Product Review and Giveaway: Smarty had a Party
Since my condo is now looking lived-in and I actually own a couch and coffee table, I figured that it was about time I had friends and family over for a “little” housewarming party (four months after I moved in, hehe). Therefore, the company Smarty had a Party chose a very convenient time to send me party supplies to review! Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for the review written here; although I did receive the products for free, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
My living room, with the bedroom in the background (and my floor-to-ceiling windows!)
Smarty had a Party supplied me with cups, plates, cutlery, wine glasses, a table cloth, napkins, and fake flower petals. The colours were all browns and creams, which actually works quite well for the colour scheme in my condo: I have a lot of earthy tones of greens, browns, and creams.
Because the sistertraveller has recently returned from her 9-month trip to Cambodia and Sri Lanka, we decided to have a joint housewarming party and welcome-home party (even though we no longer live together). We celebrated with my homemade sangria (recipe found here), beer, and wine, as well as a variety of cheese, crackers, dips, chips, and veggies. I had intended on the party lasting just a few hours in the evening, but it wound up lasting into the wee hours of the morning with people from all walks of life – family friends, high school friends, university friends – coming and going. A successful party for sure!
Guiltless Gourmet chips, whole wheat pitas, crackers, and veggies with dips and brie cheese, using Smarty Had a Party plates, cutlery, and tablecloth. You can also see the wine glass (with wine in the stem) on the edge of the photo.
I really liked the Smarty had a Party products. The plastic wine glasses have a hollow stem so that the liquid fills up the stem as well as the bowl of the glass; I’d never seen that before. The cups were also a decent size, and both the wine glasses and the cups look really nice. I don’t have wine glasses in my condo yet so I’ve been using margarita glasses to drink wine out of, but I would absolutely use these plastic wine glasses to hold my wine until I have “real” glasses.
My one problem with these glasses is that the plastic is so light that they are easy to knock over accidentally, particularly when there are a lot of people in one room and everyone has had a fair amount to drink. There were a few spilled glasses which I don’t think would have happened had the glasses been a little bit sturdier – but no worries! I have a dark-coloured carpet 😀
The cutlery also looks very nice. It is very silverware-esque; it is also durable and works well. The same can be said for the plates: although these aren’t especially nice to look at, they are durable and work very well for party situations. I liked the napkins, although I didn’t use the fake flower petals. As for the large brown tablecloth, I thought that it was actually made of cloth… until I was cleaning up the following day and scooped it up to put it in the laundry basket and accidentally put my finger right through it! The tablecloth is made of paper but it certainly does not look or feel as though it is made of paper. It was the only thing that I threw out after the party; it would have dissolved in the washing machine, I’m sure, and it was too dirty (plus my finger had made a rip in it) for it to be reused.
Me with a housewarming present from my godmother dear 🙂 This is my kitchen, and my computer working space in the background. And two coolers full of beer against the wall. I assure you they aren’t a regular feature in my kitchen.
Overall, although some of the supplies weren’t very attractive (the fake flower petals looked cheap and Dollar Store-esque), they held up very well for their purposes. Guests were very impressed with the products. The supplies also are hardy enough that they will not easily be broken, and can be washed and re-used. I will certainly be using them again in the future and would definitely recommend them to anyone who doesn’t want to go the typical paper plate route.
Giveaway
Do you have a party coming up? Would you be interested in getting your own party kit full of fun party supplies? You can win your very own party kit from Smarty had a Party by leaving a comment below to tell me about what kind of party you would use your party supplies for, a good or bad experience you’ve had at a social gathering, or your favourite type of celebration. If all else fails, party recipes or anything vaguely related also goes 😉 As always, if you leave a particularly clever, humorous, or insightful comment, your chances of winning the party kit will increase! Giveaway winner will be announced one week from today, on Wednesday, September 1st.
Because of my broken camera, the photographs are courtesy of the sistertraveller’s iPhone before the party started. Picture-taking was forgotten about once people started arriving. Oops.
And what a fun and fab party it was!
My upcoming party is an annual halloween gala – complete with a bonfire, band and prizes for the best costume. The only kind of party I throw is a halloween party. And a good party of course.
You throw the best parties. Can’t wait for the one this year!
My worst experiences (and it’ll happen again) is when the party desserts are nasty. It TOTALLY ruins a good time. Makes me wanna go home early, even. I know, I’m terrible.
Food is important 😀 I ran out of time to make tasty party desserts this time around, sadly.
I’d say you are doing very well having a party after 4 months of living there…I’ve lived in my house for almost 2 years and still need to put something like that together. 🙂
You are too cute in that picture! What a fun party and so neat you could show your place at the same time. And I LOVE floor to ceiling windows!
Hehehe better late than never!
We *just* bought a house in March and still haven’t had an official housewarming party. I’ve sorta been putting it off b/c the kitchen is hideous and needs a complete remodel. Maybe these supplies would help me stop procrastinating… 🙂
😉 The right supplies will do it.
No need to include me for the giveaway… but I just wanted to tell you how lovely your NYC scarf looks on you. 🙂
Aww thanks!
Yuck, disposables 😛
But that’s just it, they AREN’T disposable! They’re reusable party supplies. Therefore they ROCK. 🙂
I can DEFINITELY use this. My two oldest children just got engaged within 3 weeks of each other, and the weddings will be 4 months apart!!!!!! HELP!!! That’s gonna be alot of showers, parties, planning etc that will need to be done and I am already stressed!!! I will also be using your sangria recipe for some of these parties, as well as other tips I have picked up from you! THANKS
Oh you will definitely want to have plenty of sangria at those parties. That’s exciting that they’re getting married – hope you have lots of relaxation time scheduled so you don’t get too stressed out!
Well, it’s my birthday coming up soon, and it’s right by Halloween, so I would definitely use these supplies for a birthday/halloween shindig at my place.Then I wouldn’t have as much work cleaning up after my own party 🙂
Party supplies would be nice….a few friends and yea party.
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