When I say simple birthday balloons, I mean really simple, and when I mean in a pinch, I mean when time is really really precious, like the guests are about to knock on the door! This week I'm finally going to share with you all the super quick birthday decorations I whipped up for a shabbat birthday celebration for my 14 year old son earlier this month. It was a surprise to boot, which means had I only had about 20 minutes or less to hang up any decorations that needed hanging between the time I literally pushed my son out of the house until the official beginning of shabbat, at which time things like taping and tying are not permitted. Soooooo, lets start off with a super simple and inexpensive way to add fun birthday balloons to the mix without having to spend more than necessary. It is true, I love big helium filled number balloons, but when there are double digits involved we're talking about $22 for said balloons that will only last one day, and in my book that is a bit of a waste for a small family party. Usually I make big paper numbers to hang somewhere, but the decorations here were a bit more sophisticated and those drawn numbers would not have really enhanced the look, so introducing quick birthday balloons with numbers, perfect!
By the time I was able to take this photo the helium balloon had lost its life basically, but you get the point, right? I had 3 helium balloons, so on one I made tiny numbers as seen, on one I put my son's initials in the same way, and on the third i did a strip of hearts around the balloon. Drawing on a balloon with a permanent marker is so simple, and if you need to do a lot of them and want professional looking results, use a stencil!
Hope this simple idea will come in handy for you sometime, enjoy!