Balloon Decoration Ideas for Great Parties

I've thrown a lot of birthday parties in my mom-life and I try to do something different for each child each year. I can usually find great balloon decoration ideas from searching the web. Figuring out how to actually make some of the ideas I come up with, though, is sometimes challenging. I don't want to spend a ton of money but a single bunch of balloons just doesn't quite create the party atmosphere I had in mind.

Photo by: jepoycamboy CC BY-SA 2.0

The best set of instructions I've found for balloon decorations, is this handly little ebook you can download right to your computer. It's called Balloon Decor Secrets and it is written by a balloon decorating expert. She fills you in on a great number of tips for making your balloon decorations much more quickly, how to make them last longer, and provides step-by-step instructions for making all kinds of things like balloon columns, balloon arches, and balloon swags.

I had not realized you could move much more quickly by tying pairs of balloons together and using those pairs to make sculptures, arches, and balloon columns. Nor that doing decorations that way lets you wrap those pairs around things rather than worrying about attaching balloons to a frame or fishing line manually. Before that little trick, I was tying off each balloon individually and using curling ribbon to attach them to a frame. One year, I even used stacking plant stands as the frame for little balloon-covered triangle towers. Now, I was mighty impressed with myself, but if you get tips from a pro on how to make balloon decorations, you'll find they know a few things that entirely speed up the process.

Photo by :Jepoycamboy
When planning balloon decorations, I find it's easier to come up with the theme and colors first, decide on how the cake will be decorated - if a cake is involved - and then choose balloon colors based on the theme and the cake. I also like to know exactly where the party is going to be held. If the party is being held at home, I can determine in which room the party will be held based on the number of attendees and then come up with balloon ideas based on the space.

Open spaces or rooms can host balloon sculptures, clouds, or towers in corners or around the perimeter of the space. Ceilings benefit with floating sculptures or a giant stuffed balloon suspended above the room with streamers running from the large, central balloon to the corners of the room. If you're doing an outdoor party, even the slightest breeze can cause havoc with balloons tied to fixtures with long, curling ribbon. Solid balloon sculptures do best and look great. Brightly colored balloons on a sunny spring day can really give your party an uplifting charge. I've started to collect an assortment of decorating tips on my blog, Balloon Decoration Ideas.  If you're looking for a few tips, you might want to stop by.

In the video above, there's not a lot of verbal instruction, but the demonstration is so easy to follow and the result is stunning.  Once you have the hang of it, you can make these flowers in just a few minutes.  Because of their size, you'd need only a few to make a great backdrop balloon decorations for a little girl's birthday party.

You could even do these in pale pastels and use them for really special baby shower party decorations.

Maybe it's because so many of my parties have been for my boys, but I tend to use colorful and bright balloons for most parties. I have come across some very sweet pink, black and white party balloon ideas, but I don't really have an opportunity to use them. I just might have to share those with my brother who has three of the cutest little girls I know (of course, I might be biased).
Photo by: Pink Sherbet CC BY 2.0