Budget Friendly DIY Balloon Garlands (For Any Occasion)

Make a big impact with easy balloon decorations that will transform your party space.

Whether it's for a baby shower or a birthday party, you want your party decoration to be stunning. Creating your own balloon garland can be a game changer. Nothing is more impressive than a giant wow factor when you walk into a room.

Eliminate the hours you'd spend making table centerpieces that will only get destroyed. Opt for a garland, arch or column that will retain it's value and reuse parts for another design. Make a huge impact for less with a budget friendly DIY balloon garland.

Supplies Needed for Your First Balloon Arch

• Various sizes of balloons
• Glue dots
• Decorative balloon strip
• Electric balloon pump
• Command strips or command hooks or balloon arch
• Fishing line or ribbon

Or you can just buy a kit - Balloon arch kit here You will also need a balloon pump.

Balloon Sizes Used

To make my black and gold balloon arch, I used a large number of balloons.

• 4 - 18 in balloons (2 black, 2 gold)
• 30 - 12 in balloons ( 10 black, 10 gold, 10 clear)
• 50 - 10 in balloons (25 black, 25 gold)
• 40 - 5 in balloons (20 black, 20 gold)
• Gold ribbon

How to Make Your Own DIY Balloon Arch

Design your own snazzy balloon garlands instead of purchasing pre-made arches that cost a fortune.

Pick a Color Scheme

Decide what you want your party colors to be for your celebration and then order your latex balloons. Obviously, you won't have an exact count to go off of because it will depend on the size of space or wall you are displaying your garland. Always order a little more generously with your first garland, just in case.

Blow Up Balloons

You do not need to use helium-filled balloons for this project. It's also best to avoid using a single balloon hand pump because it will take quite a bit longer if you go that route.

The easiest way to efficiently inflate your balloons is with an electric balloon pump.

Using your electric pump, blow up all of your balloons. It might be easiest to do this in a room with a door so all of your balloons stay in one place. Or you can also put them into large bags until you are ready to design your arch.

Add Balloons to Decorative Strip

Measure how much decorative strip you will need for your space. Begin by attaching your inflated balloons to the decorative strip. An easy way to do this is by pulling the balloon knots all the way through to the end of the slot so it holds in place.

Continue to add balloons all along the decorative strip. You can alternate a variety of sizes with smaller balloons and larger balloons or keep them all the same size until you fill in holes at the end.

Pro Tip: It is helpful to leave the ends of your decorative strip open to make it easier to secure and then add final balloons afterwards.

You can also design your garland to be in color blocks or randomly placed. Both options turn out cute. Examples of both are in this post. Keep in mind that what it looks like during assembly may change a bit as you get it hung up and balloons shift.

Hang Up Your Garland

When your decorative strip is filled with balloons, your next step will be hanging the garland. There are several options you can use to tie it or secure it. Part of that may depend on if you are hanging it on a wall or somewhere else.

• Some kind of command strip hooks
• Ribbon, twine or fishing line that can tie around something
• Balloon arch

Use Glue Dots to Fill In

Once your balloon garland is hanging and secure, use glue dots to fill in any extra holes or spaces that may need a filler. For best results, put glue dots directly onto the balloon near the knot of the balloon before attaching to the garland. This helps to keep the knot hidden.

I like to add in small balloons for filling in holes. It adds more dimension and variety to the garland instead of using a standard size throughout.

The Balloon Arch

I have been making balloon arches for years and just using command strips to hold them up. The only problem with that is I can't always get the arch just how I want it. Because I have to use the walls around me.

This year I decided to try out a balloon arch. Where has this been all of my life? It made putting up the balloon arch so much easier.

I know what you are thinking, where do you store something like this? It breaks down in to small sections so it can easily be stored in a closet or under a bed.

Here it is all done! Just in time to celebrate New Year's Eve. View some other decoration ideas here. I even made it to midnight!

Examples of Balloon Garlands

This garland turned out amazing. It was a lot of extra fun to have a big decoration outside and no mess inside of the house. And it held up pretty well outdoors in the heat too. I just used ribbon to tie it to the pergola and it held really well.

To create a really full garland like this one I used 2 kits from Amazon.

To hang something like this I have found it is easiest to use command strips. Luckily balloon garlands are very light so they are easy to hang.

How to Style DIY Balloon Garlands

Balloon arches are some of the best decorations because they are such an easy way to dress up any special occasion.

Use balloons for:

• A wedding arch
• Retirement party
• Backdrop for a photo booth
• Add to embellish a dessert table
• Use for a balloon column
• Birthday parties indoor or outdoor
• Decorating a doorway

This garland that we did for my hubby's 40th was so fun to do with all of the black and gold accents. Take a look at all of the decoration ideas and treats I made here.

Don't have time to do DIY balloon garlands but still need something fun? 20 helium balloons will do the trick!

These DIY balloon garlands are super stylish, but also budget friendly. They take a little time to make but the end result is amazing. I love being able to create a wow factor this big for such a low cost!

The best type of celebration isn't complete without a few delicious treats to go along with it. Make your party truly memorable with a delicious charcuterie board perfect for kids and teens. Or with these easy and elegant cakes that are sure to impress.

Happy decorating!

Brooke