It looked like a typical neighborhood party. But really, it was a marketing effort and a great way for party hostess Janine Bowers to get lots of freebies!
Bowers says, "I'm absolutely known as that party girl at this point."
Bowers has hosted almost a dozen events through HouseParty.com.
She says, "They have lots of different ones. I only apply for the ones I think we would really have a good time with."
"They have an extensive online application, where you put in your information, your demographics, what you would do to have a fun party and how your neighborhood would respond. And then, I guess, they go back to their sponsors and if you fit, they let you know."
Her most recent party was sponsored by Nerf and Cheetos. She was one of 40,000 potential hosts to apply and one of 5,000 chosen nationwide.
In return for hosting, she and her guests received five free Super Soakers, a dozen bags of Cheetos, high value coupons, and temporary tattoos.
But that's just a small sample of the freebies she's racked up.
She adds, "With Williams-Sonoma, we won Calphalon and just a lot of prizes from Williams-Sonoma, which was a great one, too. And we won from Budweiser, we won a Fourth of July party one year. And the kids have won an Xbox Connect game. We had a little kid party for them doing Xbox games, so that was fun."
She's also gotten free photo printing and pizza.
After hosting her parties, Bowers posts photos, videos and product reviews on HouseParty.com and on her Facebook and Twitter pages.
She says, "People respond about the pictures, so there's definitely a lot of social media involved. Twitter, all that good stuff, get the news out for them."
To learn more and to apply to host a House Party, click here.
