Check out my list of must-have items in my party planning toolkit and create one of your own to make party set up easier! Must have items include double sided tape, glue guns, clear cording, magnets, Glue Dots® and more!

Ever wonder how to suspend decorations from the ceiling or even suspend decor from a backdrop? Well, clear stretchy cording is what you need! Here you can see how I suspended fairy silhouettes from the ceiling. The clear cording makes the fairy look like it is flying! Super cute! I also used it to secure a wood cutout of my daughter, Riley’s name over this Sparkle Rainbow Candy Table.
Photo: Tonya Coleman
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This is a must-have when setting up decor for a party. If you need a tight hold on anything, just plug in your Mini Glue Gun and it’s ready to secure anything in minutes. Be sure to also have Mini Glue Sticks in your kit too so you have plenty on hand to replenish the glue gun. The great thing about hot glue is that you can squeeze it in tight places or on skinny surfaces where you can’t really use tape or Glue Dots®. Check out my signature “Bling Ball Pacifier Centerpieces” that I created by using hot glue to attach a bling sphere to the narrow rim on the top of a tower vase and ribbons to the inside of the vase.
TIP: Hot glue is perfect to secure printable cupcake toppers and printable centerpiece circles to sticks. They also are a must when securing a printable cupcake topper to a textured paper backer like this glitter circle where tape and other adhesives don’t hold as well.
Photo: Tonya Coleman
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These are my secret to securing any embellishments to anything made of metal. You could use hot glue to do this, but you won’t be able to remove the embellishment and reuse it. Here I used self adhesive magnets to secure a decorative flower to the front of this metal watering can. After the party, I can simply remove the flower and add any other decor element to the front of it.
TIP: As a pro party planner, I am always looking for secure yet reusable ways to secure embellishments to my inventory of containers so I can reuse them over and over and over for new party themes simply by changing the embellishment.
Photo: Tonya Coleman
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This is a must-have if you ever want to secure a paper table garland or table belt to the rim of a table. Here I used foam double sided tape to secure this tutu table skirt around this Dollhouse Candy Table. The tape comes in rolls which makes it easy to wrap around the edge of the table.
TIP: This works with lightweight fabrics and paper only. If you are trying to secure anything heavier, you wil have to use safety pins which are part of my toolkit too!
Photo: Tonya Coleman
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These are one of my top must-have items! They are perfect for assembling printables which I use at almost all of my parties and you can also use them to embellish vases and boxes with cool things like ribbon or bows as seen here in my Girly Baby Candy Table. Here I dressed up a pink box by wrapping a black ribbon around it and secured it in the back with XL Glue Dots®. I also use them to secure printable circle designs to larger card stock circle backgrounds and to dress up lollipops by attaching a fabric bow to the sticks with Mini Glue Dots®.
TIP: The repositionable Glue Dots® are perfect if you want to temporarily secure an embellishment to a staple piece of decor like a vase so you can remove it and reuse the vase for a different part theme!
Photo: Tonya Coleman
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