The platinum bands are all that come with any new jars you might now purchase. at least around here.  Yes, I've had to buy a bunch of jars in the last year!  Got bands coming out the wazoo because of it, and would NEVER buy any, however pretty they might be!  Same with seals – all platinum now.  It will be interesting to see where they go when all the anniversary ones are sold.

Old school here – I don't care so much what the jar looks like.  It's what's IN them that matters here.

For gifting, we used the ordinary jars, but added tissue paper squares under the bands to jazz them up.  We also have a bazillion of those hang tags, so labeled the jar using a hang tag tied on with a bit of ribbon.  The seal was labeled, too, of course, so the recipient of the jar would still know what was in it after removing the hang tag and tissue paper.  It was very simple to do, but added just a touch to make them "special" without spending nearly as much as those designer jars cost.

All to say, we plan to use the same system for gifts from now on, using appropriately colored tissue paper and ribbon for the occasion.  They looked really nice in small baskets that way.

Guess I strayed here!  Couldn't help it – talking about high fashion in canning, I pictured either how the jars are dressed or how we are for canning!

Mama, we have had members here report that their WalMarts carry canning equipment year around.  They just do not do that here!  Big Lots remains our most consistent source of new jars, but they also carry them seasonally.  Even our grocery stores are hit and miss with having them.  It is a puzzle.

The up side of WalMart here selling out is that when they do, the reductions in prices are terrific, if you happen to catch it at the right time.

Jeanne, the old glass mayo jars are great for boiling water bath canning. As long as the canning lids and rings fit of course

dede

I like having some of the new bands too – I do love the look of them. I bought several cases of platinum jars in various sizes using coupons for Ball jars that came out about this time last year. They were cheaper with the coupon than the regular Ball jars. I used to use paper type toppers but moved on to fabric circles. Then jumped to tulle – loved that change. Now I order tulle bags with drawstrings! I pop a jar in the bag, pull the ribbons and voila! I agree that the contents are the most important thing but I like matching the outside to the inside

dede

Yep, drop ship is still possible, and like Pete mentioned, Ace Hardware is one place that will do that. I also have a small True Value nearby that carries canning stuff year round as does Southern States. Someone mentioned Tractor Supply also but I never think to check in there.

dede

That is why I have not used the service at Wally World.  The hardware store is cheaper than that!  But if they happen to have a specialty jar, it might be worth it.  The day I checked, they did not.

They don't all carry everything all the time, though.  The Ace near my house gets in some half gallon jars, for instance, but you can't count on them having them all year long.