Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Stouffer's House Party










A while ago I came across a blog that made mention of houseparty.com and I just had to check it out.  To my delight I found that this site was super cool! Basically different companies host parties through houseparty.com to promote their products. All you have to do is fill out a profile form and then apply for the house parties you would be interested in hosting. Within a few days of applying for a Stouffer's Toasted Sub Celebration Party, I was accepted.
 Now here is the cool part. They send all of the products to you in what is a called a party pack. The contents of your party pack vary from company to company. In my party pack I received  15 coupons for the toasted sub sandwiches. The coupons were for free sandwiches so I did not have to pay for them.  Also in my pack were 15 red plates, 15 Stouffer's napkins, 1 red pot holder that matched everything, 15 coupons for my guests for $1 off, and 15 tote bags for my guests. The tote bags were a big surprise to me. I really thought that they would have the Stouffer's name on the front, They didn't!  I really liked that. Some people don't feel comfortable carrying a bag with a brand name emblazoned on the front. This bag just had a small tag on the side that says Stouffer's. 
On the houseparty.com website they provide you with tools to send out custom invitations. whether you print them from the site or send them via email. It made it really easy to plan for my guests. They also have a guest manager. Your guests can either rsvp through the site or you can mark their response yourself. Easy, Peasy!  The only thing I would have done differently was to put on my invitation that this was just a time for the girls to get together and hang out, I had few people concerned that I was going to try to sell them something or try to get them to sign up to host some kind of party.  I should have been more specific!  

I hosted my first house party This last Sunday night while the guys were at bible study. I did send a few of the sandwiches with my hubby to share with the guys. 
Instead of making up the subs like a sandwich we both decided to bake them and leave them open faced. Then I cut each one in half so that every one could try all 4 varieties and have enough. I served a simple green salad, chips, mini candy bars and a cake. Along with some hummus and pretzels. I also encouraged my guests to bring a side dish or snack to share. They brought chips of all kinds, Strawberries, and a pasta salad. we had a wonderful spread. I used the boxes from the sandwiches to label the subs so my guests would know which variety they were trying. 

I also used my beverage jar which I absolutely adore! It has been used more times than I can count. every year costco has a different variation or design. I want to collect them all but they are a bit bulky and I would not be able to store them in my home. but then again maybe I could get my hubby to build me a shelf in the shed just for beverage jars. Ah but I digress!
I included a personal party favor for my guests as well as a pen for their purse.
We had a great time catching up and enjoying each other's company. And Eating! I think everybody had a different favorite sub. Mine was the Philly steak and cheese, my hubby liked the zesty Italian with the pepperoni and yellow peppers. 

I can't wait for my next houseparty!  
I have quite a few applications in the works right now. This morning I got notification that I was not chosen to host the red Baron Moms night out party. It's all good! I will just wait until I get to host my next party. Keep an eye out...

5 comments:

Little Messy Missy said...

I have never heard of that...cool. I might wonder over to that site.

Jolene said...

It was SO MUCH fun! Thanks for inviting me - and for letting us hang out till 3 am :)

Melissa Price said...

Sounds like fun! And what an easy way to host a party... I can see that type of party being a huge success. So glad you had a good time! : ) Melissa

janeal said...

I've never heard of that either, it sounds like fun!

Loose Sparrow Arts N Crafts said...

I hope your "Spring Party" of orange and pink wins! You've got my bot....and not just because I love you, but because it really is the BEST!