Tea Bags - Buy your favourite teas in bulk, or devise a blend to your liking, then decant it into packets large enough to brew an entire pot. Attach a homemade tag inscribed with a fitting message to a length of embroidery thread, which can be sealed into the seam of the tea bag.

Candles - For a unique autumn favour, wrap tapers in vellum; dress up with blossoms or a matchbox covered with paper, florets, and real leaves. Tie box to candles with a cord threaded through the box's underside.

Tea and cookies - Tea is twice as nice coupled with cookies flavoured the same way. These Earl Grey tea cookies were made by mixing tea leaves into the shortbread batter. Customize a box with corrugated paper to form sections for cookies and tea bags. Ours is wrapped with damask paper and ribbon. Monogrammed tags, shaped like ones for tea bags, reveal the gift inside.

Cookie Jars - It's only fitting to give cookies in a jar -- this one is tiny in size but big in old-fashioned charm. The mini store-bought cookies inside include chocolate chip, oatmeal cranberry, and shortbread currant. Embellish the jar with a ribbon-tied tag and a homemade label (affix with double-sided tape).

Coffee-Flavoured Favours - Blue-and-white packaging complements dark-brown coffee favours. Chocolate-covered espresso and coffee beans are stacked in hexagonal boxes tied with silk ribbon. Use rubber stamps (made at an office-supply store) to identify the treats. Homemade coffee truffles, composed of bittersweet chocolate ganache spiked with Irish whiskey and coffee extract, nestle inside candy cups; paper bands, made on a computer using clip art, dress up their boxes. Rich espresso fudge brownies (wrapped in cellophane) are covered with dotted paper

Pears - Filled with miniature pears, fiber bags make inviting favours. The bride's and groom's names, the wedding date, and "A Perfect Pair" is printed on labels tied to the bags with strands of paper ribbon.