For most hosts, the smartest way to buy party supplies is a two-stop plan: cheap disposables from Walmart, Dollar Tree, or Costco, and one or two statement pieces from a craft store, a Party City counter inside Staples, or an online shop. Party supplies are the tableware, decorations, and favors used to set up, serve, and send guests home from a gathering, from a backyard birthday to a corporate gala. This guide covers who still stocks the category after the 2025 Party City shake-up, what each retailer does best, and the return rules worth knowing before you overbuy.
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What the Category Covers and Who Buys It
Party supplies split into three buckets. Plates, cups, napkins, cutlery, and table covers handle what guests eat off of. Balloons, banners, streamers, a backdrop, and a centerpiece handle what you hang up. Party favors handle what guests take home. Nearly every shopping list mixes the three, weighted by budget.
Four groups buy most of it. Parents working backward from a headcount and one of the year’s birthday themes for a birthday party. Couples pulling together a baby shower or a bridal shower, who lean on matched kits so nothing clashes. 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 anniversary, where atmosphere outweighs saving two dollars on cutlery.
Seasonal and holiday stock runs on its own clock. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations land weeks ahead of each date, and what is left clears out fast in the days right after.
Can You Still Shop at Party City?
Yes, but not the way you remember. Party City, once a chain of close to 1,000 dedicated party stores, shut its company-run locations in 2025 after a bankruptcy filing. Ad Populum, a pop-culture merchandise company, bought the brand’s intellectual property and wholesale business in February 2025 and has been rebuilding it in three forms:
- Party City shops inside Staples. As of April 2026, these counters were open in more than 700 Staples stores, selling decor, tableware, favors, and helium balloons next to Staples print services for invitations, yard signs, and banners.
- PartyCity.com. The site is live again as an online party store with shipping and in-store pickup options.
- Franchise stores. A handful of independently owned Party City stores still operate.
When we checked the PartyCity.com homepage on October 14, 2026, it listed 17 franchise stores alongside the Staples counters and online ordering. A Staples counter covers helium and a printed banner, but it is a shop-in-shop, not the old superstore, so a full themed spread usually means a second stop.
Which Stores Carry Party Supplies in Person
Five national chains reliably stock the category: Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby. Costco and Staples fill specific gaps. Walgreens and CVS carry a small rack of gift bags and foil balloons, fine for a last-minute card-and-balloon run but too thin for planning a whole event.
| Store | Best for | Weak spot |
|---|---|---|
| Walmart | Widest mainstream assortment, licensed characters | Picked-over shelves near holidays |
| Target | Current colors and trend-driven decor | Fewer bulk packs |
| Dollar Tree | Cheap party basics, case orders | Stock rotates constantly |
| Michaels, Hobby Lobby | DIY decor, ribbon, floral, banners | Shallow on licensed themes |
| Costco | Sturdy disposable tableware in large packs | Little or no themed decor |
| Staples (Party City shop) | Helium balloons, printed signs | Smaller footprint |
Walmart
Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, pairs a wide selection with low prices and the convenience of buying groceries in the same trip. Its birthday party supplies range runs deepest on licensed cartoon and movie characters.
Target
Target sells its own Spritz brand, an Only at Target line of banners, garland, bows, tissue paper, and ribbon. Target wins on following each color trend and loses on case-size quantities. Its posted policy allows refunds or exchanges on most unopened items returned within 90 days, useful when you buy an extra pack of plates as insurance.
Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree is the best discount party stop for basics: plates, cups, balloon packs, table covers, and gift bags. Its base price is 1.25 USD, though the chain keeps adding higher price points, so not every item is still at the base price. Dollartree.com sells many items by the case with free ship-to-store pickup, which suits a classroom or church event.
Michaels and Hobby Lobby
Michaels and Hobby Lobby are the craft-store answer, each with party goods beside floral, paper, and ribbon. That adjacency is the point: you can build a centerpiece or a custom banner in one trip rather than ordering a premade one, and our guide to where to buy flowers covers fresh stems for the table. Both run frequent percentage-off promotions, so check the current offer first. Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sundays, which matters for a Sunday-afternoon shower.
Costco
Costco covers the boring, high-volume side of party supplies: plates, cups, cutlery, napkins, and serving trays, including its Kirkland Signature plastic plates. It is not a source of themed decorations, and the mix varies by warehouse.
Best Sites for Party Supplies Online
Ordering party supplies online wins on selection and per-unit price 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. 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, the Omaha-based online retailer owned by Berkshire Hathaway, specializes in bulk party decorations, favors, and crafts, with wholesale options general retailers cannot match. Berkshire’s annual report says it serves more than three million customers a year, including schools and churches. Per-unit prices fall as quantities rise, so it rarely suits a 12-guest table.
eFavormart. eFavormart is built for event professionals: bulk balloons, linens, table settings, chair covers, and glow products for evening receptions. Its affordable pricing on fabric tablecloths beats disposables if you host repeatedly.
Party Direct. Party Direct sells complete party kits organized by theme, bundling plates, decorations, and coordinated pieces so you are not assembling a list from scratch.
Return Rules to Check Before You Overbuy
Overbuying party supplies is the safe move, but only if the extras can go back. These are the posted policies as of October 14, 2026:
- Target: most unopened items in new condition can come back within 90 days.
- Michaels: 60 days for a refund or exchange at any store; cut fabric is final sale, and online-only costumes and accessory kits must come back 7 days before the holiday.
- Amazon Marketplace: terms depend on the third-party seller, so read the listing before ordering a large lot.
The rule that follows: keep spare packs sealed and the receipt in the box, then return what you did not open the week after the event. Inflated balloons and personalized items are effectively non-returnable anywhere.
Four Quality Checks Before You Buy
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, so solid color tableware from a mid-tier brand often beats themed tableware printed on flimsy board.
Print quality on napkins and table covers. Cheap ink smudges once it gets damp, and it will get damp. Crisp graphics stay readable on a napkin, a tablecloth, and signage from setup through cleanup.
Wall thickness and fill type. Helium-filled latex balloons float for hours, not days, and thinner walls shorten that window further. Foil balloons hold gas much longer, so save those for number and letter displays that must last all day. 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.
Guest coverage and allergies. Good kits print a serving count on the front, so you get everything you need for a stated number of guests. If a guest has a rubber allergy, foil and mylar are the alternatives; read the packaging, not the photo, because mixed kits are common.
Buying Mistakes That Cost a Second Trip
Ordering late ruins more events than any other single error. Themed and personalized items ship on longer timelines than everyday goods, so order weeks ahead, not the week of.
Buying by set count instead of guest count. A 16-piece set does not cover 30 people. Count heads, 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 balloons within reach of small children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that regulates consumer product hazards, enforces the Child Safety Protection Act rule that latex balloon packaging carry a CHOKING HAZARD warning for children under eight, because uninflated and broken pieces can block an airway. Worth reading the agency’s guidance before a toddler birthday.
Where to Shop by Event Size
Each pick is ranked on selection, per-unit cost, and how much of one event’s party supplies it can cover on its own.
Small family party (under 15 guests): Walmart. Broad in-store assortment, low prices, same-trip groceries. Browse their selection
Tight budget at any size: Dollar Tree. Low prices on the disposables nobody will scrutinize, which is where most of a tight budget gets wasted elsewhere. Check availability on their site
Classroom, church, or 40-plus guests: Oriental Trading. Wholesale per-unit pricing on case quantities for community events and school functions. See their bulk range
Any size, one statement piece: an air-filled balloon arch garland kit. No helium tank, no rental, and it holds shape for days rather than hours. Kit prices vary widely by size and balloon count. Check price on Amazon #ad
Milestone event where every detail shows: Bonjour Fete. The boutique curates a designer-style range of decor and tableware, worth the premium for a wedding shower or a big anniversary. Browse their collection
Start with a firm guest count and a two-color scheme, then split the order: disposables from Dollar Tree, Costco, or Walmart, one statement piece from Amazon or a craft store, helium from a Party City counter at Staples, and bulk items from Oriental Trading above roughly 40 guests. Buying party supplies two weeks out instead of two days out is the difference between a stress-free setup and a frantic one. For gift wrap, see our wrapping paper guide.
Common Questions
Does Michaels have party supplies?
Yes. Michaels stocks tableware, balloons, and banners near its paper, ribbon, and floral departments, which makes it the better choice for custom decor. Unused items can be returned within 60 days under its posted policy.
What does Costco stock for parties?
Costco carries large packs of disposable tableware, including plates, cups, cutlery, napkins, and serving trays. It does not stock themed collections or much in the way of decorations, and the mix varies by warehouse and season, so call your local club first.
Does Staples sell balloons and party decorations now?
Many Staples stores do. Party City shop-in-shops opened in more than 700 Staples locations by April 2026, selling decor, tableware, favors, and helium balloons. Not every store has one, so check the Party City store finder before driving over.
How do I build a balloon arch without helium?
Most kits include a flexible plastic strip, mixed-size balloons, and adhesive dots. Three steps:
- Inflate to three or four different sizes with a hand pump and knot each one.
- Push the knots through the holes in the strip, alternating sizes and colors as you go.
- Fill the gaps with 5-inch pieces on adhesive dots, then anchor both ends to the wall.
Are latex-free balloons available for kids with allergies?
Yes. Foil and mylar contain no rubber, sit in the same aisle as the stretchy kind, and hold gas longer as a bonus. For a guest with a confirmed allergy, skip rubber across the whole room instead of separating the two types, since particles transfer easily in a shared space.
Store status, ownership, and return policies in this guide were checked against retailer pages and news reports on October 14, 2026.