Bomboniere

Bomboniere (Italian) also known as "favors", are gifts given by hosts to their guests on special occasions such as bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings, baptism, First Communion or Confirmation. They usually include Jordan almonds, known in Italian as Confetti. Five sugared almonds symbolize health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life.

Confetti can be made in many forms using several different ingredients.

Sugared almonds are put inside a bag made of tulle or satin and tied with ribbons in assorted colors. The colour of sugared almonds is white for a wedding, First Communion or Confirmation; pink or light-blue for birthday or Baptism of a baby girl or baby boy, respectively, red for a graduation, and silver or gold for 25 or 50 year anniversaries.

Often they are adorned with dried natural flowers or artificial flowers made of silk or paper. The bag is often given stored inside a small vessel made of silver, crystal or porcelain.

In Australia the word "bomboniere" (often mispelt as "bonboniere") is applied to any small gift or keepsake given by the hosts to guests at any function held to celebrate weddings, first holy communions and the like. Such gifts may take the form of a wine bottle stopper, glass vase or picture frame as well as the more traditional sugared almonds in decorative bags.

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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

Torta Bomboniera
A different and new type of bomboniera is the Favor Cake or "Torta Bomboniera" as it is called in Italy. They are made using little carton box forming one or more tier of a "cake".
Inside each box there are the sugared almonds and a card printed with the data of ceremony (names, date etc.). On each box there are glued several types of fine objects made of many materials.

Some samples are below, for various ceremonies:

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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 graduated

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  Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and glass earth globes

Evolution of "Torta Bomboniera" to "Pasticceria Artigianale in Porcellana" (Porcelain Artisan Pastries)
The following type of Italian Favor Cake is an evolution of above types.
It is made using porcelain boxes shaped and hand decorated like very real edible "bignè" or cream puff.
Inside each box there are five sugared almonds and a card printed with data of ceremony.
For this reasons, the name that Italians give to this new idea is "Pasticceria Artigianale in Porcellana", that is Porcelain Artisan Pastries

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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.