party supplies

Showing posts with label party supplies. Show all posts

Lucky Little Monsters

It's true that Halloween has become more commercialized, and so, too, have Halloween birthdays (lucky me!). Have you noticed that there are plenty of Halloween birthday cards (you don't see 4th of July birthday cards, do you)? And I'm starting to notice more Halloween birthday invites, too. I wish they'd had these when I was younger, like this brand new offering by Inkspot Workshop, a Monster Mash Halloween Birthday Party Set. For a starting price of $23.50 for a set of 12, you get a custom printed, googly-eyed monster flat invite (including proof) with coordinating candy-and-popcorn-patterned, hand-lined purple envelopes. The matching thank-you notes (12 for $18.50) are adorable, too, and you can even purchase matching Monster Cookies ($40 per dozen) from a partnering Etsy shop to complete your theme. It's a bit Yo Gabba Gabba meets Monster Mash. Which would be perfect for my family. Visit Inkspot Workshop to browse the new Halloween collection.

Beep! Beep! It's a Jeep

One of my favorite kids' stationery shops, Inkspot Workshop, just released this brand-new Jeep-Themed Boys' Party Invitation Set. How cute is this? Love the color combo (red plus navy plus khaki always looks terrific) and those plaid-lined envelopes. The design is actually based on an old Pottery Barn Kids jeep-themed bedding set (which, naturally, I remember). There are matching thank-yous and favor tags, too. Prices start at $23.50 for 12 invites plus envelopes at Inkspot Workshop.

Rock On, Silly Bandz

S's 4th birthday party is next weekend and I let R. (who turns 7 two weeks later) invite some of her friends, too. Not surpisingly, she wants her friends to get a more sophisticated party favor than these Yo Gabba Gabba! Coloring Books which all of the preschoolers will receive. She chose Silly Bandz. Of course. So in keeping with the Yo Gabba Gabba/music theme, I found these packs of Silly Bandz Rock Bandz at Amazon.com for just $2.72 per pack of 24 band (regular retail price $5.99). Hopefully these will please the picky second-graders. By the way, I noticed that this particular pack of Silly Bandz is the #3 top seller in ALL of Amazon.com's toys and games. Wow.

I Could Spend Hours Here

I paid a visit recently to one of my favorite places on earth, The Container Store. In addition to spending too much time admiring various storage solutions (top photo), I also bought a few new rolls of fun gift wrap including the cute sock monkey pattern (top row middle, bottom photo) which is perfect for just about anyone's birthday. It's not available online but you can pick up a roll in-store for about $4. I also like these two gift wraps which you can buy online: Far Out Birthday Gift Wrap ($4.95) and Modern Cubes Gift Wrap ($4.99). Check out all of the gift wrap at Container Store.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Party Prep

S's YGG-themed 4th birthday party is soon and I've ordered some fun stuff for him and his guests. I'm trying to keep prices down (well, compared to usual NYC birthday fare), so I've selected these items very carefully:

Yo Gabba Gabba! DJ Lance Rock Standup ($39.99). S's ever-helpful big sister commented, "It would be better to have a real person." But hopefully the younger crowd will be satisfied with this cardboard likeness.

I've always loved giving board books or coloring books as favors at my kids' parties; this year's favor will be these I Love to Color (Yo Gabba Gabba!) coloring books. At $3.99 apiece (and with Amazon.com's 4-for-3 discount), it's a pretty good deal.

Yo Gabba Gabba Dancey Dance Cake by Cakes.com for Food Emporium. There are many, many places to buy expensive character cakes in New York, but it turns out these inexpensive cakes from Food Emporium taste just as delicious.

Another birthday tradition my kids enjoy is personalized chocolate favors, especially Hershey bars. I may get these Yo Gabba Gabba Candy Bar Wrappers ($10 for 25 wrappers; candy not included). It takes a bit of time to assemble these yourself, but kids (and parents) love receiving them.

Would You Eat Off Your Kid's Face?

What do you think of these new Personalized Party Supplies from Birthday Express? You know I love all things photo-themed, but I think this might be a wee bit too much (not the invitations- which are fine- but specifically the plates). Do you really want pizza and birthday cake smeared all over your precious kid's punim? Maybe for a 1st birthday it might be cute, but for an older kid? Not so much. Would you buy birthday party plates with your kid's picture on them?

Free Shipping on Dwell Studio for Tiny Prints

I love that Dwell Studio collaborates with some other carefully chosen companies. I adore its bedding and decor for Target (like my son's former crib bedding and accessories), and its stationery for Tiny Prints (S. got their car-themed thank you notes last year). Now, Dwell has teamed up with Tiny Prints once again for some new designs including colorful party invitations (shown above) derived from Dwell's most popular patterns. I love these looks and if I weren't currently searching for personalized Chuck E. Cheese invitations (grrrrr) for a certain girl's 7th birthday party, I would surely turn to these instead.

Spend $49+ on Dwell Studio stationery for Tiny Prints and get free shipping with code "DWELLFS". Expires 7/31/10.

Print-Your-Own Invitations

Speaking of S's birthday, I eventually chose these Yo Gabba Gabba Custom Invitations by Design Dream for his party. I paid $13 for the digital file (they even added a DJ Lance on one side, at S's request, for free) and then had them printed up at UPrinting.com, an online eco-friendly printing company. Normally I would've used Shutterfly, but I couldn't find a flat card option there without a border attached. While I was satisfied with the quality and price of the cards at UPrinting.com (25 cards/envelopes for $14.31), the shipping was very slow. The cards took over 10 days to arrive; even from LA to NY, this seemed excessive. But if you need to have digital files turned into party invitations and aren't in a big rush, I'd recommend you check out UPrinting.com.

Help Me Pick

My little boy is turning 4 this August- can you believe it? He is having a Yo Gabba Gabba-themed party and I'd like to order personalized invitations that aren't too expensive. Here are 3 designs I'm considering (two of them are digital files that I would print myself). Which invitation do you like best? Let me know in the comments.

Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Invitations by Digital Diva Designs. $9.99 for the digital file.

Yo Gabba Gabba Ticket Invitations by The Belle Creations. $10.99 for 12 printed invitations plus envelopes.

Yo Gabba Gabba Custom Invitations by Design Dream. $13 for the digital file.

Conecakes

Another item that I spied in the Chasing Fireflies catalog and tracked down somewhat cheaper elsewhere, this mini ice cream cones cake pan is so adorable for summer birthday parties. Made in the U.S.A. by Wilton, each pan gives you four mini "conecakes" with top and bottom halves for each. Use vanilla cake, then just frost the top (maybe add sprinkles?) and you're ready to go. Buy it for $30.99 at The Baker's Kitchen.

Halloween Discounts at Grandinroad

Grandinroad has placed some of their "Martha Stewart for Grandinroad" Halloween items on sale, plus all are eligible for the 20% off coupon code through October 18th (see below). So it's a good time to buy some last-minute costumes or decor, or to stock up on Halloween supplies for last year. I like this Set of 12 Halloween Invitations in a Bottle which makes you look crafty in an instant (and who doesn't love getting a message in a bottle?), right down to the fake blood splattered on each invite. Creepy! $29 before the discount at Grandinroad.

Use code "SAVING" for 20% off all Halloween items at Grandinroad through October 18th.

Mummy Platter

I probably have more Halloween serving platters than I could ever use, so I won't be buying this, but I still wanted to share this fun Mummy Platter I spotted on sale at Wrapables. It's hand-painted and dishwasher safe (very important, I've learned, for cleaning up dried-up frosting and candy corn pieces). You can buy it for $19.99 (originally $24.95) at Wrapables.

Party Goods That Last

**Thanks for your patience as we restore the blog's header. We hope to be back to normal later today.**

I got an e-mail from the ACME Party Box Company, a new shop started by two working moms who'd been searching for earth-friendly, stylish party goods. ACME uses resusable and recyclable materials so that the party goods- ranging from table linens to favor bags- end up in the cupboard rather than in the trash bin. Of course, this works best if you have the kind of child who isn't demanding Yo Gabba Gabba paper plates. But perhaps you can sell them on one of ACME's lovely unisex themes, like this Circus Party Starter Kit for 8 which includes 100% cotton flag bunting, reversible runner, napkins, and drawstring favor bags, all gathered in an organic cotton market bag. Letterpress invitations are available, too. It's not cheap (the kit without invites costs $95), but if you get to use these for parties year after year, it pays for itself eventually, right. It's a smart concept and I'm glad someone (moms, of course) thought of it. Visit ACME Party Box Company.

Enjoy 15% off at ACME with code "ACME-SPOOKY15%" at checkout now through November 1st.