How to Make a Balloon Party Hat
Making balloon party hats is an activity often seen at birthday parties and other children’s events. You can create a balloon hat entirely from long balloons. You do not need special balloons, but you must use the long balloons that are used to make balloon animals. Once you create the basic balloon hat shape, the sky is the limit on what the hats can look like. Allowing the children to join in the decision-making process for their balloon party hats will keep this activity a favorite among children. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Several long balloons of various colors
- Balloon inflator
- Balloon shapes: hearts, stars, flowers, etc.
Instructions
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Make the base of the hat by starting with one balloon. Blow up the balloon about three-quarters full. Take the balloon, and wrap it around the person’s head who will wear the balloon hat. Hold the balloon where it meets around the person’s head. Twist one end of the balloon to the part of the balloon that you are holding. This will make a crown that can fit around the person’s head. Fold the remaining balloon under the crown, and twist into the opposite side of the circle. This will create three different sections of the crown: two for around the head and one for dimension.
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Blow up two more balloons, leaving a 1-inch segment of un-inflated balloon. Find the middle of both balloons, and twist together into an "X" shape. Slide the balloons under the middle segment of the balloon crown. Twist the middle of the two balloons into the middle of this segment. Twist both balloons into the same place. You will now have four loose balloon ends at the top of the hat.
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3
Push the air from each balloon into the un-inflated end of the balloon. Create a small 1/2-inch bubble twist at the end of each of the balloons, for a total of four bubbles. Wrap these bubbles one at a time into the two twists on the base of the balloon crown. Wrap two of the bubbles around the front twist, and wrap two around the back twist. You will now have four balloon loops that are tied into the main balloon crown. This completes the basic hat.
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Add extra balloons at this point to provide greater interest to the hat. You can add more curves to make the hat even more intricate, or you can add straight balloons to make the hat silly. Allow the children to dictate what is added to their balloons at this point. Just make sure when twisting the balloons together, that you make a twist first, and then add it to the base balloons.
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Tips & Warnings
A curly balloon can be made by wrapping an un-inflated balloon around your finger. Use your mouth or the balloon inflator to blow up the balloon while it is still wrapped around your finger. When you remove the balloon from your finger, it will remain in a spiral shape.
You can add smaller, shaped balloons, such as hearts, stars or circles, to the hat to make it even more exciting.
