Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Party Tip: Buy Extra Stemware!

About a year ago, a girlfriend was getting married and a few of us gals decided to throw her a shower. We divided the duties and mine was to make champagne cocktails (yummy!). My plan was to rent stemware for the day, but then I came across the greatest find EVER. Target was selling a box of 12 champagne flutes for $6. SIX DOLLARS! So naturally, I snapped up two boxes.
For a moment, in the kitchen aisle, I questioned whether this was a smart idea. Where would I store them and when would I use that many glasses again? But then I figured I couldn't rent them for that cheap in all likelihood! I ran to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and bought two nice storage cases, so once they were clean, I could store them somewhere safe.

A year later, I've used my 24 champagne flutes for four showers and three additional parties!!! My $12 dollar investment has more than paid for itself over and over again and I think it was one of those impulses that has worked out beautifully. The next time I see a deal on flatware or simple white party dishes, I plan to do the exact same thing, knowing that ultimately, this is a money saver and will allow me to spend money on decor, rather than rentals!

Another great entertaining tip: share with your closest friends/family. Many years ago, my mom and aunt bought the same Christmas dishes so they'd have plenty when each entertained for large parties. They didn't have to buy 24 sets each, but rather each bought 12! I always thought this was genius and plan to boss encourage my little sister into doing this someday!

I'm sharing this silly little tip over at Kristen's site for her Works for Me Wednesday blog carnival. Be sure to pop over there for more excellent tips and tricks!


2 comments:

Tamara McDonald said...

Crate and Barrel has DOF glasses that are $1.99 a piece. Now, that is not as cheap as your champagne flutes, but for nice C&B glassware, I am about to be all over that. This one certain line is on sale and all the others are like $6-7.99 a glass. Just thought I would share since I was thinking of renting glasses for a party I am throwing in Sept., but I think I will re-use these many times over and it will be worth the (small) amount of money!

Jessica @ Wanting Adventure said...

GREAT idea! Thanks for the tip. I wish I had thought about this before setting up my wedding registry. We ended up with a million different sets of glasses, instead of what we really needed, things like this to entertain!