Party city was really the only place around me to get balloon bouquets. I don’t know anyone who didn’t use them for that. I wonder who will fill in the gap. I know helium was in shorter supply but when I went into PC last month there were at least two dozen orders being picked up.
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To me this is another "end of an era’ type closing. When kids were young we would go to Party City for birthday and other parties (paper goods, decorations, etc.) and Halloween costumes. Admittedly, I have rarely gone since kids are grown but still melancholy. The closings were handled to maximize money intake with no regard to employees which is sad.
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I was in Party City 2 years ago for plates, etc. for Mom’s 80th birthday. The store was a mess and the employees really weren’t helpful. It was also very expensive! I found myself wishing I’d just ordered from Amazon. The store closed not long after, so perhaps the employees knew they’d soon be unemployed.
Most of our grocery stores here have a floral department and seem to do a brisk balloon business as well. I think the day of a year round party supply store is over.
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All our Party City stores closed several years ago. We get balloons at the Dollar Tree.
Closet Dollar Tree to me is about 30 min. I wonder if one will no go in closer. Our grocery does have balloons. But small selection and no room to out together large orders.
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Lol! Goes to show what different places we live in. Just googled and counted 16 dollar stores, (general, tree, family dollar) that I can get to within 10 minutes. Now Trader Joe’s, costco, any mid scale or upper scale grocery stores; lululemon, REI, Costco, nordstroms, etc… nothing like that here. Must drive 50-75 miles.
The closest Party City is in a strip mall that also has a TJ Maxx and HomeGoods, so always busy. That’s why I’m waiting until after Xmas to pop by and see if anything is left. If possible, I will stock up on my favorite color disposable party ware.
One of the surprises after we moved here is how close we are to such a variety of shopping, yet still in a residential neighborhood of the city. Mission Valley has both a major upscale mall and several other shopping areas. Hard to think of any kind of store that is not within about 20 minutes drive - outside of commuting hours, of course.
The nearest Party City to us is about 30+ minutes from our house in good traffic. We have only been there a handful of times ever and generally bought very little, if anything. Everything always seemed overpriced. My nieces bought a balloon bouquet for their dad for his retirement party and the Mylar balloons deflated before the party ended!
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Looks like the CC crowd is responsible for the closure. 
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Related:
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Always figured there would be a slew of younger parents with younger kids to take our place…but they are more likely to buy online I’m guessing.
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I did my fair share of buying stuff at PC recently when little kid got married!
@happy1 - you are right. All online. Baby shower and birthday decorations were purchased by kids on Amazon.
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We have Party City, but the ones that shopped there were the grandparents with more disposable $. The items there seemed pretty expensive, so we did our party supply shopping from Dollar Tree. And my older sister does hers from Amazon.
Out of curiosity I went onto their web site to see what’s in stock at the local store. Plenty of stuff listed, but the vast majority is only 10% off. Certainly not worth running over there!
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There were sign spinners outside our local Party City on Saturday advertising 50% off everything in store, but today only current seasonal products were that discounted. Things like paper plates etc were 5-10% off. The worker told me the store will be open until February.
I’ll bet those signs said “up to” in tiny font before the 50%. Hard to see when the sign is spinning!
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Most recently I got a 21st Birthday balloon cluster from there, but as others have said, the party supplies can be had for much cheaper elsewhere.
The two stores near me have always been inadequately staffed and in disarray inside, making the shopping experience less than pleasant.
The grocery stores better hire dedicated balloon people because come graduation season, they will be slammed!
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I keep reading this thread as “Park City” (the place with great skiing) closing… Clearly it’s not that.
Carry on…
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