Party Supplies: Where to Buy Online and In Store for Every Celebration

Party Supplies: Where to Buy Online and In Store for Every Celebration

Party supplies are the tableware, decorations, and accessories used to set up, serve, and entertain at any gathering, from a backyard birthday to a corporate gala. Before you buy, it helps to know which stores price by the piece and which ones sell by the case. This guide compares the retailers that genuinely stock this category right now, what each one does best, and where your money goes further somewhere else.

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Party Supplies Explained: What They Are and Who They Help

The category splits into three buckets: what guests eat off of, what you hang up, and what guests take home. Plates, cups, napkins, cutlery, and table covers cover the first. Balloons, banners, streamers, a backdrop, and a centerpiece fill the second. Party favors round out the third.

Four groups buy most of it. Parents planning a birthday party, working backward from a headcount and a theme. Couples pulling together a baby shower or bridal shower, who lean on curated party kits so the plates and napkins match without any effort. Event planners handling corporate events, school functions, and community events, who buy in bulk quantities and watch per-unit cost. And anyone marking a milestone birthday or a fiftieth anniversary, where atmosphere outweighs saving two dollars on cutlery.

Holiday shopping runs on its own calendar. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations land roughly six to eight weeks ahead of each date, and seasonal and holiday stock clears out fast in the days right after.

How to Choose Party Supplies: Features That Matter

Judge this category on four things: plate rigidity, print quality, balloon wall thickness, and whether a set actually covers your guest count. The rest is preference.

Plate weight and rigidity. A thin paper plate folds under a slice of cake and a fork. Molded fiber or heavyweight coated stock holds a full plate without flexing, which is why solid color tableware from a mid-tier brand often beats a themed set printed on the flimsiest board available.

Print quality on napkins and table covers. Cheap ink smudges once it gets damp, and it will get damp. Crisp graphics stay readable on napkins, a tablecloth, and signage from setup through cleanup.

Wall thickness and fill type. Helium-filled rubber balloons float for hours, not days, and thinner walls shorten that window further. Foil versions hold gas much longer, so save those for the number and letter displays that have to survive an all-day event. Air-filled garland kits skip helium entirely, which is why they now dominate balloon decorations at home. Our guide to where to buy balloons covers the sizing differences.

Complete themed collections. Good party kits bundle plates, cutlery, napkins, and accessories into one package and print a serving count on the box. Sets include everything you need for a stated guest number, so two small kits usually beat one oversized kit you have to pad out.

Non-toxic inks and latex-free options. Rubber sensitivity is common enough that foil and mylar alternatives earn their premium at a kids’ event. Check the packaging, not the product photo.

Setup time. Self-sealing valves, pre-strung garland strips, and adhesive-backed backdrop panels cost more per piece and buy back real time on the day.

Party Supplies Buying Mistakes to Skip

Ordering late ruins more events than any other single error. Themed and personalized items ship on longer timelines than everyday goods, so place the order well ahead of the date instead of the week of it.

Buying by set count instead of guest count. A 16-piece set does not cover 30 people. Count the guest list, add margin for spills and seconds, then buy.

Shopping without a color scheme. Two or three colors carried across the tablecloth, the streamers, and the wall hangings reads as intentional. Six reads as leftovers from three different events.

Forgetting the unglamorous items. An arch display is fun to shop for. Trash bags, serving utensils, ice, and a folding table are not, and those are what people drive back to the store for.

Leaving inflated rubber within reach of small children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that regulates consumer product hazards, requires cautionary labeling on balloon packaging because uninflated and broken pieces are a choking risk for children under eight. Worth reading the agency’s guidance before a toddler birthday.

Paying premium prices on disposables. Put the money into one statement piece and buy the plates from a discount store. Nobody photographs the plates.

Which Stores Carry Party Supplies

Five national chains reliably stock this category in person: Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby. Costco covers bulk. Walgreens and CVS carry a thin endcap of gift bags and foil inflatables, fine for a forgotten item and useless for planning.

Walmart

Walmart, the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the United States, pairs the widest assortment with the lowest shelf prices among general-merchandise chains. The birthday party supplies aisle sits near stationery and gift wrap, with a seasonal endcap that rotates through Halloween, graduation, and holiday themes. It is also the only stop where food, drinks, and ice go into the same cart.

Target

Target shelves this category in the seasonal aisle, usually across from the greeting cards near the front. Its in-house Spritz line covers solid color tableware and coordinated accessories in a more current palette than the licensed character sets, so it wins on trendy neutrals and loses on cartoon themes.

Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree is the best discount party stop for basics: plates, cups, balloon packs, table covers, and gift bags at fixed low prices. Inventory rotates constantly, so a second visit two weeks later looks different. Bulk cases ship free to store through its wholesale site.

Michaels and Hobby Lobby

Michaels and Hobby Lobby are the craft-store answer, each with a dedicated party aisle beside their floral, paper, and ribbon departments. That adjacency is the point: you can build a centerpiece or a custom banner in one trip rather than ordering a premade one. Both run frequent percentage-off coupons that apply to full-price decor.

Costco

Costco stocks a narrow but genuinely cheap assortment: large packs of disposable tableware, plastic cups, folding tables, and bakery sheet cakes. Selection is unpredictable and mostly unlisted online, so treat it as a bonus stop, not the plan.

Best Places to Order Party Supplies Online

Buying party supplies online wins on selection and bulk pricing, and loses on judging print quality before it arrives. Four sites cover nearly every scenario.

Amazon

Amazon #ad carries the deepest range of themed collections, arch kits, and bulk packs, with fast shipping on Prime-eligible items and two-day delivery on most of them. Sort by review count rather than star rating, since near-identical kits make volume the more honest signal. Third-party sellers set their own return terms, so check the seller name on anything expensive.

Oriental Trading

Oriental Trading specializes in bulk party decorations and favors at wholesale options pricing the general retailers cannot match on quantity. It is the default for school functions, church events, and classroom-scale orders. Per-unit prices drop sharply above 48 pieces, so it rarely makes sense for a 12-guest table.

eFavormart

eFavormart is built for event professionals: bulk inflatables, linens, table settings, chair covers, and glow products for evening receptions. Its affordable pricing on real fabric tablecloths beats disposables if you host repeatedly.

Party Direct

Party Direct sells complete kits organized by theme, bundling plates, decorations, and coordinated pieces so you are not assembling a list from scratch.

How Much Should You Pay for Party Supplies

As of July 2026, a basic birthday setup for 12 to 16 guests runs about $30 to $75 depending on where you shop. Premium themed kits with matching decor, tableware, and favors land between $80 and $200, and a full arch installation adds $60 to $150 on top.

The one place paying more rarely pays off is plain single-color disposables. A premium white plate and a dollar-store white plate look identical in photos, so buy those at the cheapest tier and move the difference into the backdrop, which shows up in every picture from the day.

Our Top Picks by Buyer Type

Ranked on selection, per-unit price, and how much of one event each option can cover on its own.

Best all-around: Walmart. Broadest in-store assortment, lowest shelf prices, same-trip groceries. Browse their selection

Best budget: Dollar Tree. Fixed low prices on the disposables nobody will scrutinize, enough to cover a table of 16 for under $30. Check availability on their site

Best for bulk orders: Oriental Trading. Wholesale per-unit pricing above 48 pieces, ideal for community events and school functions. See their bulk range

Best arch kit: a 120-piece air-filled garland kit. No helium tank, no rental, and it holds shape for days. Around $18 to $30. Check price on Amazon #ad

Best for premium style: Bonjour Fete. A carefully curated selection of high-quality products with a designer feel, worth it for a milestone event where every detail shows. Browse their collection

Start with a firm guest count and a two-color scheme, then split the order: disposables from Dollar Tree or Walmart, one statement piece from Amazon or a craft store, and bulk items from Oriental Trading above roughly 40 guests. Ordering party supplies two weeks out instead of two days out is the difference between a stress-free setup and a frantic one. Related reading: wrapping paper.

Common Questions About Party Supplies

Does Michaels have party supplies?

Yes. Michaels stocks a dedicated aisle with tableware, balloons, and banners, plus the paper, ribbon, and floral departments that make it the better choice for custom decor. Its coupons apply to full-price decor, which most general retailers do not discount.

Does Costco sell party supplies?

Costco carries a limited assortment: large packs of disposable plates and cups, plastic cutlery, folding tables, and bakery sheet cakes. It does not stock themed collections or decorations, and the mix varies by warehouse and season, so call your local club before driving out for a specific item.

How do I build a balloon arch?

Most kits include a flexible plastic strip, mixed-size balloons, and adhesive dots. Three steps:

1. Inflate to three or four different sizes and knot each one.
2. Push the knots through the holes in the strip, alternating sizes and colors as you go.
3. Fill the gaps with 5-inch pieces on adhesive dots, then anchor both ends to the wall.

Air-filled arches hold their shape for several days, unlike helium versions, so you can build one the night before.

Are latex-free options available for kids with allergies?

Yes. Foil and mylar contain no latex and sit in the same aisle as the rubber kind, and they hold gas longer as a bonus. For a guest with a confirmed allergy, skip rubber entirely instead of separating the two, since particles transfer easily in a shared space.

The wheretobuyguides.com editorial team checked retailer stock and pricing for this guide in July 2026.