I have always loved home parties - you know the kind where you visit somebody's house and a consultant will be selling the latest kitchen gadget, skin care product or scrapbooking supply? I'm a catalog fiend anyway, and I love to browse every catalog that comes into my mailbox. I'm not typically a hoarder, but those catalogs really like my house and they usually stick around a while. Although I love looking, I tend to go for the authentic buying experience, so stores are generally my preference....except that home parties offer the best of both worlds--they have those glossy catalogs that make everything look so irresistible, but you actually get to see the product before you order it.
Last fall, I came up with the brilliant (and at the time, I thought it was original) idea of holding a mammoth home party show around holiday time in my kids gymnasium at school. I figured it would be an opportunity for those consultants to get their names out and for us customers to see lots of stuff in one place. We ended up organizing it as a fundraiser so the school PTA actually makes some money on the side.
Anyway, in my scheme, the plan would only work if there were many different home party companies, otherwise no one would take the time to attend if it were just a few of the well-known standby companies. I began to scour the internet and quickly became obsessed with the number of different companies that do parties at people's homes. Our first event was a success, and I was able to coerce 38 different companies to come, some from quite a distance. Since it was a hit, we are repeating the event this year...this coming Saturday. I have to admit that I'm drooling over all the stuff these companies offer, although I will be restraining myself a bit more than I did last year. I can testify that several of my family members got unusual gifts courtesy of these obscure companies, but I did go a bit wild.
Since I'm sure you are dying to know, this year's line up includes - Arbonne International, At Home America, Avon, Body Shoppe at Home, Cookie Lee jewelry, Creative Memories, Discovery Toys, Home Made Gourmet, Home & Garden, Home Interiors, Itz Enterprises (health products), Kara Vita skin care, Lady Emily fashions, Lia Sophia jewelry, Longaberger baskets, Mary Kay cosmetics, Northern Lights At Home, Pampered Chef, Princess House, Party Lite, Spa Girl Parties, Simply Fun, Southern Living at Home, Stampin Up, Swiss Colony Occasions, Silpada jewelry, Thirty One Gifts, Tastefully Simple, Taste of Home, The Traveling Vineyard, Tupperware, Vantel Pearls, Weekenders clothing, Yoffi jewelry.
Probably the most unusual group coming is Vantel Pearls-they give you an oyster and you crack it open on the spot to find your pearl. You can then have it set in jewelry if you want. My biggest disappointment is that I wasn't able to get anybody from Tomboy Tools to come to this area. You can't even imagine the number of wonderful sales opportunities I've turned down nor the number of home parties I've declined to schedule! I think that's the downfall of being the contact person with my number on all the correspondence. Although I'm looking forward to it, my life will be a lot simpler, my phone messages will be lots fewer, and my email inbox will be much more empty once it's all over! I'll be glad for that.
Last fall, I came up with the brilliant (and at the time, I thought it was original) idea of holding a mammoth home party show around holiday time in my kids gymnasium at school. I figured it would be an opportunity for those consultants to get their names out and for us customers to see lots of stuff in one place. We ended up organizing it as a fundraiser so the school PTA actually makes some money on the side.
Anyway, in my scheme, the plan would only work if there were many different home party companies, otherwise no one would take the time to attend if it were just a few of the well-known standby companies. I began to scour the internet and quickly became obsessed with the number of different companies that do parties at people's homes. Our first event was a success, and I was able to coerce 38 different companies to come, some from quite a distance. Since it was a hit, we are repeating the event this year...this coming Saturday. I have to admit that I'm drooling over all the stuff these companies offer, although I will be restraining myself a bit more than I did last year. I can testify that several of my family members got unusual gifts courtesy of these obscure companies, but I did go a bit wild.
Since I'm sure you are dying to know, this year's line up includes - Arbonne International, At Home America, Avon, Body Shoppe at Home, Cookie Lee jewelry, Creative Memories, Discovery Toys, Home Made Gourmet, Home & Garden, Home Interiors, Itz Enterprises (health products), Kara Vita skin care, Lady Emily fashions, Lia Sophia jewelry, Longaberger baskets, Mary Kay cosmetics, Northern Lights At Home, Pampered Chef, Princess House, Party Lite, Spa Girl Parties, Simply Fun, Southern Living at Home, Stampin Up, Swiss Colony Occasions, Silpada jewelry, Thirty One Gifts, Tastefully Simple, Taste of Home, The Traveling Vineyard, Tupperware, Vantel Pearls, Weekenders clothing, Yoffi jewelry.
Probably the most unusual group coming is Vantel Pearls-they give you an oyster and you crack it open on the spot to find your pearl. You can then have it set in jewelry if you want. My biggest disappointment is that I wasn't able to get anybody from Tomboy Tools to come to this area. You can't even imagine the number of wonderful sales opportunities I've turned down nor the number of home parties I've declined to schedule! I think that's the downfall of being the contact person with my number on all the correspondence. Although I'm looking forward to it, my life will be a lot simpler, my phone messages will be lots fewer, and my email inbox will be much more empty once it's all over! I'll be glad for that.
Comments
Debbie
What a great idea, that would be one school event I would attend even if my kids didn't go to that school.
Next stop? School-Party Gig!