I think it is nice when you can hand them out yourself because it is less money and a fun surprise for everyone. You can either wait until a day when everyone is there and go door to door or have a get together in a central location and hand them out, or do it as people arrive as a way to say hello and thanks for coming. As far as shipping them and assembling there it depends on the time and money you have, it can get expensive shipping things and you need to have time on the other end to put them together.