Easy New Year's Eve Favors: DIY Luggage Tags

Make these DIY luggage tags in just minutes to use as the perfect New Year’s Eve party favor for this year! Add them with a little sign encouraging people to travel in 2018, and you have one of the cutest New Year’s Eve favors, one that people will use for years to come!

New Year’s Eve Favors

One thing I learned a long time ago is that nobody wants to go home from a party with a bunch of junk that they in turn just throw away. I mean it’s okay, sort of, for a kids birthday party, but I’m pretty sure both the kids and parents would rather go home with a book like we did for my son’s Pajama Time Party or really anything that isn’t just going to fall apart.

For our New Year’s Eve party a few years ago, we actually made CDs for everyone of our favorite songs from the year, and I still love that CD. Unfortunately since no one but me actually listens to CDs anymore, I had to come up with a different New Year’s Eve party favor for this year’s New Year’s Eve party. Something people would actually like and could actually use.

DIY Luggage Tags

For my family, 2018 is going to be the year of travel. Not like 2017 wasn’t, but 2018 is going to be big time. My son starts kindergarten fall 2018 and travel just gets harder after he’s in full-day school all week long. I have a lot of other friends who love to travel as well, so I decided to go with a travel themed New Year’s Eve party favor – DIY luggage tags with sayings on them inspired by 2018 being the year of travel.

I also made a sign to go with the luggage tags using a little leftover vinyl from the tags! People don’t take favors half the time if you don’t tell them to, and I thought it was kind of clever. I created a file in Cricut Design Space you can download the sign to put with the luggage tag as well!

DIY Luggage Tags Supplies

If you want to be ambitious, you can actually make the luggage tags themselves using the Cricut Maker. That’s actually the next project on my list but sewing luggage tags in bulk for an entire party of people was not happening. I bought these luggage tags and these luggage tags instead and just added my own custom sayings to them. When you’re picking out luggage tags, go for ones that are either some sort of fabric (to use iron-on vinyl) or a leather or hard plastic that will work well with regular vinyl.

In addition to the luggage tags, you’ll also need:

Cricut Explore Air 2 (or Cricut Maker)
Cricut Craft Weeding Tool
Cricut Standard Mat or Light Grip Mat
Cricut Vinyl Transfer Tape
Cricut Easy Press (so much better than an iron for iron-on vinyl)
Cricut Bright Pad (optional but SO helpful)
Cricut Scraper (or a gift card)
Wood Block (for the favors sign)
Scissors
Cricut Access Fonts
These designs in Cricut Design Space
This sign design in Cricut Design Space (optional)
Cricut Vinyl and/or Cricut Iron-On of your choice. I used:
- Cricut Iron-On Lite in Gold & Silver
- Cricut Vinyl in Denim, Flamingo, and White
- Cricut Glitter Vinyl in Black

DIY Luggage Tags Instructions

These luggage tags are simple to make, which is good because you’ll likely be making at least a few of them if you’re using them as New Year’s Eve favors like I did!

1 – Open this Cricut Design space file with the luggage tag designs.

The designs are set up right now to match my luggage tag designs. If you want to change them so that for instance the paper airplane is a different color than the words, simply select the design you want and click “detach” down in the bottom right hand corner. This will detach the pieces from each other and allow you to customize however you want.

Once your designs are how you want them to be, click the “make it” button in the top right hand corner if you want to cut out all four designs. If you want to cut out just one design, click on the eye icon in the toolbar on the right next to the design you do NOT want to cut and hide it from view. Only things that are actually visible on the screen will be cut.

2 – Cut your vinyl.

The Cricut Design Space software will walk you through picking out the correct machine and the type of material you’re using (vinyl, glitter vinyl, or iron-on) to get everything ready to cut. If you’re using regular or glitter vinyl, load the vinyl onto your mat with the right side up and cut as normal. If you’re using iron-on, load it with the shiny side down on the mat and make sure to click the “mirror” button in the cutting screen.

Cutting DIY luggage tags with the Cricut Explore Air

3 – Weed your vinyl.

Next up, peel back the portion of the vinyl from the design that is not cut, leaving only the cut portion on the backing. This is easier said than done, especially when you’re dealing with small letters, little designs, and glitter vinyl.

My trick?

The Cricut Bright Pad combined with the Cricut craft weeding tool. The two combined seriously make weeding anything so easy, even if it’s tough to tell which pieces are supposed to come out and which are supposed to stay in like is the case with the little globe in the places to be seen design.

Just plugin the Cricut Bright Pad, push the on button, and let there be light! Seriously. What once seemed like a really tough weeding job becomes a cinch once the Cricut Bright Pad lights up all of those nooks and crannies, leaving a perfect path for you to weed away.

Making DIY luggage tags is simple with the Cricut Bright Pad

4A – Transfer your vinyl to the luggage tags.

If you’re working with iron-on vinyl, skip this step and read 4B. If you’re working with regular vinyl or glitter vinyl, cut a piece of Cricut Transfer Tape that’s about the same size as your vinyl design. Peel off the backing of the transfer tape (so you just have the sticky part left) and place the vinyl design directly onto the transfer tape – backing side away from the transfer tape, so the letters are sandwiched between the tape and the vinyl backing.

Use the Cricut Scraper to burnish (aka push down) the transfer tape on the letters to make sure they all stick onto the transfer tape then gently peel the transfer tape off, making sure your entire design comes with it. If it doesn’t, push the transfer tape back down and really work it into the tape then pull it up again.

Use transfer tape to make these DIY luggage tags easier

4B – Use the Cricut Easy Press to add your iron-on vinyl to the luggage tags.

If you’re using Cricut Iron-On vinyl, the process is even easier! Simply heat up your Cricut Easy Press according to package instructions (will depend on the fabric of your luggage tags) and set the timer appropriately. Once it’s hot, place the vinyl where you want it to be and press the Cricut Easy Press onto it. Once the timer goes off, check to make sure everything is pressed on completely. If any piece comes up at all, just press again. I found with the textured luggage tags, I had to press more than once just to make sure all of the pieces were totally in place.

Remove the backing from the iron-on vinyl, and you’re all set!

Simple 2018 luggage tags make great New Year's Eve favors

New Year’s Eve Favors Sign

I’m not going to go into the details of how to make this because it’s the exact same thing as making the vinyl luggage tags above. Simply open this design, cut your vinyl, and use transfer tape to apply it to a wood sign. I just used one I had around the house with some bright colored Cricut vinyl to match my luggage tags, but you could definitely paint one, buy one, or really whatever works best for you.

Place the sign with a basket full of luggage tags and let people choose whichever one they love. And every time they travel in 2018 with the luggage tag attached to their bag, they’ll think of you!