Party planning can be so fun! Unless you have no idea where to shop for supplies. But, that’s why you subscribed right? Cut Off The Spigot to the rescue!
I included general party supplies options and a few kids-centered ones. I’ll likely do a separate dedicated article for wedding supplies specifically, but hopefully this will cover most of your party planning basics. A few people have been asking me about Halloween decorations too, so I noted if any stores had them available now.
Local: If you have a local party supplies, gift, or children’s store that has party supplies, definitely shop there!
Direct: I think shopping direct is a little bit harder in this category, but if you’re finding things on Amazon see if the companies have a direct website you can shop from instead.
Non-shopping/Thrifting: Definitely check out your local Buy Nothing group, if someone just had a party they’ll likely have a lot of left over supplies! Thrift stores might not have decorations but if you need tables or cheap servingware I’d check them out. If you’re looking to avoid buying anything or want more reusable decorations, there are tons of Reddit posts on how to reuse or craft/make items and party favors for kids parties (and a lot of recommendations to not send kids home with party favors at all!).
Zurchers: Affordable party supplies for a variety of occasions. Basically everything you could find at Party City you’d be able to find at Zurchers, and maybe more.
What they have: General party supplies, baby shower and gender reveals, and wedding decorations and supplies. They have tableware in a rainbow of colors starting at $1. Birthday party supplies for kids with a ton of different themes including popular cartoons like Bluey.
Halloween? They don’t have much Halloween stuff yet, but there’s a countdown to Halloween banner on the bottom of their site so I’d keep checking back, they might stock in September.
The Details: Family-owned business based out of Utah. I searched to see if I could find anything controversial with them but they seem like a pretty straightforward, small/mid-size company. They do not have a diversity policy listed on their website but that isn’t uncommon for smaller businesses.
Where to shop: You can order online or pick up/shop in-store. They have store locations across Utah, Idaho, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas.
XO, Fetti: THIS SHOP IS SO FUN and seems relatively affordable. XO, Fetti has wild bachelorette decorations which I wish I would have known about when I was getting married, but they also have have birthday supplies, kids party supplies including cool glow in the dark temporary tattoos, custom banners and sashes, and graduation supplies. They even have fun themed stuff like Taylor Swift Eras, Love Island, Chappel Roan Pink Pony Club, and more.
Halloween?: Yes! Halloween items too.
The Details: These guys don’t have a ton of info on their website or many articles about them, but I did some LinkedIn digging. Kati Smith is listed as the Founder on LinkedIn, and I believe she is also the owner. They don’t have a diversity policy listed on their website but according to LinkedIn they only have ~15 employees, and typically companies don’t start creating diversity programs until they’re a bit larger and hiring more people.
Party Shop at Paperless Post: Paperless post also has party supplies! Their Party Shop has all your basics like decorations and tableware but also have kids party favors and bags.
Halloween? Yes!
The Details: Owned by co-founder sibling team Alexa and James Hirschfield and funded through venture capital. They support DEI and do not have a profile on OpenSecrets.
Party City: Private equity takes another company. Party City is closing because of the massive debt that their 2012 private equity deal saddled them with. Yes, they filed bankruptcy and are going out of business, but you can still shop online and they have 29 franchise locations still open.
The Details: Technically they’re still owned by private equity, but since they’re closing anyways might as well shop there to get some deals.
Where to shop: Online or in-store
Etsy: Covered in this article. I recommend Etsy with a grain of salt – if it wasn’t real people on there selling their stuff I wouldn’t suggest them because they spent $1 million on lobbying in 2024. But I don’t think small-scale crafters/makers have a ton of other well-known places to sell their wares, so not shopping at Etsy has a disproportionate impact on them versus the corporate leadership.
What they have: You can find all sorts of cute party supplies!
Five Below: Covered in this article.
What they have: Decent party supplies selection. Although Five Below is definitely more geared towards kids parties, they also have general birthday supplies and rainbow party supplies which could be fun for Pride or in general.
Momo Party Goods: Higher-end, beautiful kids party supplies with tons of themes. You can get a Momo Box which is essentially all the party supplies you’d need for 6-8 kids. Some box themes also have party favors, and if you have more guests than what the box provides you can add on additional items from their similar collections.
Halloween? They have Halloween decorations available now.
The Details: Women-founded and owned by Yao Yu and Tai Jung Oliveira and based out of the Bay Area. They do not have a diversity policy listed on their website but also don’t list anyone besides the founders as employees on LinkedIn, so I’m guessing it’s still quite a small operation.
Shop Sweet Lulu: Online boutique specializing in high-quality, on-trend partyware, mostly geared towards kids parties. They also have gifts for kids, which you can shop by price, like items under $25.
What they have: I would say they specialize a bit more on the kids side of things, but they also have bridal and baby shower items, and some holiday items.
The Details: Woman-founded and owned by Jessie Senese and based out of Chicago. They do not have a diversity policy listed on their website and they also don’t have a company profile I can find on LinkedIn, so I’m guessing they’re still pretty small and don’t have an official policy yet.
Michaels, Oriental Trading Company: covered them in this article
World Market: covered them in this article
Hobby Lobby: I’ll do a deeper dive on Hobby Lobby in the future, but for now remember that they won the Supreme Court case that made it so private companies’ owners’ religious beliefs can dictate whether or not their employees’ health insurance covers birth control. They also steal artifacts for the Museum of the Bible that the Hobby Lobby president founded. Maybe the only good thing ICE has done is to return 3,800 stolen artifacts from Hobby Lobby to Iraq.
Hallmark: Privately owned by the Hall family, which as of 2015 was worth $2.8 billion. While they do support diversity, equity and inclusion clearly on their website, they also have spent $920K on lobbying in the last two years around USPS regulation and specifically the USPS Serves US act.
Spirit Halloween: Spirit Halloween and Spencer’s Gifts are owned by the same company, Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc., which in turn is owned by private equity firm ACON Investments.
Also – it was my birthday earlier this week! If you’d like to celebrate with me, consider getting a paid subscription.
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