I remember making a mental note this year of the first email I got in January regarding Valentine’s Day. It was around January 10! I said to myself, Wow! Christmas officially ended on January 6 with the Epiphany/Three Kings Day or the end of the 12 days of Christmas; time to put away your Christmas decorations and move on to the next Holiday, St Valentine’s Day!
Given our recent experiences with Supply Chain shortages and delivery delays, I am starting to agree with this advanced planning and forward thinking. Today I was in Party City and they had ample, inviting supplies for Valentine’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, and Easter/Spring décor and supplies that beckoned. If you are planning on hosting a party for one of these occasions, it seems like Now is the best time to shop for the best selection and it allows you time to browse a few places before making your final purchases. But don’t wait too long! I don’t want you to be disappointed. It is refreshing to see the shelves looking so tempting rather than bare.
For those of you that may be lamenting the fact that you over shopped last year or your celebrations in December were cancelled and now you have unused supplies; do not dismay, because if you have left over Red plates, cups or napkins, you are all set for February 14! Or if you ended up with a plethora of Green, it is OK because you can save yourself a trip to the store and use your Green party supplies for March 17 or even Easter will work, too! And if you are hosting a Super Bowl event, Party City did have Team supplies, or I am sure you could get away with a collection of random colors!
We have grown so used to being able to get whatever we want or need whenever we wanted or needed it; we are not used to having to plan ahead for simple consumables. It was really difficult to find supplies for parties back in November and December as it seemed most everyone had that fear of not being able to get what they needed and stocked up in advance. Take some time now to look at your calendar and think about what you might want to do or plan in the months ahead, take an inventory of what you have and make a list of what you need. Maybe even put the items in your “Save for Later” cart in Amazon. I think they even give you updates when supplies are low or when they come back in stock. You will be grateful when we our lives get busier again in the spring and summer that you took the time to prepare in advance. It is a reassuring feeling to know you have what you need😊
If you have not already seen my Helpful Hostess Tips and Tricks, I recently moved them onto a webpage on my website. There are a number of ideas to help you Plan ahead for the next time you are hosting- great items to have on hand or check your inventory “just in case.” Of course if you need some planning assistance, our team of professionals are eager to assist you! We look forward to hearing from you!
Happy Shopping!