People of all ages love to play games. In celebration of everything American, Heidi Bohay suggests hosting an All-American Game Night. This is a great way to recapture the spirit of fun and to engage in a bit of nonthreatening competition. Everyone has the opportunity to participate in games that are focused not on winning or losing but just on playing and enjoying the activities. Joining Bohay to decorate for the party is Shelly Balloon, owner and operator of Unique Presentations. Balloon, who's famous in Hollywood for her decorating abilities, says that a room should shout "fun!" as soon as the guests walk in. For the All-American Game Night, she uses all kinds of balloons to achieve this effect. When you're decorating with balloons, it's important to coordinate colors to set the tone of the party. Here Balloon has used red, white and blue in keeping with the party's Americana theme. Some balloons are solid colored, others are adorned with stars, and still others are filled with clusters of smaller balloons (figure A). Spiraling columns of balloons embellish both sides of the fireplace and create a fascinating focal point in the room. With the exception of the balloon column, which should be done by a professional, all decorations are easy to make, requiring only helium, ribbon and a variety of balloons. They bring out the child in all of us and make it hard not to smile. Balloon highlights her other decorative features that enhance the Americana theme: - Bazooka bubblegum and kazoos are arranged in a festive design on a table (figure B).
- A popcorn machine and a hot-dog trolley are brought in for undeniable American flavor.
- Large stars are sprinkled on the fireplace to add star-spangled character (figure C).
Balloon arranges a fabulous centerpiece that anyone can assemble (figure D). She sticks miniature flags into a block of plastic foam and adds edibles such as a plastic hot dog filled with sweet-and-sour candy, jellybeans and candy sticks. Even the surrounding confetti is edible -- just ask for candy glitter at your local bakery. A unique addition to her centerpiece is a large fan that echoes the party invitations (figure E). When each fan invitation is opened, the message "Come have a fan-tastic time!" appears. It's easy to imagine each recipient's delight upon receiving this special invitation. The table on which the centerpiece rests is covered with a blue plastic tablecloth that is decorated with strips of ribbon (figure F). This provides an appropriate background for the red, white and blue napkins and stars that are available year round at any party-supply store. Balloon assures us that it's easy to create any of these decorative props. She demonstrates how to make your own centerpiece: - Find any kind of hat that's appropriate for your theme; punch a hole in its center (figure G).
- Attach ribbons to a few helium balloons and tie them together in a knot.
- Thread one ribbon through the hole in the hat and tie it to a balloon weight underneath (figure H). In this case, Shelly uses a small balloon filled with sand to anchor the arrangement.
- Curl the remaining ribbons to give the centerpiece a finished look. To accomplish this, run the ribbon between your thumb and the blade of a pair of scissors.
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