Seasonal decor at Party City

According to the associate I spoke with yesterday, Party City rarely marks down major holiday decor after the holiday. Judging from my experience this year, I think she's right. 

If Party City has a lot of seasonal/holiday product leftover, they pack it up and send it back to their warehouse for next year. When they put it out on the shelves the next year, it is already marked down drastically.  I have found that the best time to shop for holiday decorations at Party City is the week after a holiday, when they are setting the shelves for the next holiday.  That's when they put out all of the marked-down product from last year for the next holiday.  So get out there this week if you want Spring decor!

For example, yesterday I picked up some Easter/Spring decorations.  My toddlers LOVE to decorate for holidays, and I love to find them for cheap.   I picked up 3 sets of Dragonfly lights (the kind with 10 lights on a string) for $4.93 on clearance - they were originally $12.99.  I got a great big 22" butterfly for $2.93, and they were $9.99 last year.  I got a lovely tacky plastic tablecloth for 2.93, and last year it sold for $5.99.

I worked in retail replenishment for 6 years before becoming a SAHM, and I have never heard of this strategy before. Typically, if product is going to be marked down, it is done immediately after the season to get rid of it.  I'm not sure why Party City chooses to warehouse product for an entire year only to mark it down when they put it out on the shelves the next year, but it certainly works for my family!