Originally Posted by Retiredandquilting

I need some advice. I threw a surprise birthday party for my Mother's 85th birthday, inviting all of her friends from the small Senior Community that she lives in. For favors, I did sachets, using my 5" square scraps. I made 60 of them (two for each attendee). They loved them!

The ladies in community loved this party and had a great time. So my 2 friends who helped me arrange and execute the last party, want to do it again. No Birthday required, just a party. So we have decided on a winter celebration, with a baked spiral ham and all the fixings, to be held on January 11, 2015. I am thinking about potholders this time, for favors. I have to start these soon, to get 35-40 of them done in time. So here are my questions:

(1) Is there something that you think would be more appropriate than potholders? These women all have their own apartments, complete with kitchens. I want it to be something functional, because their apartments are small and there is not a lot of room to spare. I thought of dishtowels, with a fabric strip sewn on; but even at $1 a piece, that is a $35-40 expense.

(2) What is a safe filler, that will indeed protect their delicate hands, but will not be too bulky for arthritic hands to grab on to. Keep in mind that we are trying to keep our expenses low, since we are paying for all of this between the 3 of us.

I look forward to hearing your ideas. I have lots of fabric and lots of batting, so any ideas that don't require me to purchase much, would be great.

Thanks in advance for your help!