Consider yourself fortunate if your kids have summer birthdays, because they can have their parties outside.
This means they can rip and roar without doing much damage, vs. those winter parties when Pin the Tail on the Donkey turns into “blindfolded kid runs into table and knocks over vase,” or when sugared-up kids spill juice, smear frosting on the rug and otherwise rip up the joint.
Party supplies are just about to go on sale, which is one of the topics of my current post at RetailMeNot. In addition to birthday parties we’re also looking at graduation parties, the barbecue season and maybe even wedding-rehearsal dinners.
Disposable dishes and cutlery have improved considerably since I was a kid. The paper plates I remember had the feel – and the staying power – of a No. 10 envelope. They folded up in the direction of the heaviest foodstuff, and baked-bean juice always leaked through. The forks were wimpy little things too, tines snapping off when you tried to lift a bite of potato salad.
These days you can buy sturdy stuff that’s actually pretty, in interesting patterns and in colors like plum, coral, lavender, cream, gold and kiwi. Some of the plates fool you into thinking they’re actually porcelain. Some are even biodegradable.
I was particularly intrigued by the dishware made of bagasse, a byproduct of the sugar-refining industry – i.e., spent stalks that would normally have been burned. Instead of cutting down trees to make plates, why not make them from something that we’ll never run short of unless people decide to stop eating sugar?
The article offers links to some good deals and to some sites I’d never heard of before beginning to research the piece. So if you’re planning outdoor parties or barbecues this summer, order the stuff you’ll need now – on sale, with a coupon and probably with free shipping – vs. trying to do it with kids in the store clamoring for something from the $1 bin, pleeeeeease?
The basics on cash-back
I’ve got another slide show up at Grandparents.com. “Get paid to go shopping! How to use the cash-back system” is a primer on one of my favorite topics: earning rebates on things you planned to buy anyway.
We’re not talking just cute shoes, either. As I point out in the article, cash-back is available for pet supplies, genealogical research, toiletries, hostess gifts, vitamins, checks, home improvement, discounted gift cards, cell phones, magazines, housewares, online dating, sporting goods, daily deals and many, many other items.
In fact, I listed so many that the editor turned it into an accompanying article, “Top cash-back businesses.” You might be surprised to find out what’s possible.
The cash-back sites have their own discount codes – including, often, free shipping – and other special deals negotiated with the merchants. I never buy anything online without first seeing whether I can get paid for buying it.
If the article piques your interest about joining some of these sites, please consider using my referral links. They can be found under the “Social Commerce Links” button at the top of the site. I get a small bonus for sending new members to sites like Mr. Rebates, Shop At Home or Ebates. A solvent blogger is a happy blogger.
You make me laugh! Paper plates in the oldin’ days were terrible. My favorite was when you scraped your plate and realized your tore through the plate and were eating off the table.