Your party essentials: what do you buy once and what's gone after one night?
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
Split your party purchases into durables and consumables. That makes your shopping list for each party shorter, cheaper, and a lot less stressful.
After a birthday party, you're left with two bin bags in the kitchen. One bag contains items that are truly used up: paper straws, napkins, an empty crisp packet. The other bag holds things that are still perfectly fine – ice cube trays, a handful of shot glasses, a fan, a garland that's only half used. That second bag is your money. And in three months, you'll buy the exact same things again, because you've forgotten what you already had.
There's a simple way to separate your party purchases that largely solves this problem: some items you buy once and use for years, while others are truly spent after one evening. As soon as you separate these two groups, your shopping list per party becomes both shorter and cheaper.
The calculation that makes the difference
Don't look at the price, but at the price per use. A set of six glass shot glasses for €3.00 will cost you 30 cents per party across ten parties. Paper straws for €1.95 for ten pieces will cost you that €1.95 every time, because they go in the bin.
That doesn't mean reusable always wins. The calculation shifts on three points:
How often do you celebrate? With two parties a year, it takes a long time for a purchase to pay for itself. With a monthly get-together or a club that's open every week, it's sorted within a quarter.
Who does the washing up? Reusable means washing, drying, and storing. For twenty glasses, that's manageable; for eighty, usually not.
Do you have storage space? Something you keep but can't find, you'll still buy again. A keeper without a fixed place has become a consumable item.
What belongs in your permanent party cupboard
Keepers are items that don't spoil, don't go out of style, and can withstand washing. They are extremely cheap per use and make your party independent of whether you've ordered on time.
The second list is shorter than you think, and that's exactly the intention. Consumables are things you throw away, eat, or break. There's no guilt involved – they've done their job.
Consumable
Why you don't keep it
Example
Paper straws
Become soft in the glass, don't go through the dishwasher
For large groups, a larger pack of the same consumable item pays off: the Flexible coloured plastic straws, 20 pieces (€5.00) come in double quantity, which changes the calculation per guest.
How to keep your party cupboard usable
A dedicated cupboard only works if you can find it and if its contents are correct. Three rules are enough:
One place, one container. Everything that's a keeper goes back to the same shelf or box afterwards. Not in the kitchen drawer, not in the attic, not spread across three cupboards.
Wash and dry before storing. Glass stored while damp will smell musty, silicone moulds retain odours, and plastic cups will get stains. Five minutes of drying saves a purchase.
Look in the cupboard before ordering. Sounds obvious, but it's the step most often skipped. Take a photo of the contents with your phone; you can check it in the shop or on your sofa in ten seconds.
Another practical rule: don't buy a keeper in a pronounced theme colour if you want to use it broadly. Neutral glass and clear plastic suit any party; something in one specific colour suits one specific party and will then still move to the consumables list.
This is what your list looks like per party
If you do this a few times, your preparation will change. Instead of a list of twenty items, you'll order only four or five: the consumables for this evening, plus one keeper you were still missing. That not only saves money, but also the stress of an order arriving too late – because the basics were already there.
The keepers from this article can be found in Glasses, Ice Cube Makers, and Straws. Consumables and decorations are in Party Accessories and Party & Dress Up. Not sure how much you need for the number of guests you expect, or want to know if something is dishwasher safe? Send an email to info@verpakkingdeals.nl and we'll help you out.
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