Party Decorating on a Budget

Happy 13th birthday Elise! An occasion this big calls for a big party, so that's what we did. My next several posts will be on things we did for the event.

First: decorating the house. It really needs to look like a party, but decorations can get expensive quickly. We rely on crepe streamers and balloons to create the atmosphere for under $10. If you are all high falutin' and need everything to look Martha Stewart-ish, this is not the DIY for you. Our parties are very homemade (read: crooked, mismatched) and the kids are in charge of where things go and what colors to use.

Usually we put up the streamers in the usual way but this year Max had the idea to hang them across all the doorways like a curtain. (I think his motivation was to be able to climb the ladder.) Except for a strand of clear mini lights that we forgot to put in the attic with the rest of the Christmas stuff, balloons were the only other thing we used to decorate.

These balloon strands are a great way to save money on helium balloons, which are pretty costly for the few hours they last. You can either hang the strands across a doorway (or room if you've got the time), or just hang them from the ceiling. They make a huge impact either way.

To make the balloon strand:

1. Cut a piece of curling ribbon (the cheap stuff from the dollar store) a few feet longer than you want your strand to be.

2. Make a loose half knot and tie it tightly around the inflated balloon.



3. Make another loose half knot a few inches down the ribbon and tie another balloon on. Repeat.

Pretty simple. The closer you tie the balloons together, the fuller the strand will look.

Ready to party!