Cheap Décor

Buying Cheaply: Garage Sales

I love good garage sales, and they can be a great source for party props. We had a baby shower for my daughter, Liz, and her husband, Dan, at a local bar; instead of a baby pastel look, we had Lego structures of all kinds mixed with pots of colorful blooming plants. Liz is a Lego nut, so she was tickled. We created houses, boats, hotels, and cars—the look was charming. Over the course of a couple of months, my friend and I had canvassed local garage sales and bought, at pennies on the dollar, about thirty sets of Legos. We tossed them into the dishwasher (top rack) in a mesh bag (or you can place them in the washing machine). We had hundreds and hundreds of pieces that looked as good as new. A friend of mine said she would never buy garage-sale toys because you never knew where they had been. Frankly, I told her she had better keep her kids out of kindergarten or any kind of play school because those toys had to have a hundred times more use than any garage-sale toy you would find (and wash and wash again). And frankly, you get to choose the people from whom you buy—so shop away.

Displayable Junk

Sometimes you can even use junk to make your décor have the feel you need. We collected empty Tommy Gun vodka cases for the speakeasy party after Craig and Lindsey’s wedding. For other parties, we have used crates and bushel baskets from grocery stores: cheap, charming, and effective.