Balloon Decoration Ideas

If you haven't made a lot of special balloon creations and sculptures, then your first step is to learn the tricks of the trade.

Professional balloon decorators can cost a bit of money. This may be worthwhile if you aren't creative or crafty. However, making balloon decorations is not as difficult as you'd think. Mostly, knowing a few simple tips that the professionals use can help you create amazing displays on your own.

I've started a blog called Balloon Decoration Ideas in which I've gathered
a number of instructional videos and how-to guides for coming up with great balloon decoration ideas.

I've learned how to do balloon arches, columns, and sculptures to make my kids' birthday parties much more coordinated and unique than I had been able to do before.

Photo by: /jepoycamboy CC BY-SA 2.0

Ideas for decorating for your party should come first from the reason for the celebration and then from the the things you know about that special person that could be used to personalize the decor. For example, a birthday party calls for different ideas than a wedding and a baby shower would use different ideas than a retirement party.

Fortunately, figuring out the reason for the party is the easy part. Next, taking into account the unique tastes and preferences of the person being celebrated. If you're decorating for someone you know, then this won't be difficult either. However, if you've offered to take on a decorating job for someone you don't know very well, it would be good to ask a few questions of the people for whom you're doing the job. What are their favorite colors? Any special hobbies? Favorite movies and music? You can sometimes build a decoration theme around these answers with some really cool balloon ideas.

Balloon suggestions for different types of parties:

Birthday party balloons:
Balloon animals or flowers scattered around the party area, bunches of colorful balloons with curling ribbon attached at strategic points around the area, a balloon ceiling, and balloons stuffed in balloons for great balloon clouds.

Wedding and reception balloons:
Balloons coordinated with the colors of the wedding party. Lots of white balloons with a mix of gold balloons make a very formal decorating idea. Centerpieces of white and gold balloons twisted with a few coordinating flowers. Balloon swags draped over entryways and any dance floor are a nice touch.

Prom balloons:
Proms tend to be such giant events as many schools have ever-increasing numbers of students. Balloons are a really great way to fill in the prom area with lots of color. Prom decorations are often coordinated by a prom committee - a group of students guided by faculty and/or parents and the students help with putting up the decorations. Balloon towers and columns, balloon arches, even flowing rivers of balloons can create an ocean theme, a romantic evening theme - even a Twilight prom theme. Use streamers or painted parchment to cover walls and give the perception of being in another world. Balloon clouds can float over the ceiling or a balloon drop planned for the crowning moment can make for a really special event.

Baby shower balloons:
You can easily make shaped balloon decorations and sculptures with a few instructional videos you can find online and make baby related items from twisted balloons. Bunches of coordinated balloons attached to baby diaper cakes in pale colors that mirror the colors of the baby shower cake give both great color to the party as well as providing the mother-to-be with diaper supplies for when baby comes home.

Anniversary Balloon Ideas:
The more years being celebrated, the more formal the event should be but that doesn't exclude balloons as a great decoration idea. Choose gold, silver, or black and combine them with a coordinating color like white or lavender. Use large helium numbers to highlight the particular anniversary. Make tall, white columns of balloons and light them from below. Use filled balloon clouds to enclose an area and make it more interesting.

Wedding balloon decorations, if you're going for a very formal look, can be done in large quantities - especially if they're done in white or pale colors. If you're decorating for a traditional wedding theme, lots of colorful balloons are not necessarily the best fit.

See how simple this white arch looks over a romantic table with a white tablecloth and white chairs? It's a lot of white but the atmosphere is very romantic, enhanced by the softer and lighter touches of red, flower petals, and great mood lighting.

Photo by: daquellamanera CC BY 2.0

Balloon Centerpieces can be either very complicated, very simple - or look very complicated but be very simple to create.

This centerpiece is really like a bouquet of twisted balloons, flower balloons, and bows supporting a bottle of champagne. Attaching the bottle might be difficult, but the concept can easily be copied.

The colors can also be modified to suit your own theme. A little girl's birthday party, for example, with balloon centerpieces of pink and white flowers with red bows would be really cute.

Photo by: jepoycamboy CC BY-SA 2.0