How to Make a Balloon Garland in 4 Easy Steps

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One of the easiest ways to have a large impact on your party (for not a lot of money) is to add a balloon garland. In addition to great value, there are a number of different ways you can incorporate them into your party to add color and interest.

You can place them at the entrance to your party, behind the dessert table, use them with your photo backdrop, or even down the center of your guest tables.

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How to make a balloon garland with a kit?

To show you how easy it is to create a balloon garland for your party, we've put together step by step instructions using the Riles & Bash Deluxe Burgundy, Gold and Black Balloon Garland Kit, as well as included some very valuable PRO tips to ensure you get the most out of your balloon garland.

So let’s begin...

Here's what you're going to need:

- Balloons of various sizes **Sort out the balloons into the various sizes so you know how big to blow them up**

- Balloon Pump (Handheld and/or Electric)

- Hand Tying Tool (optional)

- Balloon Strip/Tape

- Glue Dots

- 3M hooks (or similar) if hanging

- Ribbon to hang your garland (optional)

- A large sheet or boxes to place your balloons on/in while you're blowing them up (optional)

PRO TIPS:

Blowing up balloons and creating your balloon garland typically takes anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on how many people are helping (2 people is ideal), how many balloons you are blowing up, and if you are using a hand or electric pump.

If you want an extra long or fuller garland, order 2 or more kits to get the desired look for your event.

Air vs. Helium

If you are using air for your balloon garland, you can give yourself peace of mind on the day of the party, by creating your balloon garland the day before. They will last anywhere from 3-7 days.

If you are using helium for your balloon garland you will need to create it the day of your party because helium typically lasts 8-12 hours while balloons are looking their best.

STEP 1. Blow up the balloons

Blow up the balloons and tie them off.

Riles & Bash Balloon Garland Kits include a hand pump, to make blowing up and tying lots of balloons extra easy.

If you are using a handy tying tool, here is how to use it:

Put the tying tool on your fingers.
Wrap the end of the balloon around the tying tool (see photo).
Knot the balloon in the slot.
Pull the knot of the balloon out of the tying tool.

If you are using an electric pump, blowing up your balloons will go even faster.

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PRO TIPS:

Organize your blown up balloons according to size and color and place them on a clean sheet on the floor or in boxes to prevent static from picking up dust and dirt.

Blow up your balloons to about 85% of their full capacity. This will give you a round balloon instead of a pear shaped balloon for your garland.

To blow up your 18" balloons, hold the tip of the balloon tight around the edge of the pump. The openings of the 18" balloons are much bigger than a standard 10" or 12" balloon so you need to hold it tight so no air escapes while you are blowing it up.

If you are blowing up confetti balloons, they will sometimes come with a rubber band on the end of the balloon to hold in the confetti. Make sure you remove the rubber band before you blow them up.

Once the confetti balloons are blown up, rub the outside with a kitchen towel to create static so the confetti will stick to the outside of the balloon. You can also try rubbing it on the carpet or on some fabric to create static.

photo: Ginger Ray

STEP 2. Attach balloons to the decorating strip

Don't stress too much about having a perfect plan to place your balloons on the strip. You'll find that they end up looking amazing no matter what you do, and keep in mind that you can always adjust as you go.

Start with your largest size balloons and attach them to the balloon strip, allowing for space in between to add the smaller size balloons. For example, if 18" balloons are your largest balloons, add those first spacing them out where you want them on the strip, then add your 12" balloons spacing them out along the strip according to your design, and then your 10" balloons.

This helps to create a full looking balloon garland because as you add more and more balloons you can fill in the holes along the strip with smaller sizes.

For the 5" balloons, these are best added with glue dots once the balloon garland is hung to fill any little holes along your garland.

PRO TIPS:

Pull the knot of the balloon completely through the hole of the decorating strip so that it's secure.

photo: Paisley and Sparrow

If you are attaching both ends of your garland to the wall, leave about 6-8" of open holes on either end; however if you are doing more of a cascading garland you only need to do this on one end.

STEP 3. Attach the balloon garland to the wall

Lift up the balloon garland to the wall to see where you’d like to place it, then
hang your hooks.

If you're using 3M hooks make sure you give them enough time to cure before hanging your garland.

Use the holes of the balloon garland and/or your ribbon to attach the garland to the hooks.

Once you've hung your garland, you can cut off any extra of decorating strip that may have (or you can hide it behind your balloon garland so that you can re-use it in the future).

STEP 4. Fill in any gaps

Once your balloon garland is hung you will be able to see any holes that need to be filled.

Add your smaller balloons, 5" and 10", to fill in any gaps by putting glue dots to the sides of the balloons where they will be touching the balloon garland.

PRO TIP:

Hide the tied ends of the balloon inside the garland for a clean look.

Enjoy!

Your balloon garland is complete! Make sure to take lots of photos of the finished product.

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Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about balloon garlands:

How many balloons do you need for a balloon garland?

Well, that all depends on how large you want your garland to be. You can have as little as 40-50 balloons to create a smaller garland and have as many as 200 or more to make a really big impact.

To make a 16' garland you will want around 100 balloons in varying sizes (most typical are 18", 12", 10" and 5" balloons).

How far in advance can you make a balloon garland?

Balloons filled with air will typically last anywhere from 3-7 days and still look good which means that you can create your balloon garland the day before or even 2 days before your event.

Balloons filled with helium tend to last 24-48 hours so these garlands are best set up on the day to make sure they look their best.

Can you make a balloon garland the night before?

If you are using air filled balloons, yes, you can make your balloon garland the night before.

How do you make a balloon garland with a balloon strip?

The key to creating a balloon garland with a balloon strip is to (1) start filling the strip with the largest balloons first and spacing them out across the strip.

(2) Start with the strip on the floor or on the table while you fill it. Then work your way down by size of balloon filling in the balloon strip.

(3) Before you get to the smallest size of balloon, hang your balloon garland so you can see where there are holes. (4) Finally, fill in any gaps with your smallest balloons using glue dots.

How to attach a balloon garland to a wall?

For indoor garlands: You can slip the end of the plastic decorating strip onto 3M hooks or you can use ribbon to attach the garland to your hooks.

For outdoor garlands: Securely tie the plastic decorating strip to screw eyes using fishing line or ribbon.

Can I recycle a balloon garland?

One of the best ways to recycle a balloon garland is to give it to a friend or community member after you're finished with it. You can list it on a local online board in advance of your party to schedule pick up right after you're finished with it.

If you're using a Riles & Bash Balloon Garland Kit, we'd love to see how you used it for your party. Be sure to tag @rilesandbashparty in your photos.

Hi Olivia, if you don’t have a balloon strip, you can create a balloon garland by tying pairs of balloons together, and then use ribbon to tie the pairs together. As you place the pairs together you will want to just pay attention to the shape of the garland that you are creating and adjust as needed. Hope that helps. Good with your balloon garland!

- Riles & Bash

Riles & Bash April 21, 2023
Hello, I’m Olivia, what’s a good alternative if one doesn’t have a balloon strip? What else is best to use?

Olivia April 21, 2023