I Love Cost Plus World Market {Red, White & Blue in London Sweepstakes}

I never thought much about American pride until I had kids.  Sure, I was proud to be an American, I admired and thanked our troops, and I didn’t take all of our many freedoms for granted, but I never really sat and thought about what it meant to have American pride.  But, as my daughter gets older and I find myself explaining why we thank our active duty military and why what Uncle Nathan does is so amazing, I realize I could stand to think more about what it means to be an American and pass that along to my kids.

With so many patriotic holidays and events coming up in the next few months, this seemed a great time as any to plan a patriotic party with some close family to celebrate with some red, white and blue.  I headed out with my little guy last week to do some shopping at our local Cost Plus World Market and, as always, we had a great time. 

Even though I had just been to Cost Plus a few weeks earlier when redoing my son’s room, it felt like a whole new store this time with all sorts of fun new stuff.  Greeting me before I even entered the store was a selection of patio furniture, beach gear, and summertime accessories.  I immediately eyed the colorful chairs, umbrellas, and towels and was wishing for some summer sun. 

Just inside the shop doors was what I had come for – the new Americana décor collection that is new this season.  From rustic throw pillows to decorative wall hangings, table accessories and more, I spent a good 15 minutes looking at all the options and deciding what would be perfect for our party.  Already I had a loaded cart full of red, white, and blue garlands, pillows, tableware and more and then I headed off to find some food and drink to serve. 

On my way to the market section of the store, I passed the most wonderful collapsible picnic basket and knew I needed to have it.  Once I unzipped it and saw that the base was insulated, I was thrilled.  Unzipping the top, I saw a red, white, and blue picnic blanket and I did a little happy dance.  Oh, and did I mention it was on SALE for less than $18?  Why didn’t I buy two?

After picking up the picnic basket, I knew my party was going to be a picnic party instead of a sit-down lunch.  With that in mind, I headed to the food and drink and looked for some American picnic faire.  Summer sausages, cheeses, wine, crackers, treats, and even some Red, White and Blue Freedom Chips made their way into the cart and I was already dreaming of the picnic spread.

I also found some awesome nesting lidded fancy food storage containers and snatched those up so we could do up a fruit salad and have a place to serve the Freedom Chips.  Another container for guacamole and I was off to check out the selection of gifts for my niece’s birthday.  I found some cute bangle bracelets, a scarf, and a little clutch wallet and then I was ready to check out.  {P.S. She loved it all!} 

Once I checked out and realized I hadn’t spent nearly as much as I had thought, I remembered I still hadn’t shopped outside yet.  I headed out with my purchases to take a look and was in heaven searching all their summer deals.  I found an awesome beach umbrella that was red, white and blue striped and I knew it was perfect for our picnic, so I snatched that up for under $15.  Even with the umbrella, picnic basket, a gift and splurges on the décor, I still got out of the store with all of our party food, drinks, and accessories for about half of what I would have somewhere else and the things I got are cute, fun, and totally unique.  That’s why I love Cost Plus!

As soon as we got home, we began to plan our gathering and we started decorating with the stars and stripes garland, American flag pillow, and red, white and blue tableware and then I began to prepare our picnic feast for the next day.  We already had the festive Freedom Chips, so I thought we would go with some strawberries and blueberries to match which would pair nicely with our crackers, cheese, white wine sausage and rustic bread. 

The day of the picnic party, my daughter was literally dancing beside me while I packed our picnic basket and got all of our décor ready to set up for guests.  She dressed herself in red, white, and blue to celebrate and helped me gather everything I needed for the party.  Using the picnic blanket and the striped umbrella made a little place for the little ones to play and eat in shade, and then we set up the picnic table for the adults.

The picnic itself was a huge success and everyone was raving about the spread, the décor, and most of all, the idea to celebrate our American pride by hosting a red, white and blue party.  When they heard that everything was purchased at Cost Plus, everyone was shocked.  It was cool to be able to show them the many sides of the store and treat them to a special and gourmet meal with our findings. 

Something else I was excited to tell our guests about was the Red, White & Blue London Sweepstakes where they could win a trip for 2 to London to watch the US compete!  The London sweepstakes runs until June 15th, and you can find more details at the World Market Facebook page.


Also be sure to visit the Cost Plus World Market website and sign up to be a member; you get great coupons just for signing up!  You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook so you'll always be in the know of all the promos, events, and sweepstakes they run!

This shop has been compensated by Cost Plus World Market, but, as always, all my opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation influenced our Rave Review.