[New Year] Make a Big Noise

A party just isn't a party without a lot of noise!  And did I mention my love of confetti?  Why not combine the two?  Grab some balloons and lets get started!

Things you will most definitely need:

• balloons (an 8-10 inch size works well)
• confetti (store bought or homemade)
• a narrow spouted funnel or something similar

I bought some clear balloons, because I thought it would be fun to be able to see the confetti.  But whatever you have on hand will work great.  If you don't have a funnel, don't fret.  You could easily make one by cutting the bottom off of a plastic water bottle.  I found that I preferred using the coupler from my frosting bag (you know, the kind you use to frost cakes).

Position the opening of the balloon over the spout of the funnel or in my case, the coupler.  Next  comes the fun part...cram that confetti into the balloon!  I  preferred the tissue paper confetti over the metallic kind.  It was less likely to attract static electricity and therefore much easier to work with!  I used my fingers and a chopstick to push the confetti through the coupler and into the balloon.

I would say "more is better", but you want at least a fourth of a cup of confetti. If you blow the balloon up a little bit first and then let the air out, you will be able to fit more confetti in.  My daughter has been collecting confetti from past celebrations for years.  She gathers it up at the end of the party and puts it in a mason jar.  I've always kind of thought she was crazy.  But, I have to say that the jar of confetti came in very handy for this little project!

You could get creative here if you want.  You could put some money in the balloon (I'm thinking bills here).  My kids would be all over that!  Or a fortune for the new year.  Or whatever tickles your fancy. Pull the balloon off of the funnel and shake the confetti down into the bottom of the balloon.

Now set those balloon babies aside until the day of the party.

When the time is right, carefully blow them up.  I do mean carefully--you don't want to accidentally inhale any of that confetti.  I didn't have any problem, although a pump might come in handy here.  You could also fill them with helium if you want.  Tie them off and decorate with them as you wish.

You could stop right here if you wanted.  But, your guests are going to need a way to pop all of those balloons when the clock strikes twelve.  Don't worry.  I've got you covered.  Whip up some of these super cute balloon popping toothpicks!  Just glue the flags onto the sticks and you are all set.

Print the flags by clicking on the appropriate button below!






We did a little test run this morning and I have to say that these confetti balloons are awesome!  They completely exceeded my expectations.  Heck, making them is a party in and of itself.  But popping them?  Super cool.  They create a fun confetti explosion for mere pennies.

Now go and make some noise!  Happy New Year!