Why yes, today’s DIY does totally coordinate with the new site! What can I say, I love me a good theme and scheme! But this DIY is so much more. You can use it for just about anybody you want to send a little bit of cheer to, whether it’s their birthday or any other day (Scroll to the bottom for more ideas). Essentially, you’re filling a big ol’ box with colorful balloons and dropping it on someone’s doorstep for the most awesome (Budget friendly!) surprise ever.
Large Box
Foam Core
X-acto Knife
Gold Spray Paint
Glue
Balloons
Tape
Have some balloons blown up in a few lovely colors. For reference, my 22″ box fit 11 balloons.
Now it’s time to make your “mark” (Ha!) on the box, if you so choose! You could do a letter, number, question mark or exclamation point as I chose! I simply drew an exclamation point on some foam core, cut it out and spray painted it gold. Then I glued it to the box. Once your box is decked out, gather your balloons and tie them together about two thirds of the way down on the ribbons. Tape the cluster of ribbons to the bottom of the inside of the box.
If you’d like, add a special note inside (We taped ours to the balloons) or leave it without a note for an anonymous surprise.
Now grab a friend (or your niece, like me!) and work together to shove all the balloons into the box. Add a piece of tape or two (you want it to be easy to open!) and it’s time to deliver!
Quietly place the box on the lucky recipient’s doorstep, knock… and RUN!
You can be creepy and watch from afar at their confusion and surprise, or you can just hear all about it later. Ha! If you want, leave another note on top the box so they know to open it right away.
Nothing better than a little cheer on your doorstep.
I have so many ideas for how to use this, besides birthdays. I think it would be SO fun as a gender reveal, with a heart on the front as a Valentine’s Day surprise for your sweetheart (Ehm.. Jeff, are you listening?), even as a way to ask your (local) bridesmaids to be in your wedding!
Do you have any other ideas for me? I always say it but the possibilities are endless!
Looking for more DIY projects? Check out the full project gallery here!
Alexandra Hedin says
Love! This is adorable – and so are your nieces 🙂
Toni says
What a fun and wonderful surprise – too cool. (I think, if you want to be a “lurker” to see their surprise, to put a note on the box that it has to be opened up right on the spot – no bringing the box inside – or something like that).
icing designs says
oh my, what fun!!! who would not LOVE to get a surprise like that!!
Gabriella says
Cool idea! I am going to use it for by best friends birthday gift!
Kris says
I love this idea! Can’t wait to use it for a friends bday!
Kelly says
Kris! If you end up doing this (and sticking around to watch), please send photos! Would love to see!
Kelly
pandacuty says
nooooooooooooniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Liz says
I would do this and hide inside the box.
Debie Grace says
Hahaha wow, that’s a great idea! I totally got excited with the photos!! 😛
Katie B says
what a great idea!! I would love to send my niece and nephew some balloons! However, they live out of state (Ny to TX) and I am wondering, will the balloons make it traveling across the country such as up in the air in a plane? I would hate for them to get there and a couple of the balloons had popped. Will helium balloons withstand travel especially at high altitudes?
Any advice would help! I would like to send these out soon if so! xx
Kelly says
Hi Katie!
Good question. I’ve never mailed helium balloons because there are so many risks involved. If they expand with the high altitude, they’ll pop, if the box gets squashed in transit, they’ll pop and latex balloons don’t stay inflated very long. You can solve that last one by having Hi-Float put inside the balloons which will make them last several days. However, I think the popping risk is still pretty high! I’d say at best, you could slightly under-inflate them and mark the box as fragile. Additionally, I don’t know the restrictions for shipping balloons. That’s something else I would ask your post office.
Do you have a friend you could test mail a box to!? That may be a good solution to get firm answers!
Kelly
Angela Phillips Wright says
These are great! We would love to share our self inflating balloon gifts with you. Open the gift box and surprise!!!! A balloon blows up right in front of you ! AND there is candy in tin angelaphillips14@hotmail.com you can even mail these and they are the size of a typical cookie/candy tin!
Melody says
I love your idea about an inflatable balloon that blows up in front of them and has candy too. I have a 6 year old granddaughter who would be so excited to receive this. Would you please send me instructions to do this? My granddaughters live out of state and this would be a great way to surprise them and something unique from Grandma. Thanks so much………Melody
Jaclyn says
Foil balloons will work. In fact, they’d be the only balloons that will work for you on the plane or any longer than few hours no matter what
Jared says
This is great! I would love to do this for my girlfriend, but where would you find a box big enough?
Kelly says
Hi Jared!
How sweet! You can find large boxes at independent mail stores, shipping supply stores and even office supply stores. Finding a large white box is a bit harder than finding a brown box. I actually purchased a brown box and spray painted it white!
Hope that helps!
Kelly
Brooke says
i’m so doing this. Adorbs!
Rachel (teacher-chef) says
Your recipient is just so darn cute! I love this idea & want to “ding-dong-ditch” balloons on all my friends and neighbor’s doorsteps now – LOVE IT
Kelly says
Love it, Rachel! This makes ding-dong-ditching so much more fun! 😉
Kelly
Heidi says
Hi, Im trying to make this for my sister but the balloons don’t go up, why is it?
Kelly says
Hi Heidi!
Hmm.. to make sure the balloons rise out of the box you need to make sure the balloons are all filled with helium (you can fill balloons with helium at a local party store and many grocery stores) and that you (or she) opens all four flaps of the box so they have room to come out.
Does that help?
Kelly
Alishka says
This is the bestest idea in a long time!!! It’s one of those instant smiles full of sunshine ideas… I love it and can’t wait to try it on someone!!!!!
Diana says
I love this idea. I plan on surprising a 13 year old with 13 balloons. I loved your idea but plan on attaching small items to each balloon like nail polish,lip balms and candy. Thanks for a great idea. Doing it in May
Kelly says
Diana!! I love that idea so so much! Please do send a photo, I would love to see what you create! =)
Kelly
Melissa says
My friends grandpa passed away today so definitely doing this to cheer her up!
Erin says
Found a link to this on Mod Podge Rocks blog. What a cute idea! Definitely doing this next valentines day with some chocolate covered strawberries in the box 🙂
Kelly says
Thanks Erin!! Love the idea of adding chocolate covered strawberries and doing this for Valentine’s Day!!
Kelly
shreyaa says
Do i need helium balloons or is it ok with normal balloons which we blow???? i wanna do this for friends bday… this is awesome!!
Shannon says
Did anyone end up mailing one? I would love to send one to my grandson! I think I will go check with the post office this week to see what/if there are regulations on mailing balloons and if they have any suggestions. If I find out any useful info from them I will share. Wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing:)
Kelly says
Hi Shannon! Unfortunately shipping helium filled balloons is not the easiest, it really depends on how they are shipped. I would definitely check with your local post office for tips, but to my knowledge, you may be able to ship them via ground but not via air (the pressure will not bode well for the helium!). I’d recommend using something called “hi-float” in the balloons which will make them last longer. Again, please ask your postal service before shipping anything to insure there aren’t any regulations against this. Alternatively, you could send a box of air filled balloons. They wouldn’t pop out but it would certainly still be fun to receive a box-full of balloons regardless!
Kelly
Mary says
I shipped something like this but with air filled balloons. All the balloons had a 1$ or 5$ bill in them to equal $30.00. This shipped just fine and when they opened the box it just looked like balloons until one popped and then the party started with popping all 20 balloons! They LOVED it!
Kirsten says
Mary- Thats a fantastic idea, sticking money in the balloons! Will definitely have to try this
cheavor says
Doing this for my girlfriend 20th birthday this is pretty cool.
Annabelle says
Does anyone know how those do-it-yourself home helium machines work and how much do they sell for? How long does the helium filled balloon last? Thanks.
Kelly says
Hey Annabelle! Yes! At-home helium machines like the Balloon Time ones are great, I use them often! They sell for between $25-$50 depending on the size and retailer. The float time for latex balloons is about 5-7 hours. If you need them to last longer, I recommend using a product called “hi-float” which you can find at your local party store!
Hope that helps!
Kelly
Genesis says
Hi, I want to do this for my boyfriend this Valentine’s but I’m not sure what box size I would meed. I was planning and putting 5, 18″ heart balloons. What would you recommend the size of the box be?
Kelly says
Fun! I’m thinking you’d need a box that was around at least 30x30x30 inches! Larger than that would be ideal. Hope that helps!
Angela Phillips Wright says
These are great! We would love to share our self inflating balloon gifts with you. Open the gift box and surprise!!!! A balloon blows up right in front of you ! AND there is candy in tin 🙂 angelaphillips14@hotmail.com you can even mail these and they are the size of a typical cookie/candy tin! 🙂
Christine says
This is exactly the idea I had in mind for surprising my kids this wknd with our upcoming Walt Disney trip!. I am going to get Disney balloons at my local party store and do this with a few Disney trinkets inside.
Going to get one plan balloon for the middle of the pack and write – WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY
Patricia Morgan says
I am going to try this sending to a boy who loves to get mail….for his birthday. Wish me luck!
Alene says
I did this for my youngest daughters 17th birthday. Started off horsebackriding at a ranch in Hawaii and saw the beautiful scenery ontop of the hill. We ate prepacked lunches (called “bentos”), sang to the birthday girl when we got back and enjoyed cupcakes. She was smiling as she slowly opened the box. Out came a large princess balloon along with smaller ones attached to Vera Bradley gift bags. It was a very memorable birthday celebration.
Lisa Thompson says
I wonder if a local florist or maybr even a party store could be persuaded to help w/this for long distance friends or fsmily?
Ana Hp says
I’m definitely doing this for my boyfriend’s Bday but I wonder what else I can put in the box besides the balloons?
Mira S. says
I put a watch inside with mines for my boyfriend.
Chelsey says
Can I mail the balloons instead of sitting it on the door step?
Marta says
THANKS FOR THIS AWESOME IDEA!!!!!
I’ve already share it on Fb 😉
Thanks again and big hugs from Barcelona
Sam says
I LOVE this idea! I just can’t seem to find a large box anywhere! Any recommendations? Yours looks fairly large in the picture! Everything I seem to pick up doesn’t look as though it’ll be able to hold any balloons!
Kelly says
Hi Sam!
Have you tried a local mail/packaging supply store? They often have large boxes for sale, or sometimes they’ll have leftover large boxes from other shipments that they’ll give to you! Home Depot has some too (http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Home-Depot-22-in-x-22-in-x-21-in-65-lb-Extra-Large-Moving-Box-1001015/202518472) however they have their branding on it, so you’d probably want to paint/cover that somehow! Hope that helps!!
Kelly
Agatha says
Did you spray paint the box white?
mariana duque says
what size of balloons?
Kelly says
11 inch is what I used here!
Melissa Wheaton says
I am planning on doing this for our gender reveal in the next 2 weeks. I just wondered what size roughly your balloons were? I am thinking of either getting a large moving box (19by18by24) or an Xlarge moving box (22by22by21.5) from home depot and wanted to know how many I could put in either of the boxes (preferably the xlarge one)
Mira S. says
I loved this soooo much that for my boyfriend’s birthday I have: a large box, small box, and then his gift will be inside of the smaller box. Instead of spray painting the box, I wrapped the gift (which is a watch) put it inside the small box, then I wrapped the small box in gift wrapping paper as well. I will be using the same wrapping paper to wrap the large box that holds everything. The ballons will then be taped to a card which will be taped to the small box inside. So, on September 30th while he is asleep I will place this on his side of the bed….I hope it turns out well. Thanx for this great diy!!!
Magda says
I want this !!! 🙂
Kay M says
Did you guys ever test out the shipping of the ballons?
Maite Parafernalia says
Ohhh, that’s a great idea. It’s awesome. I’ll use it soon
Thanks to share it
Bone Beads says
Really very nice surprise balloon, great idea.. I will try and love it… thanks for your brilliant idea
Marble Handicrafts says
wow! its looking so beautiful and you shared amazing idea. I really like your DIY guide to design it.
Home Interior Products says
This is a lots fun Thanks for share beautiful balloon photos.
Interior Design Products says
i am very appreciate is this post i like that.
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Vani says
can you deliver their directly?
Megha says
I stay in India How can I do this for my friend who is in Inida … any link who can help me doing this
Victor says
I need your helping for need big boxes of my girlfriend birthday so can doing that for me?
sravana says
Thanks for compiling the list, undoubtedly great work, I was looking for some gift ideas and stumbled upon your page.
Vladounet says
Hello,
I’d like to know where you got those boxes, and at what price + or -.
My wife and I have a flower/gift shop and are looking for some ideas. And yours is very nice. The main issue remains to get a big, plain box.
Anchal Bhatia says
Hi just wondering what the size of your balloons were? and if there was room to put other items in the box?
Vickie says
I love it! 👍😃 Haven’t been able to meet my grandson in person because of Covid, but with the help of your ideas and Zoom, we can still be close! Thanks! 😍
Laura Inkpen says
Can you tell me where you got the box from?
Cindy says
That’s awesome for “local” family and friends! But anything I could mail that would have the same “pop?” Housebound adult nephew. Thanks for the local idea!
Krissy says
Hiii I love this! Can the balloons be in the box for 7 days? I’m traveling and want to have the box ready for my friends birthday.
Kelly says
Hi Krissy! I’m happy you like this! Unfortunately latex balloons won’t stay inflated for 7 days in the box. They usually deflate after 8-12 hours. If you want them to last longer, you can use a product called Hi-Float. It can make latex balloons float for 2-3 days in the box. Hope that helps!
Kelly