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Ok, my question is, I want to add balloon modelling as an extra to my party package, but... they take ages to make, I'm just not fast enough, and if there are lots of kids, then I don't really want to be there for an hour.

In the book I have, he says that he makes them at home, and brings them along, which seems better as I can make more elaborate models, than the standard dog or sword, which I would be rushing to complete, under pressure to entertain at the same time.

Another idea is to blow up a lot of balloons full length, half length, loops, spirals, round balloons - and bring those along, and then just 'assemble' them on the day.

My only concerns are that balloons that are a bit old made the night before lose some of their sheen (I guess if I made them in the morning, it would be ok).
Also, how easy / difficult is it to transport x 30 fully made up balloons? Black plastic bag?

What do you do if you do balloons at a party? Does anyone have any other ideas?
Thanks.

To be honest, you just need to put in a bit of work until you get faster. Pre making them has its own problems, including giving the kids no choice.

If the balloons are just an add-on, then why not confine yourself to one-balloon models, and don't bother painting in mouths and eyes. Doing it like that it should be easy to knock out two a minute. Thirty balloons in fifteen minutes is only a week of practice away.

Thirty balloons in ten minutes is also quite achievable.

A lot of the fun for people is watching you turn the balloon into something, so I'd recommend against pre-making them. Stick with one-balloon models and you should be able to make something recognisable within a few seconds, even if it's only a variation on the cliche balloon dog. They want a giraffe give it a long neck, they want an elephant use a gray balloon and give it a long nose and big ears, they want a horse give it long legs, etc etc etc...(it's when they ask for a porcupine or stegasaurus that things get tricky!)

By far the fastest balloon animal to produce in large numbers is the tapeworm. It's also very efficient to carry a few pre-made ones.

-Stacy

Without wishing to hijack this thread it seems like a good place to ask a question not quite deserving its own thread.

What are the most common one balloon models kids will ask for?

As has been said it will get quicker with practise. The first time I did balloon's for a Summer fair I found I learnt very quickly how to get faster. By the end of the night making them for 2/3 hours I had improved massively.

As to the second question in my experience swords, dogs and guns are asked for. But as my repertoire is limited they ain't getting much else.

Balloon requests over the last few weeks...

Dog, cat, horse, giraffe, elephant, octopus, jellyfish, sloth (!), dolphin, "Michael Schumacher" (!!), hat, sword, princess.

TheStoner wrote:Balloon requests over the last few weeks...

Dog, cat, horse, giraffe, elephant, octopus, jellyfish, sloth (!), dolphin, "Michael Schumacher" (!!), hat, sword, princess.

Did you make them all?

Particularly interested on your take on the sloth

guys and galls your cutting your noses off despite your faces here, use some psychology, every balloon animal just like every wand at hogwarts chooses its owner, simples.

mrz0mbie wrote:

TheStoner wrote:Balloon requests over the last few weeks...

Dog, cat, horse, giraffe, elephant, octopus, jellyfish, sloth (!), dolphin, "Michael Schumacher" (!!), hat, sword, princess.

Did you make them all?

Particularly interested on your take on the sloth

Didn't attempt the sloth. And "Michael Schumacher" ended up being his dog (in Ferrari red) and yes I know he doesn't drive for them anymore

The most commonly requested are dog, cat and flower from girls, followed by rabbit, parrot, and giraffe. For boys, sword, gun and parrot. Dinosaur gets a good number of hits, but I don't make them in hot weather as they have too many twists and are prone to bursting.