Sipping Jars: A True Story of Cheapness

The weekend of the Royal Wedding I was in San Francisco and ended up in Palo Alto at this party store - Acme Party Box Company - and my sister bought these mason jars with daisy lids that you could put a straw in and use for glasses.  I hated her - mainly because I had no room to get them home in my luggage.  Also apparently they usually only sell them in sets of twelve but they let her only by four.  I thought about those glasses a lot and wanted them.  Now honestly until I sat down to write this I didn't even think to check if this place had an online store but they do and they are available for purchase there for $45 (and I'm not sure what the shipping and handling is).  Even if I had know this this story would have had the same outcome.

Image via Candle Soylution

Anyway - a few months later I came across Green Party Goods while searching for festoon (which I am still trying to figure out how to use). They had the sipping jars and the $28 price tag seemed fairly reasonable.  But I didn't buy them.  A few weeks ago I decided I really wanted those sipping jars so I went back to Green Party Goods but the shipping and handling were almost the same price as the jars.  Bloody hell.  I like to shop online but I will not buy something if the shipping is too much or I will keep looking - which I did.

Next I went to my trusted Etsy.  I found I could buy the tops separately at some stores there but they were still pricey ($18 at one site for 12 lids plus shipping) and if I wanted the jars too I would have to fork over even more.  I didn't happen to have 12 mason jars sitting around so the jars were kind of important too.  What I did discover through Etsy search was that those daisy jar tops are used for candles or air fresheners - to diffuse smells basically and not originally for those fancy paper striped straws we all love so much.

One google search later and I was at Candle Soylutions - where I found the lids in gold and pewter for 35 and 38 cents per lid (when you buy a dozen).  Also the shipping was almost the same if you bought the jars there too (a dozen for $7.50) - so I went ahead and got those too.  With the cheapest shipping option the whole thing was just over $30 - and the shipping was actually super fast and now I have a set of gold lids when I want those and pewter when I want those.  So if you decide you need those jars too I would recommend Candle Soylutions and then just pick up some straws somewhere else (I like Hey Yo Yo  on Etsy for straws and cupcake toppers).

Both Acme Party Box Company and Green Party Goods have great websites with lots of fun stuff and are definitely worth checking out.