All About the 2″x2″ Wedding Favor Box (and a Wedding Candy Calculator)
Let's talk about wedding favor boxes. These innocent-looking little boxes actually give rise to some confusion. For instance — when we say "favor box," are we talking about something that holds a few truffles? A slice of cake? A wine bottle stopper?
Most of the time we say "favor box" without giving a special description, it's the traditional kind, on the small side and designed to hold candy. For that matter, it's designed to hold traditional candy. These boxes are usually 2 inches square, and can easily handle five Jordan almonds, the gold standard for weddings.
Okay, but let's say want to fill those boxes with some other kind of candy. After all, many people like to hand out M&Ms in their wedding colors, and Champagne bubble candy is popular, too. In that case, how much candy fits in a traditional favor box? We heaped up our favorite 'Something Blue' boxes with some bride-tested candy choices — all in the interests of science. Enjoy.
1) White Chocolate Dutch Mints
These beautifully matte mints are all the rage for weddings, and no wonder. With their assertive mint taste, they remind us of a sophisticated, super-creamy version of that mint chocolate chip ice cream that was worth being good for on Sundays years ago. About 36 Dutch mints fills the box to the top.2) Espresso-Flavored Jelly Bellies
Jelly bellies really appeal to left-of-center brides, with flavors ranging from tongue-in-cheek chic (espresso or champagne) to down-home goodness (Key lime pie, hot cider). Of course, aficionados and mad scientists like to invent savory concoctions like Blackberry-peach cobbler. By our count, 75 espresso Jelly Bellys filled up the favor box.3) M&Ms
You probably at least considered this time-honored crowdpleaser. And as you've doubtless heard, you can order M&Ms with custom messages and colors at MyMMS.com. We counted 90 M&Ms in a filled-up favor box.4) Hershey's Kisses
Who doesn't love 'em, with their reliable chocolate punch and their unpretentious shine? Winking at you from the shelves of any store, Kisses are an easy way to play on the theme of love — no wonder they're so popular. Eleven chocolate kisses filled our box to the top.5) Champagne Bubble Candies
These chewy little lovelies taste as sophisticated as they look, with a complicated white grape flavor and a citrusy kick. (Despite the name, they're safely alcohol-free). Perfect for any celebration, we think they look especially divine in robin's egg blue. Thirty-two champagne bubbles filled the box.6) Jordan Almonds
Bestowing health, wealth and happiness (among other blessings) on the marrying couple, Jordan almonds are the most traditional of wedding candies, and always in the best of taste. The traditional number to include in a box is either three or five ... or if more, the number's traditionally odd (like us). We simply heaped our boxes to the top and found that they held about 15 almonds.But note: during the rigors of testing, one of our programmers helped himself to a scientific taste test, and practically broke a tooth. (Hear Cornel attempt to eat a non-premium Jordan almond).
Which reminds us to remind you that at weddings, Jordan almonds graded Super Fine or Premium are the only way to go. Anything less is encased in jaw-breaking armor of pure sugar that obliterates the taste of almond. And probably makes your fillings really grouchy, too.
7) Pastel Melty Mints
Wherever weddings abound, melty mints can't be far behind, with their soothing pastel colors and little candy beads. These nostalgic little bonbons are great for showers of all kinds, too. And if your wedding has a retro kick, they're even better. We heartlessly stuffed 12 melty mints into one box — not that you'd have to.8) Pillow Mints
So classic they're almost retro, the reliable pillow mint (also known as the "after-dinner butter mint") has graced gazillions of receptions through the years. The cool thing is that now you can bypass ye old random mix and buy them in one color — blue or green, say — which can look really cute in a nice container. A hefty 62 mints filled the box.
| Candy Type | Average per Pound |
|---|---|
| M&Ms | 530 candies |
| Premium Jordan Almonds | 120 almonds |
| Jelly Belly beans | 400 beans |
| Hershey's Kisses | 100 kisses |
| Champagne Bubbles Candy | 200 candies |
| Chocolate Dutch Mints | 210 mints |
| Pillow (or Butter) Mints | 270 mints |
| Silver Mini Candy Hearts | 380 mints |
Below, we've pre-set our calculator with the maximum number of candies you can stuff in a 2x2 favor box. But in reality, you probably don't want to fill your boxes completely full. After all, if you filled 100 boxes to the top with M&Ms, you'd end up buying about 17 pounds of M&Ms — which is a lot.
You might actually improve your presentation by using less candy, especially if you use some attractive paper shred underneath. The best approach: start with a real live favor box, come up with a presentation you like, and then use the calculator based on the actual favor and fillings you've designed.
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.
I am having bourbon balls (a Kentucky treat!) Will two bourbon balls fit in a 2x2x2 box?
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!
Yvonne — about 70 Kissables in there if you stuff it to the TOP. I’ll try to add this to the calculator for anyone who wants to calculate pounds needed (there are about 440 pieces per pound).
Great question! I’ll find out and get back to you if I can find some on the shelves.
Oh, sorry, not the regular Hershey’s Kisses, but the Kissables – they are like mini-kisses covered in a hard candy shell.
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.
I want to buy the valentine’s Hershey’s Kissables on sale to fill my 2x2x2 favor boxes?
How many Hershey’s Kissables would fit in one box?
Can anyone tell me if a ring pop (the candy) will fit into a 2×2 favor box?
Alicia, will do, it may take up to a week but hopefully sooner. Thanks for the suggestion!
Kathy, so sorry to take so long to respond, we have kept the gerbils VERY busy around here lately! But here’s a quick snap of the inside of the lid. You can see that the jig is up when you open the box, right? The pretty part is ALL about the outside, just like Hollywood starlets.
Inside the lid, from the way the top folds, you see that naked bit of cardboard peeking right out at you. Given that, and that luxury ribbon isn’t cheap, I would not do any more than tuck the ends right under the edge of the lid (done very inexpertly in this photo ).
Of course, you can run it all the way over the inside of the lid if you prefer, which would look a little more finished.
I love the silver mini candy hearts! Can you add those to the calculator for the 2×2 favor box?
Hi Doreen, what type of information are you looking for? There’s no question if you use something like a gold chest-style favor box and maybe a sheer black organza ribbon, it will look elegant, not silly (pic of gold treasure box attached: find it here.).
If you do something like fill the favor boxes with chocolate foiled-covered coins it will look more ‘theme-y’ and casual, which it sounds like you’d like to avoid. If you fill them with a more traditional candy on the small side with a metallic finish (e.g. silver mini candy hearts) the look will be elegant.
Personally, I also love the custom m&ms because the colors are so sharp. I think black and white would look gorgeous in a gold chest-style favor box. Our local upscale grocery stores have started carrying custom M&M dispensers that let you buy the most popular custom colors in bulk for a very reasonable price (around $8 or $9 a pound, I think — a bargain when you compare to ordering those suckers online!).
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.
Blake, thanks so much for the suggestions and pictures. Would you mind sending me a picture of the inside of the lid after the ribbon has been taped on? Thanks so much. Kathy
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?
I purchased the ribbon to go around the boxes and the rhinestone monogram – they are so beautiful, but my question is do I place the ribbon around the entire box and tape the ends together , or would it be better to take the ribbon inside the box rather than go all the way to the top. That way, guest could actually open the box without tearing it apart to open. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? I too am having the custom printed M&M’s in two different colors with their names on them.
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.
It’s going to be brutal, figuring this out … but we’ll try.
After all, I love my fat pants!
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.
35 m&ms fit in the round tin
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.
Is 90 m&m’s really necessary for 1 favor box? I have 300 boxes to fill and the calculator tells me I need over 50,000 lbs of m&ms to fill them all. Seriously? Um…that’s ridiculous.
i used these boxes and guest thuoght they were great and there so cute i love these.
wowo this is neat.. This calculation is pretty precise!
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!
Why doesn’t this calculator work for me? It doesn’t do anything when I hit submit. I am using custom printed m&ms and wrapping them in 9 inch tulle circles tied with ribbons. I made 2 so far with regular m&ms 1 with 30 pieces and 1 with 40 pieces, and would like to know how much to buy.
Pillow mints are 50% added! They’ll go in the calculator itself soon.
I’d love to see the ever-popular pillow mint. This tool was very helpful and realisticly they are about the size of the Champagne Bubbles Candies, but I’d like to know for certain how they measure up. …and they’re my favorite! ;-)
How many M&Ms do you think it may take to fill a favor tin (2″ x 7/8″)?
What other candies would you like to see in the calculator? And how did your results stack up compared to ours?