The One Thing Every Holiday Party Needs This Year

While the price of a balloon garland will vary according to size and design options, most typically cost $10 to $12 per foot, assuming it’s professionally assembled. So, if you’re hiring a party planner, it’ll probably cost upwards of $250—after installation fees, of course. That said, there is an alternative to spending a small fortune on balloons—most pre-made DIY balloon garland kits fall in the $15 to $35 range, or you could DIY the whole thing from scratch, which brings us to…

What you need: there’s actually a lot less involved in this DIY than you’d expect. All you need is a garland strip, balloon dots, twine, command hooks—and of course—multicolored balloons in various sizes. Just keep in mind that your balloons need to be filled with room air (AKA with a hand or electric pump), so they won’t float or deflate after a few hours. Your balloon garland should last about a week, which means you can prep it days in advance and spare yourself from having *another thing* to do on the day of your party.

What you do: Select the balloons you’d like to inflate and be sure to vary the sizes and colors of each (unless you want the world’s most boring balloon garland). “The key here is not to overfill your balloons–they will be much easier to work with. A great rule of thumb is to keep the balloons about two-thirds full,” writes Sam Kaur for LuxuryViewer.com. Once your balloons are inflated, be sure to lay them out on the floor so you can visualize your design (and so you don’t have a panic attack mid-DIY).

Once you have a plan in place, you can cut the garland tape to match the overall length of your balloon arch. “Don’t be afraid to be generous here – it is far easier to cut off a little excess garland tape than it is to tie two different balloon garlands together,” Kaur adds. Then—starting at one end of the tape—feed the ties of your inflated balloons into the holes of the tape. For a more intricate design, alternate the colors and sizes of each ballon and use some twine to attach florals, pampas, embellishments or photos.

Finally, place your command hooks to a ceiling, mantle, or stair rail and attach your balloon garland using a piece of string. Or, if you have a sturdy chandelier, you can copy DIYer Megan Wilson by hanging the top of your garland to a light fixture and attaching the bottom to the base of a table (see above). Either way, you’re left with a fabulous Instagram backdrop for this year’s holiday party.

THE 10 BEST BALLOON GARLAND KITS