Honestly, what’s a party without candy? When you think about it, you leave almost every party with some sort of sweet treat. Whether the candy comes in cute little goodie bags placed by each seat at the table or it’s whacked out of a donkey-shaped piñata, you somehow never leave a party empty-handed with regards to candy.
Maybe you would rather have Reese’s as opposed to Starbursts. Maybe you want more of one type of candy and less of another. With candy bar buffets, you can customize your own goodie bag.
Photo courtesy of Party Perfect on flickr.com
What exactly is a candy bar buffet? According to my mother, who runs her own party planning business with her best friend, candy bar buffets “are all the craze at bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings, and corporate events, because they can be customized to any occasion.”
Photo courtesy of flickr.com
Guests love candy bar buffets because they are not only aesthetically pleasing, but they also add a pop of color to the party and a unique element to the room — something edible and fun all at the same time.
The buffets themselves can be customized according to the theme and color scheme of the party. Every item on the table can be personalized as well, from the containers to the candy wrappers to the actual pieces of candy.
Candy buffets are more than just a delicious table of sweets. They add a whole new dimension to a party or event. For example, if the theme for a bar mitzvah party was New York City, you could have a candy bar buffet with a backdrop of a New York City newsstand and spread newspapers across the buffet.
You could even make the backdrop of the candy bar be the walls of a subway, Chinatown, or a theater on Broadway. The options are endless, and there is so much room for creativity and personal style when designing a candy bar buffet.
Photo courtesy of partyperfectorlando.com
Candy bar buffets can also bring life to a party or event with bright colored candies, such as this colorful candy buffet from Hollywood Candy Girls.
Photo courtesy of hollywoodcandygirls.com
Why should you be interested in putting together a candy bar as a college student? As college students, we are past the bar/bat mitzvah stage, but not yet at the wedding stage or planning on throwing any sort of company event.
However, candy bar buffets can also be a huge hit at campus events, boosting interest in whatever club or organization you may be trying to promote (maybe even a recently established chapter of Spoon University on your campus?). The incredible display and the mere fact that there is free candy will be sure to lure in masses of students, and possibly trigger some interest in whatever you are promoting.
Candy bar buffets can also be used if you are hosting a party, such as a 21st birthday party, or maybe you just want to throw an epic pregame before hitting the bars.
Now, you might be wondering, how am I supposed to create this type of candy bar on a college student’s budget? While customized candy wrappers are a nice touch, they can be quite pricey and are not completely necessary to create a striking candy bar display.
Photo courtesy of madincrafts.com
One sneaky way to save money is by carefully selecting what type of candy goes in which type of container. For example, candies such as M&Ms are very dense and do not take up a lot of space, so it would be much more cost efficient to fill a large container with larger candies such as gum balls or Twizzlers, not small candies like M&Ms. Fewer candies are needed to fill the container, and therefore you do not need to buy as many large candies as small candies.
The strategic placement of the smaller candies in small containers, and saving the large containers for large candies, can actually help you save a lot of money on candy purchases.
Also, buy your candy in bulk from Candy Warehouse, which has almost every candy imaginable sorted by flavor, color, theme, brand, and type. Candy Warehouse’s candies are all reasonably priced and sold in bulk, and they provide coupon codes to save even more money.
Candy Warehouse also sells cheap candy scoops for the jars and vases, and their site has tips and tricks for creating an amazing candy bar that won’t break the bank.
Photo courtesy of candywarehouse.com
Additionally, the containers themselves can be found for super cheap at the Dollar Store or at craft stores such as Hobby Lobby. Candy bars typically look best with an eclectic mix of containers, varying in shape and size, so you could even use some spare vases or mason jars that you already own to display the candy on the buffet.
The labels on the containers can be hand-written or printed out from the computer, saving a lot of money. As far as saving money goes, the more you can make at home (DIY), the better. For those of us who are less creative than others, you can find tons candy bar labeling templates on Pinterest and Google to use for your containers (such as the label below, made from a template).
Photo courtesy of Hostess with the Mostess Blog on Pinterest
Candy bar buffets add so much more to an event, making a wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, birthday party, holiday party, graduation party, or even a typical college pregame so unique and something truly spectacular. Why would you need a cake when you can have your own customized bag of candy and eat it, too?