Bomboniere facts for kids

A bomboniere is a special little gift given to guests at important celebrations like weddings, baptisms, or First Communions. It's a tradition that comes from Italy. These small favors usually hold five sugared almonds in a pretty bag. Each almond stands for something good: health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and a long life.

The bag that holds the almonds is often made of soft fabrics like tulle or satin and tied with ribbons. The color of the almonds and ribbons changes depending on the event:

• White is used for weddings, First Communions, or Confirmations.
• Pink or light-blue are for the birthday or baptism of a girl or boy.
• Red is for graduations.
• Silver or gold are for big anniversaries, like 25 or 50 years.

Sometimes, these bags are decorated with real dried flowers or pretty artificial flowers made of silk or paper. The bag might even be placed inside a small container made of silver, crystal, or porcelain.

In Australia, a bomboniere is also a party favor given at weddings or First Holy Communions. These gifts can be different things, like a wine bottle stopper, a glass vase, or a picture frame, not just the traditional sugared almonds in bags.

Favor Cakes: A Sweet Surprise

Another fun type of bomboniere is called a "Favor Cake" or "Torta Bomboniera" in Italy. It's not a cake you eat, but it looks like one!

How a Favor Cake is Made

A Favor Cake is built from many small carton boxes. These boxes are stacked to form one or more layers, just like a real cake. Inside each little box, you'll find sugared almonds and a small card. This card usually has important details about the celebration, like the names of the people celebrating and the date of the event.

On the outside of each box, a small, beautiful object is glued. These objects can be made from many different materials and come in various shapes. For example, they might be:

• Tiny porcelain flowers for a wedding.
• Small cartoon character figures like Tweety Bird or Minnie Mouse for a birthday or baptism.
• Hand-made glass shells from Murano, Venice.
• Figurines of a bride and groom for a wedding.
• Little glass sailor ships or earth globes.
• Small graduate figures for a graduation party.

Porcelain Artisan Pastries

There's also a special type of bomboniere that looks like delicious cream puffs, but they are made of porcelain! Italians call these "Pasticceria Artigianale in Porcellana," which means "Porcelain Artisan Pastries." Inside each of these porcelain "pastries," you'll find five sugared almonds and a card with the ceremony's date. They can be shaped like hearts or be round.

Images for kids

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  Sample of Italian favors used for First Holy Communion

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  Sample of Italian favor made with special ribbon containing 5 sugared almonds. Note the printed tags

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  Sample of Italian favors made with dried flowers

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  Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and porcelain flowers, usable for wedding etc.

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  Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and Tweety figurines, usable for Birthday, Baptism, First Holy Communion etc.

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  Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and glass shells hand-made in Murano (Venice, Italy)

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  Favor Cake for wedding, with 40 carton boxes and figurines of bride & groom

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  Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes with Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck figurines, for birthday or Christening

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  Favor Cake with 24 carton boxes and glass sailor ships

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  Favor Cake with 40 red carton boxes and figurines of graduates

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  Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and glass earth globes

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  Favor Cake with porcelain boxes and sugared almonds, heart shaped

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  Porcelain boxes with sugared almonds, round shaped

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  Favor Cake made with carton boxes and porcelain magnets formed like cream puff and central porcelain box. Inside carton boxes there are the sugared almonds.