My Daughter (6 yrs old) recently won a costume contest at a Renaissance Faire, and was honored by being a “Princess for a Day”. The Faire people were beyond wonderful, they actually did treat my daughter like a princess. We would like to thank some of the members with a small gift. Several people gave my daughter a "favor" a small token to identify all that see it that you are a friend of the person giving the "favor" The favors were small pins to ware on the costumes. I would like to do the same, but not sure what would be appropriate to this time period and that would show our gratitude. Any ideas? We had thought of flowers, but with the heat and not sure if they would want to carry something extra, did not know if this would be a good idea. I do a lot of sewing and crafts, so making something would not be a problem. Thank you for your ideas and comments.
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I've worked many ren faires and am glad you both had such a great experience.
As for the gifts:
A small, elaborate hand mirror would be nice for the queen. Tell her that it is so she can see her true beauty as you did. This should be of pewter or wood and nicely carved if possible.
Find a pretty pair of scissors or a needle case for the seamstress. If you can find a pewter thimble that would be good as well.
In keeping with the feel of a gift from a princess I would stick to items that aren't particularly practical -- flowers (with the heat something that dries well would be best, roses are a good choice. a crown of babies breath would also work.), jewelry, embroidered hankerchief, some dainty rich cookie (Ladies fingers for instance), ribbons are a standard favor -- but I would get a metalic or rich satin purple to signify the royal aspect.
The thing to remember is that you need to keep in charecter. Just about anything can work as a favor if it at all fits the time period and is given with the sentiment of a noble princess honoring a lesser citizen that has gone above the call of duty. Remember these are people who get a great deal of joy out of the Ren Faire setting, so going out of your way to take part in thier fantasy is gift within itself.
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Of course I realise I may be misundersanding the question. Is this a gift to people who treated your daughter like a princess or to the Royalty that invited her into thier ranks? If it is a gift to the royalty you need to approach this as a common person giving a gift that they feel is worthy of a queen. I would make the gift something of a luxury item, a broach, a bottle of wine, a letter of thanks wrapped as a scroll. Again the presentation is importaint. I would approach the Queen bowing low and humbly thank her for the kindness, laying the gift at her feet. Play the part of the loyal subject who has been honored by thier queen despite your station.
EBay has a lot of beautiful medieval brooches and pins and jewelry, and general costume jewelry, so perhaps you could check there for some ideas, or actually purchase something for the Queen there. Personally, I think a necklace or very beautiful and antique-looking brooch (perhaps with a 'ruby' or 'garnet' (in quotes because they'd obviously not have to be real) in the center) would be a lovely idea. Or, of course, a long strand of 'pearls' (once again, to save money, they obviously don't have to be real) would always be appreciated, I'm sure. I wouldn't suggest a ring unless you knew or could guess a ring size well. Hope this helped!
The Faire's are superb! we've been to a number of, and enjoyed them every time. an suitable present could be ribbon earrings --they wore ribbon chokers, with a small 'gem' or allure sewn on the front. The band could be approximately 3/4 to a million inch in width, and there could be 2 narrow ribbon ties on the back so the extra wholesome might desire to be adjusted. What a pretty thought on your section!
I would have said fabric but you want something easy and light. Lace comes to mind, handkerchiefs, shawls, small pouches, etc.
Hmm. I would buy mead or wine. It's enjoyable, appropriate to the times, and easy.