B.B. (before Beckett), we felt like we had to be creative with our party reasons since we didn't have the children's birthday party excuse to invite people over. We've hosted game nights, yard games, outdoor movie parties, gender reveals, bridal showers, baby showers, March Madness parties, bowl game parties, Super Bowl parties, craft days, favorite things, and the list goes on and on.
B.B. we had a little (a lotta) bit more expendable income so mixing up the party decor and going overboard on the food was never a big deal. These days, we still love any old excuse for a party but we have to be a lot more thrifty about it. In the past we may have offered every guests' favorite drink; these days we offer just one or two. Our old parties would end with tons of leftovers; recent parties have had much smaller menus and in several cases have even been potluck.*
And the decor... yep, we pretty much reuse and repurpose it for every. single. party.
We started with some good staple pieces back in the day. And by request, I'm going to share my hints and tips for throwing a party on the cheap. Lucky you. ;)
First off, I'm going to share with you my all time favorite party blog. I cant even believe I'm giving up this awesome resource but in the days of Pinterest, there really aren't any 'best kept internet secrets' anymore are there? (And yep. I too have a Party Time board on Pinterest.) Hostess With The Mostess is a loverly little blog about all things hostessy.
Pretty much all the party trends that have popped up and exploded on the interwebs, were first featured on HWTM. Those cute little milk bottles you can now buy everywhere? They were featured in this lovely brunch on HWTM before shops even sold them. You had no choice but to go the Starbucks bottle route. Party shops around the web took note and capitalized on the opportunity.
And that's where my party supply essential list starts.
-Milk bottles. As previously mentioned, I first saw them on HWTM. That was nearly two years ago. You couldn't buy them in shops so I set out to the grocery store to buy a pack of the Starbucks frappucine bottles. I bought a pack of 4 and tried to drink them. Tried to pawn them off on every guest that walked through the door. Tried to convince R he liked them. Nothing worked. The cheapskate in me couldn't buy them and dump them down the drain so I put out an all call on Facebook and within minutes had around 50 bottles ready to go. I saved approximately 30 for our party needs and got help cleaning them.**
-Jars, large containers, tubs. Buying the cute little bottles in the grocery aisle got me to thinking... what else could I find there? Sure, you can buy cute jars and tubs in all kinds of craft and party supply stores but you can find it cheaper in the grocery aisle. My favorite find has been an extra large jar previously holding large dill pickles from Sams Club. The thing is HUGE. If you have a connection to a school cook or the person running the concession stands, that's a great hook up for oversized food jars. These are great for displaying cookies, animal crackers, candy & other treats. They are a great place for people to stick cards for a shower. They're a great spot to stick those cute party notes in. You can use them for games. The list goes on.
-Trays, crates, drawers. These are fun finds that can add a lot to your table scape. Turn the crates upside down to add some height. Stick some treats in a drawer to separate it from everything else on the table. And trays? They're a party planning no brainer. They can be used in so many ways. Use it as a drink station, a snack station, etc. etc. My tip here is PAINT. You can find trays, crates, drawers and more super cheap at thrift stores, on curbs, and in the seasonal clearance aisles. They might not be pretty there but the price will be right. My beloved chalkboard paint serving tray started out as a $2 Thanksgiving find at Hobby Lobby. It had a great big ole turkey on it. I covered it in chalkboard paint (or might have convinced the hubby to) and it looks like I paid at least 10 times the original price for it. If you cant find steals in the thrift store and clearance aisles, visit the craft stores and shop the unfinished aisles. You'll find great deals here (and of course never buy from there without a 50% coupon- most will coupon match from their competitors). And of course you can paint it any old color you like.
-Chalkboards, decor, other details. If you've been to a party at the Hicks' ranch, you probably recognize the tiny chalkboard above. You can find details like the mini-chalkboards, wooden clothes pins and scrapbook paper at your favorite craft supply store. Use the wooden clothes pins to pin up pictures of the guest of honor. Use your giant hole punch to make fun confetti with your scrapbook paper. You can also use scrapbook paper for banners, chargers, and more. Washi tape is another craft supply that can add a lot to your party decor. Use it to make little banners for your straws or cupcake toppers. Stick a strip on those cute party pictures you hung up. Add a little color to your favor bags or boxes. The possibilities are endless!
-Speaking of banners. We have a chalkboard (imagine that) pennant banner that we continue to reuse every party. If I'm really feeling festive, I'll write 'Happy Birthday' or another fun message on it. Having staple pieces like this in a neutral that can be reused is always a good idea. You can also easily make your own banner for super cheap. String together cupcake liners or rip up old favorite clothes and tie them to a string (as seen on the Sweet Shop Lulu homepage below). Super easy, instant decor!
-Stripey straws and napkins in a neutral. Again, we got these in grey nearly two years ago. We've reused them for several parties and STILL have some left over. My trick here is that I stick them in the front bottles for picture purposes or just leave a jar of them near the drinks. I found that if you stick one in every drink, some people prefer to not have them and they end up taking them out and tossing them. By just sticking them in a jar nearby, they last a lot longer. I also intermix cute napkins with cheap ones to stretch out the cute ones.
*Can we please come up with a new name for potluck? Puh-lease? Anyone?
**To clean your bottles, jars and other awesome finds from the grocery aisle, start by soaking them in hot sudsy water. Peel away the labels, using goo gone if needed. The stamped on dates can easily be removed by using fingernail polish remover. You can use elbow grease instead if you choose but these two tricks will save you lots of time (and possibly your elbows). WASH the dickens out of the bottles after using the goo gone and polish remover. I recommend the sterilize dishwasher setting.
PS- I started this post after Kelsey asked me for some ideas but it took me a long time to get it posted. As you can see by her super cute party planning post, she's good to go and doesn't need any help but y'all are still welcome to be a cheapskate like me and make your own party super cute for super cheap.
What about the rest of you? Do you have any fun parties coming up? What are your favorite party planning tips?
