Would you rather spend your party budget on food and drinks or party decorations? I LOVE to decorate for a party, but it can get expensive buying decorations for each party. Therefore, I like to save any decorations I can to reuse them for future parties. If you have annual parties this is a great way to save on your decoration expenses. Or maybe you had a unique themed party, but have decorations left over. You can always store them and see how else you can reuse them for future parities. Since it’s Earth Day, I thought it would.be a good time to help you recycle party decorations and think about how to make the most of what you already have in your house.
I’ll be honest, I have a lot of containers from previous parties. I don’t like to throw away things that can be used again. What if I want to have another 80’s themed party? Or another luau? I don’t want to have to buy the items all over again so I save the left over items. At one point I moved out of my apartment and back into my parents house and put all my stuff in storage. Long story short, I got married and brought everything over to our new house. During this transition, I was able to reorganize my items and invested in hard plastic containers. Some are even color coordinated to the time of year. Now my party decorations are organized and I can easily access them for any occasion.
How I sort my party decoration containers
Spring Decorations
Lime green containers – I have two containers for spring which includes decorations for Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter. I decorate with what I have on hand, and if I see something else I want to add to my decor, I try to buy it when I have a coupon or after the holiday and get it on clearance. I try to also find items that can be used for multiple purposes. For example, I have some general spring wall decor that still works great for Easter. I also have a table runner that has rabbits on it. They aren’t holding Easter eggs, so I can use this table runner for a longer time period. Mardi Gras beads can also be used for St. Patrick Day decorations.
I reuse the Easter baskets from year to year. I also stocked up on plastic eggs after Easter one year and now I’m ready for Easter eggs hunts and decorating around the house. Plastic eggs are great to reuse each year. You can fill them and hide them around the house. It’s also an easy gift giving idea. A couple dollars folded up and given to a child makes them very happy.
Fall Decorations
Orange containers – my fall party decoration containers are separate from my Halloween containers. My fall containers hold everything that has basic fall decor that can be out from September until November. This would include anything with colored leaves, scarecrows and burlap. I also have a box within the container that has everything I need for a trail mix table. Trail mix tables are a great addition to any outdoor gatherings in the fall. I have a couple of Thanksgiving specific items in this box too. These items are only put out for November.
Trail mix table decorations – I have different heights of mason jars, terracotta pots, burlap, orange and yellow gingham material, raffia, and little wooden scoops. Guests love to create their own trail mix.
Halloween Decorations
Clear containers – I have two containers for Halloween party decorations. One container has all the cutesy decorations. Non-scary ghosts, black cats, bats, spider candle holders, pumpkins etc. This container also contains items from the Back to the Future themed Halloween party I had in 2015. I decorated with 1950’s and 1980’s decor.
The other container is from my Edgar Allen Poe Halloween party. This contains plastic skeleton bones and skull, plastic severed hand, artificial black roses, plastic chains and ravens. It also contains black dinner plates red napkins and red wine glasses for a Halloween themed dinner party. I am ready to decorate for kid-friendly parties or adult parties.
The 1950’s and 1980’s decorations can be used for future decade themed parties.
The red napkins can be used for Valentines Day, Christmas and anniversary dinner.
Christmas Decorations
Black containers with yellow lids – Honestly, I’m not sure how many containers I have for Christmas. Some contain ornaments, others have our outdoor lights, while others contain the decorations for around the house. I don’t have a Christmas Party container. I bring all my containers out for decorating and just leave out anything I may need to host any type of gathering.
My Christmas decorations can also be used for a Christmas in July themed party.
I also have my New Years Eve items packed in one of the Christmas containers since they fall so close to each other. Since some New Years decor is gold and silver these party decorations can also be used for a cocktail party.
Cinco de Mayo Party Decorations
Clear containers – I have three containers for my Cinco de Mayo/Margarita Party. These containers hold piñatas, an array of leftover colorful cups, plastic plates, utensils, serving trays, plastic pitchers for Beer Margaritas and my Jose Cuervo margarita balls and sombreros.
I love how colorful a Mexican restaurant is decorated. Therefore, when I host a party, I love to get everything in different colors. For example, the plastic utensils are yellow, the plates are aqua, the table covers are red, the napkins are green and the cups are orange.
After the party I put all the unused items into the container and the following year, if I need to buy anything, I buy it in a new color and mix and match.
This helps me use up everything over the years and nothing gets wasted.
These colorful leftover can also be used for birthday parties, summer picnics or a colorful decade themed party.
Luau Party Decorations
Clear container – this contains a box full of leis, which are easy to buy through a party store, different shades of blue cups and tablecloths, yellow plastic-ware and, of course, a grass skirt. I also have a tiki style blow up cooler, you can find pretty much anything at a party store!
These decorations could also be used for a pool party.
1970’s and 1980’s Theme Party Decorations
Yellow container – this contains a large plastic table cloth that looks like a disco floor, as I said earlier, you can find most anything at the party store. It also contains records, LPs and 45s that I picked up at the thrift store, retro candle holders and a small lime-green shag rug. I highly recommend a thrift store shopping spree for any type of decade themed party.
I also have held 80s themed parties that were a flashback to childhood so I have Care Bears, Rainbow Bright and Fragile Rock items in the container.
A lot of the items for the 70s party could also be used for a 1960’s themed party. These could also be used for birthday parties if you are celebrating someone who was born in the 1970’s or 1980’s.
Organize your Party Decorations
Don’t limit yourself and your decorations. Just because you bought an item for a specific party doesn’t mean you can’t use that same item for another party. If you like to entertain and want to reuse items and save leftover decor and serving ware I recommend starting your own storage system. Label each container for your own themes and holidays. The color coordinated containers help. If you can’t find a quality container in a color you like, I recommend a clear container so you can easily see into the container.
I also put labels on each box so that I can read what theme or holiday is in the box. Don’t let any of your party items go unused. You can always use plastic ware or plastic table covers. If you just use basic colors and not themed paper items, you can always use them for other parties too. Invest in a container or two and start your basic party supply bins. Then you can recycle/reuse all your leftover party decorations.
Leave a Reply