The Best Party Decorations

Buying Guide

Whether you’re throwing a holiday party or celebrating a birthday or baby shower, you’ll want to set up your space with some festive decorations. Not only do decorations give your event a unique theme, but they can also make it a more fun experience. Plus, the decorations give the setting a more aesthetic appearance for photos that people take to remember the special day. 

The type of party and the age group of the participants are important considerations for choosing the right party decorations. If you’re throwing a birthday party for a kid who has a favorite cartoon character, fun decorations showing that character or colors associated with them would be a great choice. An adult party for a wedding shower, on the other hand, could warrant more elegant decorations in colors such as white and silver.

You should also think about the space so that you know the types of decorations that would work and how many to buy. If you’re using a large indoor space, you’ll have a lot of room to set up festive tables, hang wall decorations and even create balloon sculptures. However, you’ll have less flexibility if you need to use a small space where you’ll focus most decorations around a table or part of the room. If you’re hosting the party outdoors, you can have plenty of space, but you’ll need to consider the unpredictability of the weather in your decorating plans.

Options exist for both comprehensive party decoration kits and individual items. If you want to keep things simple for a birthday party, you might buy an all-in-one kit with basics such as balloons and a “happy birthday” banner. Buying pieces individually, however, gives you more flexibility since you can plan a custom look and purchase pieces that fit your needs and budget.

When shopping for individual decorations, balloons are especially popular, can be used with or without helium, and come in many colors, sizes, shapes and themes. Wall decorations you might want include banners, garlands, stickers, paper flowers and fans, streamers and themed posters. If you want to set up a background for taking party photos, a foil curtain is a great choice to put along a door or wall. You can also consider table decorations such as centerpieces and tablecloths as well as extras such as confetti and ribbon.

• It’s a good idea to buy a sign that welcomes guests to the party or tells them where to go if it’s otherwise unclear. For example, you could put a party sign in your front yard if you have the party at home, or you could put a sign on a table outside the room if you’re hosting the party at a large venue.
• Blowing up balloons is easier if you buy a manual or electric pump. The manual hand pump is a more affordable option but still requires some work to use, while the electric pump is the fastest and most expensive option. Make sure you follow the instructions with any pump so that you don’t overfill and pop your balloons.
• You may want to get a helium tank so that your balloons will float. The tanks are relatively easy to use and should list the number of balloons you can fill on the packaging. If you get one, follow the safety instructions carefully and properly recycle the tank once you’ve used up the helium.
• If you’ve used confetti before, you know how it can be a hassle to clean up. While a broom can handle the job on a smooth floor, a vacuum makes the cleanup process easier, especially on carpets. If you have a lot of confetti outside in the grass, you could use a leaf blower to get it on a surface you can easily sweep up.
• Some wall decorations for parties have an adhesive strip on the back so you can hang them without needing tape or nails. But if yours don’t, you may consider options like adhesive hooks or poster tape. These will less likely leave damage on the surface once you remove the decorations.
• You can do a lot with a basic pack of balloons if you get creative and use adhesive dots to attach the balloons to each other. You can make a colorful cluster of balloons to put on a wall or even make a full arch alongside a backdrop for photos. Some especially interesting options involve making objects such as cupcakes, hearts, cacti or characters out of balloons.
• Feel free to mix up your party decorations with items you already have in or outside your home. For example, pinecones from your backyard make good decorations for a Christmas party. You can also make your own decorations or customize store-bought ones.
• Don’t forget the other types of items you may need for your party. These include tableware such as themed plates, cups and napkins for food as well as any party favors you want to hand out.