How To Make Confetti Balloons

When you’re throwing a party or hosting a celebration, confetti balloons are a neat, quirky way to decorate. They can also be a fun way to reveal a secret or a surprise. Here’s our guide to creating confetti balloons for your next special occasion! Click here to watch a quick tutorial video for more help.   

TYPES OF CONFETTI BALLOONS

Before we go any further, we should probably stop and talk about the two main “kinds” of confetti filled balloons. The differences between the two aren’t substantial, but they are important, since they’ll determine the necessary materials and assembly steps for your project:

• Decorative confetti balloons are, as their name implies, simply decorative. Their only purpose is to look pretty. These balloons are great for birthday parties, weddings, and baby showers, since they’re a fancier, flashier variation on plain balloons.
• Surprise confetti balloons are functional. The fact that they contain confetti—or, at the very least, the color of the confetti—should be a secret until the balloon is popped and the confetti is scattered to the wind. This makes them ideal for surprise reveals; you can use pink

   

  or blue confetti

   

  to announce whether a mommy-to-be is expecting a girl or a boy, or you can get confetti in specific college colors to divulge which university a high school graduate has decided to attend!

Not sure what kind of Confetti is best for making Confetti Balloons? We recommend using Multi Color Snow Confetti to create a colorful effect!

MATERIALS NEEDED

As is the case with all DIY projects, please make sure that you have all of your supplies ready to go before you start. Necessary components include:

Balloons – The color of the balloons will vary based on your event and the kind of confetti balloons you’re making. For decorative confetti balloons, you can go with clear or light-colored balloons so that the confetti is highly visible. For surprise confetti balloons, you’ll want to go with black or some other dark color that either hides the confetti completely or just does an adequate job obscuring its color. 

The size of the balloon is also up to you; while many folks go with enormous balloons for surprise events (just so that the reveal is visually spectacular), multiple clusters of smaller balloons might be better for decorations.

Confetti – Confetti made of tissue paper is usually the best choice for confetti balloons, regardless of whether you’re making a decorative balloon or a surprise reveal balloon. Why? Well, in the case of decorative balloons, paper confetti typically has an easier time sticking to the sides of the balloon, helping to create a prettier, more professional-looking final product. 

In the case of surprise balloons, tissue paper will “catch the wind” once the balloon is popped, making for a more explosive reveal! Plus, tissue paper is more biodegradable than mylar confetti or glitter, and it doesn’t have sharp edges that could potentially pop the balloon and ruin all of your hard work.

A small funnel – You’ll need this to actually put the confetti inside the balloon. The size of the spigot should be bigger than the size of your confetti pieces.

Optional materials Include:

Helium – This noble gas is crucial if you want your balloons to float! Helium tanks can be readily obtained at most party supply or craft stores. Keep in mind that different vendors have different policies when it comes to selling this product, so do some research prior to your event in order to avoid complications.

A small air pump – If you don’t need your balloons to float, regular air works just fine. Technically, you can just blow the balloons up with your breath, but a pump is much faster and easier than relying on plain lung power.

String or craft ribbon – Ideal for corralling helium-filled balloons.

Glue or tape dots – If you don’t want air-filled balloons to just loiter on the floor, then adhesive bits can be used to stick them to walls or other surfaces.

A pin – To ensure a big boom when popping a surprise confetti balloon, make sure you have a sharp pin handy!

Scissors – These are great for cutting ribbon. They can also make disposing of confetti balloons after your party a little easier. 

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

For surprise reveal balloons:

1. Use the funnel to insert confetti inside your balloon. You’ll want to use a lot of confetti to help ensure a spectacular reveal!
2. Fill the balloon with air or helium, being sure to tie it off carefully afterward.
3. Put the balloon in a safe place where it won’t be disturbed until the big moment.

For decorative confetti balloons:

1. Inflate the balloon with a small amount of air, then let the air out. Don’t skip this step, even if you’re planning to use helium in the balloons. Not only will an initial fill stretch the balloon out, giving it more surface area, but it can help build up static electricity. Both will make it easier for the confetti to cling to the inside of the balloon (more on that in a moment). Water vapor from your breath won’t hurt things, either!
2. Use the funnel to insert confetti inside the balloon. Do note that excessive amounts of confetti will weigh the balloon down, making it harder for the balloon to float. While this obviously isn’t a problem if you’re only using plain air, it’s something to think about if you’re planning to use helium. It may take some trial and error to determine the exact amount of filling you want to use!
3. Fill the balloon with air or helium, being sure to tie it off carefully afterward. Add string or ribbon, if desired.
4. Check that the confetti is distributed across the balloon. A common issue that folks often run into when making a confetti balloon is the confetti simply clumping at the bottom of the balloon instead of sticking to the sides.
   If you find yourself dealing with this problem, static electricity can be the solution. Choose a small section of the balloon, rub it on your hair or stroke it with a dish towel, and then gently rotate the balloon so that the confetti falls over the area you just touched. More often than not, this will help “fill in” bare patches!
5. Arrange the balloons however you see fit. This is where tape or glue dots can come in handy! The only limit is your imagination.

When the event’s over and it’s time to clean up:

Do your best to pick up any shreds of popped balloon you can find. This is especially important if your event or reveal was held outside, since even small pieces of latex can become troublesome if they’re ingested by children or animals

If any balloons are still intact and you want to dispose of them, deflate them by putting a tiny scissor snip in the balloon’s neck, near the knot tie. Yes, popping balloons can be satisfying, but the scissor-snip method is a lot cleaner. It’s less noisy, too.

And that’s really all there is to it! DIY confetti balloons is one of those projects that often looks tricky but can be pulled off fairly easily…provided you have patience, an eye for color, and access to high-quality confetti!