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Post by iamkristinl16 on Apr 25, 2021 19:18:09 GMT
I’ve been looking for grad party ideas and found that you can buy kits to make a balloon garland. Has anyone made one of these? If so, did you use helium or just air?
Do you have any other tips, recommendations or suggestions for grad party success and cool decor for a party for a guy? Thanks!
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Post by mikewozowski on Apr 25, 2021 19:27:40 GMT
you just use air and fasten to the wall or something else.
i bet there are youtube videos to show you how.
there are also these paper fan decorations that are nice, too.
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smcast
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,333 
Location: MN
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Post by smcast on Apr 25, 2021 19:31:56 GMT
I went to party city yesterday and found a bunch of cute things. I have searched pinterest for ideas too.
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
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Post by Belle on Apr 25, 2021 19:39:31 GMT
I would recommend checking the party decoration aisle at Target. They have really nice options and good prices. I haven’t looked for grad stuff specifically it would be surprised if they don’t stock grad items this time of year.
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Post by bothmykidsrbrats on Apr 25, 2021 19:46:57 GMT
I just used a balloon arch and garland kits for my moms surprise outdoor, masked and socially distanced 75th birthday party and they could not have been easier or more impressive. I highly recommend an electric balloon pump and tying tools. We did 1100 balloons in about 3 hours.
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Post by tallgirl on Apr 25, 2021 20:11:13 GMT
I just did a balloon garland for my daughter’s at-home covid birthday to make the day a bit more special. It turned out beautifully and I think the kit was only about $18 from Amazon. Having said that, the balloons were terrible quality and kept spontaneously popping. The trick is to get ahold of the balloon garland tape - it’s plastic, about 1 inch wide, and has slots to hold the balloons for perfect even spacing. My kit came with the balloons and tape; I’d use the tape again in a heartbeat, and just sub out better quality balloons.
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Post by Basket1lady on Apr 25, 2021 20:41:45 GMT
Check and see if you need to do it right before the party. If it needs to be done 48 hours or less before the party, I wouldn’t encourage it. I always had 100 details to take care of and didn’t want my time spent decorating vs being in the moment. I find that latex balloons lose air quickly and deflate.
I had tissue paper pom poms, a banner with school photos over the years, a lot of balloons (Mylar lasts a long time and the Dollar Store has them—be sure to reserve them ahead of time.) I found a lot of great items at Oriental Trading, including wrappers for water bottles.
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Post by circusjohnson on Apr 25, 2021 20:58:35 GMT
I have purchased several balloon garland kits of of Etsy for various parties. They are super easy to put together! I love them. The balloon quality has always been great. A 8 foot garland take about an hour and a half to 2 hours to blow up and put together.
Tina
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SabrinaP
Pearl Clutcher
Busy Teacher Pea
Posts: 4,355
Location: Dallas Texas
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Post by SabrinaP on Apr 25, 2021 21:47:12 GMT
I’ve seen lots of TikToks making these balloon garland from kits. Most suggest that you buy a machine to inflate the balloons with air. I think they are pretty inexpensive, like around $20.
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Post by littlemama on Apr 25, 2021 22:19:08 GMT
Decor at a grad party really doesnt matter. I defintely wouldnt waste time and money on a balloon arch!
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Post by Laurie on Apr 25, 2021 22:29:00 GMT
We bought one of the kits to try at dd’s grad party in 2 weeks. I am nervous and want to do a mini trial run. I have read and watched in videos you don’t need helium. I did buy a regular balloon pump because no way I am blowing them myself.
We are currently working on a tissue paper tassel garland for the photo booth prop (basically pallets made rustic) type of thing. I have watched so many videos and I just can’t get it right. Dd watched one video and had no problems. I am just not an artistic or creative person. *sigh*
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Post by playingcinderella on Apr 25, 2021 22:51:45 GMT
I did a balloon arch for a production of Grease. We used an air compressor with an attachment we purchased to blow up the balloons. It went pretty quickly that way.
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Post by voltagain on Apr 26, 2021 0:10:54 GMT
We decorate for a graduation reception using balloon garlands and an arch. Very easy to do, just use air. Do get a balloon pump! The arch base comes apart so the segments fit into a tidy rectangular box that doesn't take up a lot of space to be re-used. We buy bags of balloons at party city or WM.
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
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Post by sassyangel on Apr 26, 2021 0:23:05 GMT
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gina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,228
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Post by gina on Apr 26, 2021 0:58:05 GMT
My daughter made hers for her college-bound bed pic. She blew them up (with the help of little sis and boyfriend) and then you just attach them to this clear looooooong strip through a hole. To get it hanging, we pinned it in a few spots on her wall. She got the kit at Michaels and it was 40% off. This is what she used. She kinda did a draping snake like thing here to fit it into the pic over the bed but of course you could arch it.  I've also seen them strung along banisters.  |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Apr 26, 2021 1:13:49 GMT
Decor at a grad party really doesnt matter. I defintely wouldnt waste time and money on a balloon arch! I wouldn't necessarily make it an arch, but more likely as a decoration around the table. From what I have found, the balloon kit and inflator would probably not be much more expensive than getting much fewer helium balloons from Party City. I haven't bought balloons for awhile, but last time we wanted some, Dollar Tree was out of helium and party city was questionable. Said there was a helium shortage. Not sure if that is still going on? |
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Post by Laurie on Apr 26, 2021 1:37:52 GMT
Decor at a grad party really doesnt matter. I defintely wouldnt waste time and money on a balloon arch! I wouldn't necessarily make it an arch, but more likely as a decoration around the table. From what I have found, the balloon kit and inflator would probably not be much more expensive than getting much fewer helium balloons from Party City. I haven't bought balloons for awhile, but last time we wanted some, Dollar Tree was out of helium and party city was questionable. Said there was a helium shortage. Not sure if that is still going on? That is our plans as well. Will be kinda like a ribbon or snake behind the table. My sister is going to work on it the day before so hopefully it will still be okay the next day. I worry about a big temp swing that might affect it overnight. How are you doing yours since you know about how moody both are states temp can be. Lol |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Apr 26, 2021 2:51:47 GMT
I wouldn't necessarily make it an arch, but more likely as a decoration around the table. From what I have found, the balloon kit and inflator would probably not be much more expensive than getting much fewer helium balloons from Party City. I haven't bought balloons for awhile, but last time we wanted some, Dollar Tree was out of helium and party city was questionable. Said there was a helium shortage. Not sure if that is still going on? That is our plans as well. Will be kinda like a ribbon or snake behind the table. My sister is going to work on it the day before so hopefully it will still be okay the next day. I worry about a big temp swing that might affect it overnight. How are you doing yours since you know about how moody both are states temp can be. Lol I’m not sure yet. I just started looking at decor ideas today.  I’m feeling really behind with planning since I still don’t even know what the graduation plans are. But I decided I better start getting some ideas and the balloons are one thing that I always think look cool and had no idea how to make a garland myself until today. Lol. I really appreciate the suggestion to look at Tik Tok videos. That’s helpful. |
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
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Post by finaledition on Apr 26, 2021 2:53:49 GMT
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 26, 2021 5:50:46 GMT
Our Dollar Tree had helium balloons about a month ago, so I don’t think the helium shortage is a thing anymore. I made one for our wedding a million years ago. We used helium because there wouldn’t have been anything to connect it to where we wanted to display it. I just used a couple long pieces of curling ribbon and tied the other balloons to that in a long chain and it worked fine. Sounds like the kits are the way to go now to make it even easier.
If you don’t need a ton of helium balloons Dollar Tree is the least expensive but they don’t have a lot of choices unless you order online. We rented a helium tank at an oxygen supply place and it was cheaper than having a balloon place do it.
Honestly, the last one we went to the only thing the kids cared about was the food, and even that was marginal because they were all hitting each other’s parties. The mom bought M&M’s in the kid’s school colors and had those out in clear containers on the tables and that was fun. I like those giant letter balloons or yard cards would be fun (giant letters on stakes that spell out a message in the front yard).
I think the girls probably care more about the decor than the boys do. One cool thing that our neighbor at the lake did for his youngest girl was a donut peg board. She suggested it and being the awesome dad he is, he built it for her. We didn’t go to that party but the pics looked pretty cool.
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Post by peasapie on Apr 26, 2021 12:16:16 GMT
My daughter made hers for her college-bound bed pic. She blew them up (with the help of little sis and boyfriend) and then you just attach them to this clear looooooong strip through a hole. To get it hanging, we pinned it in a few spots on her wall. She got the kit at Michaels and it was 40% off. This is what she used. She kinda did a draping snake like thing here to fit it into the pic over the bed but of course you could arch it. I've also seen them strung along banisters. These look so great and your daughter is adorable. |
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 13:02:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2021 12:52:55 GMT
My ideas feel a little masculine, more so because what we have around to repurpose is rustic stuff. We are going to use a 6’ pallet and string cord or twine back and forth across it and then use mini clothespins for a photo display. It will just be tipped against a wall. We also have a long sheet of galvanized tin that we are going to attach to the wall and use that for another photo display. DD does want a lot of balloons so we are going to try to do a free-standing balloon arch in the yard (balloons will be attached around a piece of galvanized pipe that is put in a 5 gallon pail with some concrete or sand with something draped around the bucket to hide it). The card drop is a vintage suitcase with a banner across the open back with “CARDS” spelled out on a banner. Other than that, it will be some plants in terra cotta pots (DD is plant crazy) set on a wood slice in the center of the tables and that’s about it. She also has a lot of pottery bowls that she did in class, so we’re going to plant succulents in them and scatter them in with photo & school display stuff.
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Post by rymeswithpurple on Apr 26, 2021 13:22:08 GMT
Two Twenty One has a how-to on making a balloon garland that might be helpful.
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Post by peano on Apr 26, 2021 14:58:21 GMT
My daughter made hers for her college-bound bed pic. She blew them up (with the help of little sis and boyfriend) and then you just attach them to this clear looooooong strip through a hole. To get it hanging, we pinned it in a few spots on her wall. She got the kit at Michaels and it was 40% off. This is what she used. She kinda did a draping snake like thing here to fit it into the pic over the bed but of course you could arch it. I've also seen them strung along banisters. I love everything about this photo. Your daughter is so beautiful. What a great memory. |
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gina
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Post by gina on Apr 26, 2021 16:56:00 GMT
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gina
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by gina on Apr 26, 2021 16:57:26 GMT
I wouldn't necessarily make it an arch, but more likely as a decoration around the table. From what I have found, the balloon kit and inflator would probably not be much more expensive than getting much fewer helium balloons from Party City. I haven't bought balloons for awhile, but last time we wanted some, Dollar Tree was out of helium and party city was questionable. Said there was a helium shortage. Not sure if that is still going on? That is our plans as well. Will be kinda like a ribbon or snake behind the table. My sister is going to work on it the day before so hopefully it will still be okay the next day. I worry about a big temp swing that might affect it overnight. How are you doing yours since you know about how moody both are states temp can be. Lol Emily made hers the night before. It was fine, I just would not keep it outside overnight. |
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I've also seen them strung along banisters.
I’m feeling really behind with planning since I still don’t even know what the graduation plans are. But I decided I better start getting some ideas and the balloons are one thing that I always think look cool and had no idea how to make a garland myself until today. Lol. 
