Last week while driving down NW Expressway, Susan discovered Party City was going out of business and had put all of their merchandise on sale. I like sales and I like parties, so missing out Party City’s closeout sale was out of the question!
While the signs posted near the street claimed everything was 40% off, large posters in the store’s window claimed everything had been marked down 60%-80%. Inside the store we found a few things were 50% off, most things were 60% off, and seasonal items (Easter and Halloween) were 80% off.
Everything in the store was on sale, and I do mean everything. Shoppers were invited to buy everything off the shelves, and then buy the shelves, too. The store’s giant rolling ladder was for sale. Hopefully nobody buys it before everything from the upper shelves has been sold!
I had no axe to grind with these prices, that’s for sure. Marking things down 80% really makes you reconsider how badly you need something. Do I need a life-size plastic axe? Not really. Do I need one for $2? Maybe.
It was hard to resist buying a lifetime supply of gag glasses, fake doggie doo, and containers of slime. All of these things were priced between $2 and $3. You’re looking at decades worth of stocking stuffers here!
As a lover of Halloween, it was difficult to resist stocking up on orange lights and other Halloween decorations… although I may have purchased a thing or two from this aisle.
So, what did I make it home with? Only the essentials!
These Stretch Armstrong knock-off dolls were only a buck or two, and very satisfying to stretch and smash.
This waving skeleton looks like he’s made of neon, but the lights are actually LED. This thing was originally priced at $45 but rang up as $40 with an 80% discount for a total of $8. I’m not sure where I’m going to hang him up but I won’t be waiting until October to do it, that’s for sure.
Susan found these gigantic googly eyes on sale for a dollar and tossed them into the cart. We’re not sure where we’re going to stick them yet (the building, one of our cars, the garage, above the toilet…) but at that price, the options are limitless.
We had no idea what this thing was and bought it because of its retro packaging and the fact that it was only a dollar or two. Inside this box was a miniature plastic boombox. Inside the boombox was a weird anime-style doll who looked like a girl except she seemed to have four feet. Also inside the boombox were a bunch of tiny little packages that included shoes for the doll, some pants, a hat, and… a trumpet. We were equally amused and confused by the entire thing and then threw all of it away, except for the boombox.
Every time I buy one of these Pop vinyl figures I say “I don’t collect Pop vinyl figures,” and I don’t, but a $5 Grogu was too cute to pass up.
One of my more expensive purchases was this large bucket of watermelon-flavored gourmet popcorn. I had no idea if I liked watermelon-flavored gourmet popcorn, but we were in a buying frenzy and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Imagine the sweetest caramel popcorn you’ve ever had and then add a sugary watermelon coating on top of that. Most of this tub went into the trash.
Each of these items were $2 and if you don’t think I’ll buy an old school skeleton mask for $2 every time then boy are you wrong.
One of my favorite finds was this tiki mask wall hanging, which I thought was $5 but rang up with a 60% discount. It’s cheap and it’s plastic, but it makes me laugh and I’m going to hang it right next to my desk so I can look at it all day, every day.
The last thing we found was this hat of a lobster trying to escape a pot. Depending on who you are, this hat is either appropriate for no occasion, or every occasion.
With a shopping cart full of skeletons, candy, and other assorted items, we made our way to the checkout counter. Our total was just under $50, which didn’t seem too bad for all the treasure we came home with. Susan went back to Party City the following day to pick up some items for a banquet and said most of the aisles had already been picked clean. There are still a few packages of fake doggie doo and an axe or two, if you need one.
If you’re lucky, they’ll still have a few hats for sale.
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