How Many Lollipops Do You Need? A Guide for Weddings, Parties and Events
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It is the question we are asked more than any other, usually a few weeks before a wedding: how many lollipops do I actually need? Order too few and the last table gets nothing. Order too many and you are carrying a box home. Here is how we answer it.
The short answer
One lollipop per guest, plus about 20% spare.
The spare is not padding. People take a second one on the way out, a few end up in coat pockets, and someone always wants one for a child who was not on the guest list. Twenty percent covers all of that without leaving you with a surplus.
The numbers, laid out
| Guests | Order | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Around 20 | 25 pieces | One each, five spare |
| Around 40 | 50 pieces | One each, ten spare |
| Around 80 | 100 pieces | One each, twenty spare |
| Around 250 | 300 pieces | One each, fifty spare |
| Around 400 | 500 pieces | One each, hundred spare |
When one per guest is the wrong rule
The candy table
If the lollipops are the centrepiece rather than a favor at each seat, double it. Two per guest. A candy table that looks picked over by the middle of the evening is worse than no candy table, and lollipops standing in jars are the first thing people take.
Children
Children take two. This is not a rule we invented, it is what happens. For a birthday party of fifteen children, order 50 rather than 25 and you will not have to referee.
Welcome bags and corporate giveaways
Here one per attendee is right, and the spare can drop to 10%. Bags are packed in advance against a known list, so there is no drift.
Weddings where the favor doubles as a place card
Exactly one per seat, plus a handful for the vendors. Photographers, the band and the coordinator all end up taking one, and it is a nice thing to have thought of.
Two things that change the answer
Size. A 2.5 inch maple leaf reads as a gift on its own. A 13⁄8 inch paw print reads as one sweet among several. Larger shapes go further at one per guest; smaller ones want two, or a handful in a bag.
Price per piece. Our price drops as the run grows: $1.30 per lollipop up to 100 pieces, $1.15 at 300, $1.05 at 500. If you are at 260 guests, ordering 300 costs less per piece than ordering 260 would have. It is worth checking the next tier before you settle on a number.
How far ahead to order
Orders up to 100 pieces ship in three to five business days, so a small order is rarely a crisis. Larger runs take around ten days, and we agree production and shipping dates around your event so nothing arrives the morning after.
Seasonal dates are the exception. Halloween and Thanksgiving production books up from September, Christmas from October. If your event falls in those windows, four to six weeks ahead is the comfortable margin.
Still not sure?
Tell us the number of guests and what the lollipops are doing at the event — favor at each seat, candy table, welcome bag — and we will give you a number. We have done this for weddings of eighty and for corporate runs of several thousand, and we would rather you ordered the right amount than the largest amount.
Wedding favors · Birthdays and kids · Bulk and corporate orders · Ask us