners of your wedding.

Hi Amy, welcome! Your post reminded me of a new solid-color M&M stand one of our local higher-end grocery stores put in, maybe six months ago. Really, it’s a great resource! Has 21 different colors available for instant gratification, heavy-duty bags to store them in and a cool dispenser.

As you can see, in this store/floor model, the cost is $7.99 a pound. At MyM&Ms they sell un-customized, solid colors for $5.99 for a 7 oz bag or $49.99 for a 5 pounder, making the cheapest price $9.99 a pound. And you pay fairly steep shipping on top, of course. So these floor models are a great deal!

Even if you want your M&Ms customized, you can mix custom-printed mail order ones with solid colors from a dispenser like this and save a bundle, if your local grocery store offers it. So call around if you’re thinking of going the M&Ms route, which I personally think is adorable — a great way to play up your colors, & everyone loves them.

Thank you so much. I was actually leaning toward the truffle boxes, but noticed they are priced higher. I really appreciate your input.

Gayle, those look so amazingly delicious. What a GREAT idea for a wedding.

OK, to answer your question (drool …). Probably a 2×2 favor box isn’t the best container for these items. In a cube box they tend to sit on top of each other which is awkward, and smooshes the bottom one. (Same problem with truffles). 2×2 boxes do better with small candy.

Instead, you really need a truffle box, so the contents can sit flat and fit comfortably. You can use triangle-style boxes for smaller truffles, but for larger ones like the bourbon balls, you probably want rectangular. Truffle boxes always give dimensions, so as long as you know how large your bourbon balls are going to be, you’re set.

Here are three types of truffle boxes. One, the triangle truffle box, is probably too small for your favors, but a cool way to display smallish confections. Two (mini double truffle box) & three (personalized truffle box) would probably be best here, depending on the size of the bourbon balls, especially since they are probably softer than most truffles.

Just be sure of your size here. If you or someone in the family is making them, make SURE the boxes fit (like, order a sample). People tend to be generous when making treats like this and can end up with a really big number of larger confections than they planned. A bakery will be hard-hearted enough to keep the size down.

You are fantastic! Thank you so much!

They are on sale now in romantic colors for after valentine’s day, so I will definitely stock up!

Great question! I’ll find out and get back to you if I can find some on the shelves.

Hi Yvonne,

we could put 11 in ours if we really stuffed them in there. You could definitely use less! 5 or 7 would be a great number IMHO.

Can anyone tell me if a ring pop (the candy) will fit into a 2×2 favor box?

I love the silver mini candy hearts! Can you add those to the calculator for the 2×2 favor box?

I am in charge of decorations for a gala fundraiser. The theme is “Treasure Valley Treasures” (meaning people, places and things in our valley that are treasures). I am thinking of table favors thatare shaped like treasure chests and filled with candy. I don’t want to go with the pirate theme. This is an semi-formal affair for 500 people. We are using black tablecloths with metalic gold toppers. Any suggestions?? I desperately need some ideas. The event is scheduled for the Friday before Thanksgiving.

Kathy, I think taping the ribbon inside the box looks beautiful — very sophisticated — and it’s perfect for easy opening, like you said. The double-sided tape you get at any store, the narrow kind, is the perfect width for sticking directly to the inside of a 1/2″ wide satin ribbon, and it really does make the ribbon stick to the box.

I think this is fast to put together and looks great, even when you don’t have the beautiful labels on hand — even more so when you do. What do you think?

It was heck testing this out, and required buying a bag of dark-chocolate-mint truffles (not shown ) as well as the white ones, but it turns out that a max of 2 Lindt truffles will fit in a 2 x 2 favor box. They fit pretty snugly, so I’d say it’s a good fit.

I’d like to see Lindt Lindor Truffles on the calculator. They are sooo yummy and hopefully it won’t take too many per box.

Hi Annie, I get 50 pounds of M&Ms to fill 300 favor boxes to the top. BUT, this calculator’s more useful if you get yourself a physical favor box and fill it the way you like it. For example, filling all those boxes to the top is a LOT of candy, probably too much. You might want to fill them halfway instead, or even less, and put a little crinkle fill on the bottom.

So, try filling a real box half or a third full, and count the M&Ms you use (29 … 45 …). If you like how it looks, then use the calculator to determine how many pounds of candy you’d need for 300.

i used these boxes and guest thuoght they were great and there so cute i love these.

I wish I would’ve found this when I was planning for my wedding. This whole website is chock full of excellent information. I am working on shower favors for a friend and I was desparate to know what a 2×2 box would hold… I’m glad I checked here before buying all these russel stover chocolates on sale, I don’t think they would have fit! I also love the M&Ms idea, thanks for that tip!

Pillow mints are 50% added! They’ll go in the calculator itself soon.

How many M&Ms do you think it may take to fill a favor tin (2″ x 7/8″)?