A friend invited me to a Willow House design "party." This is just sort of like a Tupperware

[raccoon]

or pampered chef "party," isn't it? Anybody been to one?

Anyway, I don't plan to attend.

[Maine-ah]

1. never been to one

but I just googled them...looks like stuff you could pick up at TJ Maxx.

[LiberalEsto]

2. I think exploiting friends to sell products

is tacky.

[raccoon]

3. You and me both. nt

[raccoon]

4. self delete. (was having senior moment). nt

[kick-ass-bob]

9. Because it's so much better to let your TV exploit them?

:shrug:

If you like something, do you tell your friends they might want one? Not sure how these parties are any more "exploitative" than anything else.

1) You don't have to go.
and
2) You don't have to buy anything (unless you have no backbone, I guess).

[nolabear]

5. Words cannot DESCRIBE how I loathe those things.

I know this is likely to draw someone's ire, but those girly, stupid, posturing, "let me sell you some dumbass thing you don't need under the pretense of being girlfriends" gatherings make me want to retch.

I don't care if I LOVE what they're peddling, I can just barely make it through bridal and baby showers, much less something where I have to be bored out of my mind by girltalk and then lay out guilt money. Give me a smart and interesting bunch of women and I'm in heaven, but baskets and makeup and laundry soap? Bah.

[Kat45]

6. I used to work for a home "party" company. We sold 'adult' toys.

Those parties were fun!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. I got roped into attending a couple of those sorts of "parties."

A few years ago a person I work with got involved with Pampered Chef and some other company that sells costume jewelry. She invited a bunch of us from work to a couple of these things, and I felt sort of obligated to go, but they are weird affairs. The hostess feeds you and then goes into her sales pitch, and you feel a lot of pressure to buy something, even if you don't particularly want to. So I ended up with a couple of little token Pampered Chef doo-dads (that stuff is expensive) from one party, and some tacky costume jewelry that I never wear from the other. Fortunately she stopped selling this crap, and I haven't been to any other such events since.

[seaglass]

8. Oh I just looked at their catalog, can I go?

Haha I avoided all these kinds of parties until I was in my late 40s. But I don't mind going to them if I like the product and the drinks and appetizers are always great :-)