Party Products

No party is complete without balloons. The choice of colours, styles, shapes and materials is so wide it is hard to choose which ones to buy.

Mainly, balloons are made from rubber latex or foil.

Rubber latex are the more traditional style of ballons which can be printed with numerous motives and messages. They come in a wide variety of colours and shapes, from the favourite tear drop shape to animals, rockets and well...anything else you can think of! Latex balloons can be filled with good old lung power, a hand pump or helium.

Foil ballons are more expensive but last longer, look more impressive and can be printed in glorious technicolour. Foil balloons are generally only filled with helium. Again, foil balloons come in a variety of shapes, but the circular ones are most popular. Foil balloons can have twinling lights attached or even speakers to blast out Happy Birthday tunes.

For a stylish and classy looking party, keep the balloons simple, one or two colours in matching styles. I think that the combination of black and either gold or silver looks really good for adult parties.

For a fun birthday balloon bonanza, mix up all different colours and styles of balloons to create a rainbow.

There are various balloon accessories which will come in helpful on the day of the party. Balloon weights, as pictured, come in all sorts of colours and styles and stop your balloons from floating off. Balloon weights can be placed on the floor, in corners or on the edges of the dance floor or on tables.

Of course, you will need ribbon to attach the ballons to the weights. This is also available in many different colours to match the balloons. Don't feel like the colour of the ribbon has to be exactly the same as the colour of the balloons, a nice contrast of colours can look really good too.

Balloon weights and ribbons assume that the balloons are going to be filled with helium. Helium tanks can be bought or hired for filling the balloons on the day. It is best to do it just before the party as some varieties of balloon, especially the cheaper latex varieties in lighter, more translucent colours can alloow seepage of helium over time leading to a sad looking deflated balloon.

Buying and sending party invitations will need to be done a little time in advance of the party to allow all of the guests to pencil the date in their diaries and keep the evening free to have fun.

You can choose a plain invitation where you fill in the majority of the details yourself, a particular birthday age/anniversary/engagement party invitation, or my favourite is to make the invitations yourself. This way, all your guests will recieve a personalised invitation which will make them feel honoured (and more likely to turn up!)

Embrace the child inside (or get a little nipper to help you) go wild with the glue, ribbons and sequins and create some lovely invitations that will match the theme of the party.

Between a shop bought piece of paper with fill the blanks or one of those, I know which I'd prefer!

You want people to know where the party is, put a banner on the garden gate, door and lamppost on the driveway! Banners and bunting are a favourite at parties, you'll find all sorts available from plain colours to personalised banners that you can buy with the birthday boy or girl's name printed on.

A buffet always goes down well at a party. You don't want to risk your antique china, so invest in some semi-disposable party tableware in bright colours. This way, you can wash and store whatever is left over and any breakages won't matter, or break the bank to replace.

Party tableware available to buy includes, tablecloths, large and small plates, bowls, cutlery, napkins and an endless variety of drinks recepticles.

Not just for weddings, foil confetti looks brilliant sprinkled across party tables. The confetti can be bought in all different shapes from babies, through balloons to graduation caps and champagne glasses. My Mum always puts a handful of foil confetti in birthday cards, a nice gesture, but a pain to hoover up afterwards!

I went to a party recently where the hosts had put a handful of confetti and a disposable camera on every table with a small note card asking guests to take photos of the party. It was a very good idea and great to look at the pictures afterwards.

It is a nice idea to thank the children for coming to the party with a party or loot bag. When I was little, they were a plastic bag with a pencil and a piece of birthday cake in, but nowadays, the range of party favours is much more impressive.

Party bags can be bought pre-filled with various themed goodies to match the party. This way you don't have to worry about trawling around the highstreet looking for pocket-sized trinkets for thirty five-year-olds, which I'm sure can only be a good thing.

However, I'm a sucker for the personal touch and I think an afternoon spent making hand-made party bags will be well worth it when you see the smile on the little one's faces.

Whatever you choose to do, it is always a good idea to keep a couple of spares for unexpected guests and brothers and sisters.

Other things you might want to get your hands on before the big day are:

* Bubbles - children love them and they create some brilliant photo opportunities.
* Streamers - throw them everywhere, on tables, chairs and on Grandad!
* Party Poppers - Worth it just for the smell afterwards :)
* Blowouts - Guaranteed you'll regret it after an hour of having one blown down your ear, but hey, it's party isn't it?
* Door Sign - make sure everyone knows where the party is.
* Party Hats - I love 'em, the sillier the better please.
* Thank you cards - You may have the world's owrst hangover the next day, but no excuse to forget your manners.