GIANT Balloon Birthday Cupcake YouTube Tutorial

How to Make a Balloon Cupcake Decoration for 

First Birthday Party

First, I'll share my process in making the balloon birthday cupcake decoration. You know, the giant balloon that's all over YouTube and Facebook? You'll need to pack a party load of patience to make that balloon cupcake decoration. If you're a mom who drinks wine, maybe step one should be a few sips of a nice Riesling. If you want to make a giant balloon birthday cupcake for baby's first birthday party, even with my simplified method, you're going to need a few hours and at least one faithful friend. Ready? Read on for my Balloon Birthday Cupcake Tutorial!

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links. 

If you click and make a purchase, I may get a commission.

How to Make Balloon Cupcake for Birthday Party YouTube

This was my process, it's real. If you want to cut to the chase, scroll down for detailed instructions on how to make a giant balloon cupcake.

Step One

Refuse to take money from your friend. She offered $75 and dinner. Plan in your head how they must've created the giant balloon cupcake. Draw it out on paper. Watch the videos below. Realize you got it all wrong. Decide you can't do it. Give up.

Balloon Birthday Cupcake Seen on Pinterest YouTube Tutorial

Step Two

Think about it some more. Try it your way. Realize it is going to be tedious. Give up, but remember your blog's motto is, "You can do it!" He's a professional, he must know the easiest way to do it, right?

Maybe this one is easier? (It's not,)

Step Three

Watch videos again. Decide to really pay attention. Have a glass of wine Use the easiest steps from each video. Realize this is completely ridiculous and only a professional balloon designer can make these. This is why the florist said they'd make one for you for $300.

Balloon Theme Birthday Party Activities

Step Four

Think about it some more. You're no quitter! You can do it! After all, that's what this blog is all about. Try it your way again. This time with more confidence. Start with a tiny prototype. Watch one more YouTube tutorial on how to make a giant balloon cupcake like the ones on Pinterest. Decide you deserve a nap.

Birthday Balloon Cars

Wow, she seems fun and nice. This isn't a cupcake, bur realize the concept is the same. The skill level is still difficult. It doesn't look easy when they do it. Think about that. They are trying to make it look easy! It's not...

Step Five

Share your tiny prototype with friend who hopes to have the best one year old's first birthday party ever! She's so patient. She trusts you. She has complete faith in you. You find this rattling. But, you're determined. Go back to STEP ONE. Create the balloon cupcake, the way you imagined it was constructed. Listen to friend cheering you on, "See, I knew you could do it." Think friend is nuts. This looks nothing like those giant balloon cupcakes. She's tired, she's over it, she just wants something after all of this effort. You know she's thinking, $300 would've been a lot easier.

Baby's Birthday Party Ideas

Realize it's not perfect, but it will do. Just show it's good side. Reconsider making these for a living. Realize $75 is a great price, understand why the florist wanted to charge $300. THEY ARE SMARTER THAN YOU ARE, THEY DON'T WANT TO DO IT!

Refuse to ever make another one, even though you know full well, that the next one will be better. You learned from your mistakes. You know how to make it straight. You know the ins and the outs. Baby, there isn't enough wine in the world...

What you say? Where are the tiny balloon sprinkles? Well, I ought a.... We bought tiny balloons, we taped them on with duct tape. They looked dumb. I'm sure you need the tiny, long balloons used for balloon animals. I didn't feel like another trip to the store! Sharpies, worked just fine. Pink and purple Sharpies would've been nice though.

Step Six

Take it to the giant balloon cupcake to the party. (That seems like a simple step doesn't it? Well, it's not!) Disassemble the giant balloon cupcake in as few pieces as possible. Place it in the trunk of your hatchback, crossover SUV. Ha, ha. ha. Jokes on you. Panic. You're going to be late to the party. Read text from very patient friend, "Where are you?" Panic some more, don't answer text. Notice your Dad's Trailblazer in the driveway (he left it there so you could get some giant rolls of carpet for the house.) Open the hatch, say a little prayer. It fits! Thank goodness the party is less than five minutes away.

It's three pieces!

Step Seven
Pull up at the church. Rush to get the balloon inside the door. The door, yet another obstacle. See everyone ooh and ahh as you enter. If you've ever been on stage, you know how applause feels. This feels like that. Think, maybe you could make these for a living. After all, this was the first attempt. Surely, it would get easier each time? And, you certainly know what NOT to do.

Don't worry, I had to blur baby's face, she's a beautiful baby in the process of adoption.

So, now you've seen the videos, you've read my process leading up to it, here's the UNCONVENTIONAL giant balloon birthday cupcake tutorial. May the force be with you!

Balloon Birthday Party Ideas

SERIOUSLY EASY (ISH) BALLOON CUPCAKE TUTORIAL

Supplies Needed:

7" Pink Balloons 

12" White Balloons

7" Red Balloon or a 5" to make a smaller cherry

Regular Size Round Plastic Laundry Basket from a Dollar Store

Curling Ribbon or Fishing Line

Colorful Sharpies

Scissors

Scotch Tape

Sit down with the laundry basket in your lap. Starting with the second column of holes, tie a PINK balloon to the vertical weave in the basket (between the holes.) Skip every other hole. Do this all the way around the basket. Our basket had vertical line holes, some have circular holes.

Balloons will move, don't worry about this now. Depending on the spacing of your basket's holes, you may need to skip the next row. If you see the basket  between the balloons, use every row. If not, use every other row. Got it? You will after a few rows.

Note there are only two rows of holes, I tied two balloons to each vertical strip to get a line of four balloons tall.

The balloons want to escape, the don't stay orderly. Don't worry about this until you've got them all tied down.

Once all  pink balloons are tied down, you can then gently push them to arrange them in a straight (ish) line. For the balloon's white cupcake frosting top, I used the process in the ice cream cone video from above. I connected six white balloons together to create somewhat of a circle. I made a separate grouping of four white balloons for the topper and then tied the red balloon in the center with fishing line.

Balloons are willy-nilly, but can be arranged at the final stage.

Here you can see, that the cupcake is 3 separate pieces.

So, how do you attach the balloon sections together? I was going to tie them with fishing line as demonstrated in the first Balloon Cupcake YouTube Tutorial, but that proved too complicated for me. Also, I kept popping the balloons. I tried duct tape, but you could see it. In the end, I didn't connect the pieces at all and was thankful for this when it was time to load the balloon for delivery.

Get the Cupcake lanterns and Pinata from Oriental Trading.  Baby's face is blurred to protect identity.

The cupcake's purpose was for a photo shoot for a very special baby's first birthday party. The cupcake wasn't perfect, it had a bad side, but we just turned it to the good side! Photo shoot was amazing! Baby is beautiful, but we aren't permitted to share her face here. Just know, she was tickled to death with her giant cupcake!

Green Cupcake Balloon with Sprinkles.

Get Birthday Party Balloons 

Purple Cupcake Balloon with Sprinkles.

Baby's First Birthday Decorations with a Willy Wonka Candy Bar and Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes! 

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes.


See how to make and bake cupcakes in ice cream cones with this recipe tutorial.

Get a special baking rack to bake the Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes in the oven.

Birthday Candy Bar Display Willy Wonka Style.

More Photos Baby's First WILLY WONKA Birthday Party Bash

Cupcake Lanterns.

Mylar Happy Birthday Balloons.

We we're inspired by this Willy Wonka Candy Bar for a Birthday Party!

Willy Wonka decorations like this candy bar display
from Little Altars will win over a crowd of kids.

Did I mention the cupcake theme, birthday cake? Delectable.

Pin it, so you don't forget it!

Recommended:

Eco-Friendly Birthday Party for Kids

Baby's First Birthday

Birthday Gifts for One Year Old Infant First Birthday Party

Balloon Party Ideas

Delicious and Unique Cake Recipes from Adventures of Kids Creative Chaos

Fall Back-to-School Party Ideas

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Healthy4School #CollectiveBias

Fall Party Printable: Fun Ideas to Fight Colds 

Traditionally, back to school time is August or September, but now that many schools have moved to a year around calendar, back to school time can happen in the fall, winter, and spring. After a busy back to school season, we enjoyed a nice fall break. Fall break in October often means heading back to a school full of colds and flu. That's never fun! We wanted to prep for the back to school cold season and say goodbye to summer, so we had a fall theme back-to-school party. Scroll down to find some fun ideas to decorate and host a fall party. Enjoy!

Party Plan a Baby Shower with a Fun Theme

Baby Shower Ideas

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of HotRef Party Favors for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you know someone who has a bun in the oven? Chances are you will want to throw a baby shower for them. This is a time to celebrate life, enjoy each other's company, and have fun. We've got some cute ideas to help you plan a baby shower. We found baby shower games, baby shower free printables, and fun baby shower favors. Enjoy!

To plan a great baby shower, you need a fun theme. Traditional baby shower themes include ducks, teddy bears, or pink or blue baby carriages.

We found adorable baby shower favors in various themes at HotRef.com. So, here are some cute baby bottle theme ideas for a baby shower.

This baby bottle key chain makes an elegant gift for guests. Use it in a goody bag of favors for all attendees or as a prize for winning a fun, baby shower game.

To continue with the baby bottle baby shower theme, start with baby bottle invitations. They come in blue or pink and make perfect keepsake mementos.

For the baby shower decor, add baby bottle placecard holders. These are fun to use as place settings or to display baby shower snacks. You can also use them to hold questions for a get-to- know-baby card game.

These baby bottle shape cookie cutters also come in pink or blue. Sure, you can add them to a goody bag, but to make it extra special, make your own cookies for the baby shower with this baby shower sugar cookie mix.

If they haven't decided on a name for the baby, decorate each cookie with their top name choices and have the guests vote for their favorites.

Don't forget the Mom to be, display this baby bottle bank on the gift table with a placecard holder asking the guests to spare a dime for new baby!

Fun Baby Shower Games 

We mentioned some ideas for baby shower games above, but here are more fun game ideas for baby showers including a free printable baby bottle theme baby shower game.

Fun Baby Shower Games from Buzz Feed.

Baby Shower Game Ideas from Parents.com.

Free Printable Baby Shower Games from Temecula Blogs.

To help plan the perfect party, the baby shower party favors at HotRef Party Favors can be personalized to include the event name, date, and a little phrase if you like. See, planning a baby shower isn't so hard. You can do it!

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Valentine's Day Party Ideas for Tweens Tutorial

Tween Valentine Party Activities Tutorial

Wondering what to do for a Tween Valentine Party? These Valentine's party ideas for tweens will keep kids busy afterschool. Invite their friends over for a fun filled Valentine's Day party with craftivities galore. Girls and boys alike will have fun making their own one of a kind snowflake hearts and Duct Tape Valentine Snack Treat Box to use while watching their favorite movie. Enjoy!

Heart Craftivities for a Valentine's Day Party for Tweens.

Your tweens may not enjoy exchanging classroom valentines or making valentine's mailboxes for school, but they probably enjoy eating fun food and having a party. You can make this as a surprise valentine treat for kids or you can have them help make the Valentine crafts as an afterschool activity.

Tween Valentine Party Activities Tutorial.

To decorate for our Valentine's Day party, we made a few heart crafts that are fun for kids of all ages.

First, we made paper snowflake hearts. Want the full tutorial? Click the link:  How to Make Paper Snowflake Hearts.

Once the snowflake hearts are cut out, glue them to a colorful background paper and cut them out. Use these lacy hearts as decorations hanging from the ceiling, placemats, or write fun sayings on them and hand them out as Valentine classroom exchange cards.

Make paper snowflake hearts to decorate for a Valentine's Day party.

Using colorful cardstock, make heart sculptures. Cut out two hearts and then cut halfway up the bottom of one, and half way up the top of the other. Slide the hearts together (upside down) to form a 3D base for balloons. Punch a whole in the top of them, and slip a ribbon through to attach a balloon bouquet. They make fun, whimsical table decorations too- no balloons required.

3D heart sculpture table decorations.

Next, make heart garland to hang vertically in the window. These are a good scissor skill activity for younger kids. They also work fine motor skills. Fold paper in half, draw half a heart at the crease line of the paper. 

After the heart is cut out, keep it folded and cut two- 1" slits 1-2" apart. Open the heart and weave ribbon or string through the slits.

Using a glue stick (it works just fine) or hot glue gun, attach a pom pom to the end of the garland to give it a whimsical finishing touch.

How to make heart garland for Valentine's Day party decorations.

Surprise the kids with snack treat boxes made from recycled cereal boxes. Make these ahead of time or let the kids choose their own patterns and make their own. 

At the Dollar Tree, we purchased duct tape in various colors. Not only does this decorate the box, it also makes the box sturdier giving it protection against spills or greasy food. 

While shopping, we found little red cups that make perfect Valentine treat holders. Fill them with dip for veggies or yummy candy treats. Ours are filled with Valentine candy conversation hearts.

Valentine snack treat boxes for movie time or after school snacks.

Start with a cereal box. They are the perfect size for sitting on your lap. Cut out a large flap for the main course and then cut out two smaller wholes for the mini snack cup and a juice pack or drink holder. Trace the bottom of the cup and juice box to insure you cut out the perfect fit.

Things to do with a recycled cereal box.

Carefully wrap the box in designer duct tape. When going around round the cut-outs, score the tape (cut a slit in the tape before folding it over), this allows for a cleaner, more attractive edge.

Snack box decorated with duct tape.

Once your box is covered in tape, attach a heart on the inside of the flap. Personalize it with your child's name or candy heart sayings like, 'Be Mine', 'Your the Bomb', 'Hers', or even 'Happy Valentine's Day'.

Treat box for Valentine's day or movie time snack.

Place colorful plastic wrap or tissue paper inside the food flap. Then, fold four flaps over on a paper plate to form a square, paper bowl. Fill your food section with popcorn or a mini heart shaped pizza. Click the link for the full pizza recipe tutorial.

Mini heart shaped pizza for Valentine's Day.

These cute Valentine glasses were a steal at the Dollar Tree. They have lots of fun designs. If your tweens are too grown up for juice boxes, make a special drink for Valentine's Day. Keep scrolling for our easy Valentine's Day drink recipe.

Make a special tween drink for Valentine's Day.

Ever heard of a Shirley Temple? It is a non-alcholic fun, fizzy drink. To make a simple Shirley Temple, fill a glass with lemon-lime soda and then give it a splash of Grenadine. Grenadine is sweet, so a little goes a long way. For a fun version of the Shirley Temple, just add a bit of pink cotton candy. Don't forget to put a cherry on top!

Add a layer of plastic wrap or tissue paper to protect the inside of the box.

How fun was that? Kids will love getting invited to such a fun filled Valentine's party. Once everyone has their snack box, head over to the living room and watch a fun, Valentine's theme movie. 

Peanuts is always a good choice. Charlie Brown never gets the Valentine he hopes for.

Valentine treat box complete.

Tween Valentine party ideas and activities.

These activities are so easy, if you don't have Valentine's Day plans, you can prep for this party in about 2 hours. So, go make your own fun! Hope you have a fabulous Valentine's Day!


Recommended:

Fill your treat box with Homemade Heart Shape Pretzels.

Valentine's Day Movies for Kids*





ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Day of the Dead Facts, Costumes, and Activities

Looking for Activities for Day of the Dead?

What is Day of the Dead? When is Day of the Dead? Day of the Dead or  Día de los Muertos is November 1 in America. In Mexico, the holiday takes place over the first two days of November. It is a celebration to honor the dead. Today, we often associate the activities with Halloween, but the two holidays are not related except that they both derived from All Saints Day and All Souls Day. We've got some fun activities and costumes to help celebrate Day of the Dead. Enjoy!

Day of the Dead Facts

Oriental Trading Company donated items for this post. We got to choose items from their website. So, we picked out skeletons, costumes, and craft activities for the Day of the Dead.

Day of the Dead Mask for Halloween.

                     Free Printable Day of the Dead Mask

We  chose cool items for a Sugar Skull Costume for Halloween.

Day of the Dead Costume for Halloween.

We chose foam Skeleton Craft Kits which come in a pack of 12, and used markers to color them like Sugar Skulls.

Day of the Dead Facts, Costumes, and Activities.

Sugar Skull Recipe

Skeleton Craft Kit colored with markers to look like a Sugar Skull.

Recommended:

Spooky S'mores Recipe

Day of the Dead Book*

Five easy ways to throw an eco-friendly birthday party for kids

You can have an Eco-friendly, Up-cycled Birthday Party for Kids and save money too!

This guest post is from Kara Carrero at ALLterNATIVElearning. She and her family are passionate about the environment and conservation. In this post, she has ideas on how to throw an eco-friendly birthday party. Enjoy!

The modern birthday has lots of cake, plenty of decorations, and almost always disposable plates and utensils. However, our family strives to find a balance in making birthdays both special and environmentally sustainable. Birthdays don’t have to lose their luster by choosing to not waste or spend a lot of money.

My daughter’s first birthday was this past fall. Like many first time moms, I had anticipated the day it would arrive since she was about 3 months old and planned little bits here and there throughout the year. But my main goal was to throw an exciting and memorable party without trash or excess.

Eco-Friendly  Birthday Party Ideas

1. Use real dishes or compostable paper plates. If you plan it right, it doesn’t have to be a hassle to use real dishes. In fact, having some small Corelle dishes on hand easily pays for itself. They do not break as easily as regular dishes and are easily replaceable or you can add to them. We grew up with them and rarely broke anything and it’s still what my parents use. My 15 month old has thrown one and it didn’t even chip. If you just can’t do that, use real silverware with basic paper plates that break down in the compost or can be recycled. Even here in Oklahoma (not very eco-friendly) we have options for community compost and recycling.

2. Re-use old décor and don’t throw any away. Up-cycle old material for new decorations. We made bunting from old magazines and used paper, and it was really cute! I had a few things from parties from several years ago, so I reused a couple of things. I also had some SOLO cups that I re-wash and use for the kids while adults use our glass cups.

3. Make the birthday about the experience and not the decor Birthdays are about the fun and not about having perfect decorations. We threw a carnival with fun homemade games instead of investing a lot of time and money into party hats, balloons, and streamers. Even growing up, I don’t remember how my parties were decorated, but I definitely remember the fun I had or the silly things that happened. Focus on making the most of the brief time given rather than stressing over the things that won’t be remembered.

4. Make party favors about memories, experiences, and sustainability. We had two different party favors. Her birthday party was specifically a grow theme, we provided small bio-degradable pots to decorate and soil and seeds to grow a small garden. It’s a gift that keeps on giving!

We also had a a photo booth. We asked everyone who attended to make an up-cycle costume and take a picture with the frames we provided. They left us their email address so then we emailed them a picture when we sent them an e-thank you card for coming and for gifts.

5. Make the gifts count. I know this sounds a bit presumptuous, but in reality it doesn't have to be. Be clear with your attendees because I have never met someone who didn't appreciate knowing that their gift was well-received. For us, we put a line on the e-vite that read “no gifts necessary, but if compelled to bring something we needed x,y,z”.

These are five easy ways to throw and eco-friendly birthday party, not break the bank, and still have awesome memories with friends and family. For us, it’s just one more step in doing better in making conscious decisions about what we need vs. what we want which has become increasingly important with kids.

For more from Kara visit her site at ALLterNATIVElearning.com

Recommended Reading:

Your Birthday Book: A Keepsake Journal

Birthday Monsters!

 
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