In This Article

• Quick Answer
• A Simple Quantity Guide
• Should I Order One Stubby Holder Per Guest?
• How Many Stubby Holders Do I Need for 100 Wedding Guests?
• What About a 150-Person Wedding?
• Should Couples Share One?
• How Many Do I Need for a Birthday Party?
• How Many for a Hen’s Party?
• What About a Bucks Party?
• How Many for a Company BBQ?
• How Many Promotional Stubby Holders Do I Need for a Trade Show?
• Should Every Visitor Get One?
• How Many for a Sporting Club?
• Should I Always Order 10% Extra?
• When Does Ordering Extra Make Sense?
• When Should You Avoid Ordering Too Many?
• Does Ordering More Reduce the Price Per Stubby Holder?
• Should I Order Extra for Future Events?
• Can I Reorder the Same Design Later?
• A Simple Way to Calculate Your Order
• The Bottom Line
• Frequently Asked Questions

Working out how many personalised stubby holders to order sounds simple until you actually sit down with the guest list.

If 100 people are coming to a wedding, do you order exactly 100? Do couples share one? Should you allow for last-minute guests? What happens if you want to keep a few after the event?

For a company BBQ or trade show, the calculation gets even less obvious. You might have 500 people attending the event, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need 500 stubby holders.

A good starting point for most weddings and private events is one stubby holder per guest, plus a small number of extras. Around 5–10% extra is usually a practical buffer for larger private events, while small groups such as hen’s parties may only need two or three spares.

Corporate events are different. For those, it makes more sense to calculate from the number of people you realistically expect to receive one.

The right quantity depends less on the size of the venue and more on how the stubby holders will actually be used.

Quick Answer

For weddings, birthdays and other private events, start with one personalised stubby holder per guest.

For a wedding with 100 guests, ordering around 105–110 holders gives you a little room for last-minute additions, keepsakes or unexpected extras.

For a small hen’s or bucks party, ordering the exact number of guests plus two or three spare holders is normally enough.

For trade shows, festivals and promotional events, don’t order based on total event attendance. Base the quantity on expected booth traffic, giveaway rate and how many people you genuinely plan to hand one to.

A Simple Quantity Guide

The table below is a useful starting point for weddings, birthdays and other events where each guest is expected to receive their own stubby holder.

These are planning estimates rather than fixed rules.

If your guest list is completely locked in and the design is specific to that one event, you may not need the full 10% buffer.

If the guest list is still moving, ordering a few more can save you from worrying later.

Should I Order One Stubby Holder Per Guest?

For most weddings, birthdays, hen’s parties and bucks parties, one per person is the simplest approach.

That is especially true when the stubby holder is being used as a personalised favour.

If every guest arrives at their place setting and sees a custom stubby holder waiting for them, nobody needs to work out who is sharing with whom.

It also means guests can take theirs home afterwards.

Trying to reduce the quantity by giving one to each couple can work, but it creates more planning.

Some couples may both want one.

Some guests may arrive alone.

Someone may leave theirs behind and another person may pick it up.

For most private events, the difference in cost is often worth the simplicity of giving everyone their own.

How Many Stubby Holders Do I Need for 100 Wedding Guests?

For a wedding with 100 guests, we would normally start around 105–110 personalised stubby holders.

That gives you one per guest plus a small buffer.

The extras can be useful for late additions to the guest list, damaged or misplaced holders, family members who want another one, or simply keeping a couple for yourselves after the wedding.

You may also want one for the photographer, celebrant or other people involved in the day who are not technically included in the seated guest count.

If your guest list is completely final and you are watching the budget closely, you can order closer to the actual number.

But for most weddings, five or ten extras are easier to deal with than discovering two days before the wedding that you are short.

What About a 150-Person Wedding?

For around 150 guests, 160–165 holders is a comfortable planning range.

At this size, even a small percentage buffer gives you enough room for unexpected changes without creating a large amount of leftover stock.

If the artwork includes your names and wedding date, the holders are obviously tied to that particular event.

That is a reason not to wildly over-order.

You want enough flexibility without ending up with boxes of wedding stubby holders sitting in the garage afterwards.

The aim is not to order as many as possible.

It is to avoid being short.

Should Couples Share One?

They can, but it depends on how you are using them.

If the holders are simply available around a drinks station during the night, one per couple may be perfectly fine.

If they are being used as a wedding favour, one per person generally makes more sense.

For example, imagine you have 100 guests made up of 30 couples and 40 single guests.

If you gave one to each couple and one to each single guest, you would need around 70 holders rather than 100.

That might reduce the total cost, but it changes the role of the product.

It is no longer really an individual favour.

Neither approach is wrong. Just decide whether the stubby holder is part of the table setting, a take-home gift, or simply something guests use during the reception.

How Many Do I Need for a Birthday Party?

Birthday parties are usually straightforward.

If 50 people are coming and each person is meant to take one home, around 55 holders is a sensible starting point.

If the stubby holders are simply sitting near the esky or bar for people to use during the party, you may need fewer.

This is where the difference between a favour and shared drinkware matters.

A 50-person birthday does not necessarily need 50 holders if they are being reused throughout the evening.

But if each one has the birthday person’s photo, age or party date and you want guests to take them home, ordering one per guest is much easier.

How Many for a Hen’s Party?

Hen’s parties are normally smaller, so you don’t need to calculate a percentage too carefully.

If 12 people are coming, ordering 14 or 15 is usually plenty.

If 20 people are coming, around 22 is a comfortable number.

The spare holders can cover a late addition to the group, someone’s partner dropping in, a photographer, or simply give the bride an extra one to keep.

For smaller groups, adding two or three spares often makes more sense than applying a strict 10% formula.

You’re dealing with people, not a spreadsheet.

What About a Bucks Party?

The same general approach works for a bucks party.

If there are 20 confirmed people, ordering around 22–24 gives you enough room for someone joining late or another holder disappearing during the day.

If the group is heading between several venues, it is also worth remembering that stubby holders have a habit of being left behind.

A couple of spares can be useful.

How Many for a Company BBQ?

Corporate events need a slightly different calculation.

Imagine a business has 80 employees attending a company BBQ.

At first glance, 80 holders sounds enough.

But then you remember there may be partners, clients, suppliers, contractors or other guests joining the event.

In that situation, ordering around 90–100 may be more sensible.

If the design is evergreen — for example, just the company logo and brand colours without a specific date — ordering a few more is also less risky because leftover holders can be used at the next team event.

That is very different from ordering 100 extra pieces with “Christmas Party 2026” printed across them.

The more reusable the artwork, the easier it is to justify a larger buffer.

How Many Promotional Stubby Holders Do I Need for a Trade Show?

Trade shows are where people often overestimate.

If 5,000 people are attending the exhibition, that does not mean your booth will hand out 5,000 stubby holders.

The better number to look at is expected booth traffic.

Let’s say you expect around 800 people to meaningfully interact with your stand.

If you plan to give stubby holders to roughly half of them, that is:

800 × 50% = 400 holders

Add a small buffer and you might order around 440.

That is much more realistic than using the total exhibition attendance.

The basic trade-show formula is:

Expected booth visitors × expected giveaway rate + a small buffer

That gives you a quantity based on actual behaviour rather than the size of the event.

Should Every Visitor Get One?

Not necessarily.

For a general promotional giveaway, you may want broad distribution.

For a higher-value campaign, you might only give them to people who scan a QR code, enter a competition, book a meeting or speak with the sales team.

That changes the quantity dramatically.

If the stubby holder is part of a lead-generation campaign, think about how many qualified interactions you expect rather than how many people may walk past the stand.

This can make the merchandise much more useful and stop you from giving away half your stock in the first hour.

How Many for a Sporting Club?

Sporting clubs usually need to think beyond players alone.

You may have players, coaches, committee members, sponsors and supporters.

For example:

120 members

plus 20 coaches and staff

plus 10 sponsor representatives

gives you around 150 people.

Adding a small buffer takes the order to roughly 160–165 holders.

If you also plan to sell them as supporter merchandise, treat that stock separately.

Don’t mix “one for every member” with “extra stock for sale” in the same calculation.

That makes it much easier to see whether the fundraiser is actually working.

Should I Always Order 10% Extra?

No.

Ten per cent is a useful planning rule for some events, but it is not something you should follow blindly.

For a 12-person hen’s party, 10% is barely one extra holder. Two or three spares make more sense.

For a 1,000-piece corporate campaign, an extra 10% means another 100 holders. That may be completely unnecessary.

The right buffer depends on how certain your numbers are and whether leftover stock can still be used.

A wedding with a fixed date and personalised names is very different from a company logo design that can be used again next month.

When Does Ordering Extra Make Sense?

Extra stock is easier to justify when the guest list is still changing, the design can be reused, the event is several months away, or you want samples and keepsakes afterwards.

For a business, an undated logo design can often be used at another staff function, client event or promotional campaign.

For a sporting club, leftover merchandise may still be sold later.

For a wedding, however, the product is usually tied to one specific day.

The more specific the design is, the more carefully you should think about over-ordering.

When Should You Avoid Ordering Too Many?

If the design includes a fixed event date, specific guest names or a one-off campaign message, leftover stock may have very little use after the event.

In that situation, it is better to stay close to your realistic requirement.

The same applies if you are producing several different designs.

If 100 holders are split across five teams, you need to calculate each team properly rather than simply adding 10% to the whole order.

A spare holder for Team A is not much help if Team B is the one that suddenly has three extra people.

Does Ordering More Reduce the Price Per Stubby Holder?

Often, yes.

Personalised stubby holders are commonly priced in quantity tiers, so the unit price can fall as the order gets larger.

But that does not automatically mean ordering more is cheaper.

The number that really matters is the total order value.

Imagine moving into the next pricing tier saves you 20 cents per holder, but you need to purchase 100 extra pieces to get there.

If you have no realistic use for those extra 100 holders, the lower unit price may not actually save you money.

Bulk pricing is useful when you genuinely need the quantity.

It should not be the only reason you increase the order.

Should I Order Extra for Future Events?

For businesses, sometimes yes.

If the design only contains your logo, website and brand colours, leftover stock can usually be used again.

That makes a slightly larger corporate order much easier to justify.

You might use the same holders at a company BBQ, trade show, customer event or Friday afternoon drinks.

For dated events, the answer is different.

A holder printed for the “2026 Annual Conference” is much harder to reuse in 2027.

Before increasing the order, ask yourself one simple question:

Would we still use these if there are some left over?

If the answer is yes, a larger buffer is less risky.

Can I Reorder the Same Design Later?

If you are unsure about quantity, it is worth considering whether the same artwork could be reordered later.

For evergreen company branding, this can make it easier to start with a realistic quantity rather than buying far more than you need.

However, a reorder is still a separate production run and may have different pricing or lead times.

If you know you will need a large number eventually, ordering together may still make more sense.

For weddings and one-off events, reordering is less useful if the deadline is already close.

That is why it is better to get the original quantity reasonably right.

A Simple Way to Calculate Your Order

For most private events, the calculation can be kept simple:

Guest count + a small buffer

For larger weddings, around 5–10% extra is a useful planning range.

For small hen’s or bucks parties, add two or three spares.

For corporate events, count expected attendees plus any clients, staff, suppliers or partners who may also receive one.

For trade shows, use expected booth traffic rather than total venue attendance.

For sporting clubs, calculate players, staff and sponsors first, then add any merchandise stock separately.

There is no perfect universal formula.

The best quantity is the one that reflects how the holders will actually be handed out.

The Bottom Line

If your event is a wedding, birthday or private celebration, one personalised stubby holder per guest plus a small number of extras is usually the easiest place to start.

For 100 guests, that often means around 105–110 holders.

For a small hen’s or bucks party, two or three spares are normally enough.

For corporate events and trade shows, don’t use the total event attendance. Work from the number of people you realistically expect to receive one.

And before automatically adding 10%, consider whether leftover holders can be reused.

A company logo design may still be useful months later.

A wedding holder printed with a specific date probably won’t be.

The goal is not to order the biggest quantity.

It is to have enough for the people who need one, without ending up with a box of leftovers you never use.

Not Sure How Many to Order?

Send us your event type, expected guest numbers and required date, and we can help you work out a sensible quantity before you order.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many stubby holders do I need for 100 guests?

For most private events, around 105–110 holders is a practical starting point. That gives you one per guest plus a small buffer.

Do I need one stubby holder per wedding guest?

If the stubby holder is being used as an individual wedding favour, one per guest is usually the simplest option. If they are only being used around a shared drinks area, you may need fewer.

How many extra stubby holders should I order?

For larger private events, around 5–10% extra is a useful planning range. For small groups such as hen’s or bucks parties, two or three spare holders may be enough.

How many stubby holders should I order for 150 wedding guests?

Around 160–165 is a comfortable starting point if you want a small buffer for last-minute changes or keepsakes.

How many personalised stubby holders do I need for a hen’s party?

For a small hen’s party, start with one per person and add two or three spares. For 12 guests, around 14–15 is usually plenty.

How many promotional stubby holders should I order for a trade show?

Base the quantity on expected booth visitors rather than total exhibition attendance. Multiply expected booth traffic by the percentage of visitors you plan to give one to, then add a small buffer.

Should I order extra stubby holders for a corporate event?

It can make sense if the artwork is evergreen and the remaining holders can be used at future events. If the design includes a specific date or campaign, keep the buffer more conservative.

Is it cheaper to order more stubby holders?

The unit price may fall at higher quantity tiers, but always compare the total order cost. Ordering unnecessary stock simply to reach a lower unit price does not always save money.

Can I reorder the same design later?

In many cases the same artwork can be used again for a future order, although pricing and production timing may differ. For time-sensitive one-off events, it is still better to get the original quantity reasonably close.