An Unicorn Candy Buffet on a Budget

Disclosure: This blog uses affiliate links to the products used in this post. 

If you have been on Pinterest or social media in the last few years you may have noticed that candy buffets are quite the trend.  While big elaborate buffets are quite beautiful, they are also pretty expensive.  I am going to share my tips to putting one together on a budget (and with limited space) 

I am a brand ambassador for Oriental Trading  It is a great place to buy party supplies that are inexpensive, and in several different party themes.  They did send some party supplies for me to share in this post, but all opinions of the products are 100% mine.  I have been a fan of theirs for many years, long before I became an ambassador. 

I do not have a lot of space to put a candy buffet where I live.  I had originally wanted to put it near a wall with my rectangle card table.  Unfortunately, that table seems to be MIA at the moment, so I had to change my plans.  We have another area with a makeshift room divider that my daughter likes to use when she is in the the living/dining room. I decided to use that as a backdrop for the buffet.  I decorated it with fringed crepe paper.  What is nice about this technique is you can easily customize it to your theme and color.  I used the colors I had on hand. This location would actually be even better for guests to reach the candy. I love this gold foil tablecloth.  There were some fold marks, but that did not bother me.  You will actually see it again very soon! 

I love these divided trays from Oriental Trading.  They hold a lot of stuff, and I can see using them for all of my parties.  

You can use all sorts of different bowls, jars, and trays for your candy buffet depending on what you are serving.  These glass ice cream bowls that I already had on hand were the perfect size to hold the ice cream flavored jelly beans.  I have found interesting party dishes at the dollar store, on clearance and thrift stores.  Oriental Trading has a nice affordable selection of serving containers as well.   I once found a very large apothecary jar for $10 at the Salvation Army. It was too big to use for this party, but I am sure I will use it for something.  

In this tray, I served Unicorn Horn Pretzels, (recipe posted shortly) Unicorn Horn Suckers from Oriental Trading, and heart suckers from the dollar store. 

The fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls, rainbow pixie sticks and more unicorn horn suckers were all from Oriental Trading. 

I made this glass stemmed jar using items from the dollar store.  I glued a vase to a candlestick using heavy duty glue.  They are quite sturdy and I have used them for many parties.  This one is holding 2 lbs of purple Sixlets from Oriental Trading.   The chocolates were the most expensive candy on the buffet, and they were still under $10. You can choose from many different colors. I chose purple because it is my favorite color,  and one I usually think of when I think of unicorns.   I love the gold scoops that came in packs for three for only a couple of dollars.  The unicorn pick on the side of the jar was going to be used in sprinkled marshmallows, but when I went to make them, it seems the marshmallows had been eaten.  

A couple of years ago, I found several cake stands on clearance at Target for only a couple of dollars each  They have a bit of a bowl shape, so I used my red one to hold the Unicorn Party Mix that I made.  

I am not sure where I got this plastic jar, but it has been quite useful.  When I am not using it to hold rainbow gumballs , it holds my cupcake liners.  

Here is a close up of the Unicorn Horn Pretzels.  You can use whatever chewy candy you want to give the swirl affect to the pretzel.  I used the fruity Tootsie Rolls.  While I used rainbow sprinkles and some pink sparkle sugar, you can decorate them in all sorts of colors and make them as fancy as you like.  They actually taste really good, I may have already eaten a couple of them  

Here is a close up on the Unicorn Horn Suckers.  I love the colorful unicorn card. These would be perfect for Valentines Day.  

I think these Unicorn Horn Bracelets are really cute.  

The other dollar store jar held these large swirl suckers.. 

While writing this post, I saw pictures of these Valentine Unicorn Bags from Oriental Trading that we made last year.  They would be a great addition to an Unicorn Candy Buffet to hold all the loose candy.   (the purple flower are actually not part of the kit, but added in editing to hide names of the girls who made them) 

I hope I gave you some ideas on how to have an affordable candy buffet on a budget. 

Some additional Unicorn party products you might enjoy. Just click on the photo to find more information.