Party City is open for Halloween again, its first spooky season since the chain went bankrupt and closed all of its company-owned stores at the start of 2025. The brand is back in two places this year, and the difference between them matters if you are shopping for costumes.
The full Halloween assortment lives online at partycity.com, where the store is carrying its usual deep costume selection for 2026: adult, kids, baby, plus size, horror, Disney, and even pet and inflatable costumes, along with decorations, props, and party supplies. The site invites shoppers to order online or pick up at a store near you.
In person, Party City looks different than it used to. Rather than reopening standalone big-box stores, the brand has returned as a shop-in-shop inside Staples. Staples and Party City announced the partnership on April 21, and Party City is now inside more than 700 Staples locations nationwide, with plans to expand to more stores by the end of 2026. You can find the nearest one through the Staples store locator.
What the Staples counters carry is where expectations need setting. The in-store assortment is party decor, tableware, gift bags, costume accessories, and favors, plus latex and foil balloons inflated with helium while you wait, alongside Staples same-day print services for invitations, banners, yard signs, and posters. Staples framed the launch around graduation season and everyday celebrations, from birthdays and baby showers to grand openings. In other words, the Staples shop-in-shops are a party-supplies stop, not a return of the old Halloween costume superstore. For a head-to-toe costume, the website is still the place.
“For as long as we can all remember, Party City has been the trusted go-to for balloons and party goods, known for quality, creativity and celebrations,” Ad Populum CEO Joel Weinshanker said when the partnership launched. Ad Populum, through New Amscan, acquired the Party City brand out of bankruptcy in 2025.
If the Party City near you closed for good, you are not imagining it. Many of those former storefronts have new tenants for Halloween, and Spirit Halloween moved into dozens of them this year, which we covered in our look at Spirit Halloween’s former Party City stores.
Bottom line for Halloween 2026: shop partycity.com for costumes, decorations, and props, and stop by a Party City counter inside Staples for balloons, tableware, and last-minute party supplies.
