Balloon garland calculator
Enter the length of your garland, how full it should look and your colours. You get the balloons to buy in each size and colour, spares included, and a shopping list to print.
Balloon shopping list · 10 ft garland
- 5-inch balloons: 31
- Sage: 11
- Blush: 10
- Gold: 10
- 11-inch balloons: 49
- Sage: 17
- Blush: 16
- Gold: 16
- 18-inch balloons: 9
- Sage: 3
- Blush: 3
- Gold: 3
- Also
- Balloon decorating strip or fishing line, a little longer than the garland
- Glue dots, a hand or electric pump, scissors
Keep uninflated and broken balloons away from children under 8. Never release balloons outdoors.
Balloon safety
- Children under 8 can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons: an adult should supervise, and uninflated balloons should be kept away from young children.
- When a balloon pops, pick up every piece straight away and put it out of reach of young children.
- Never release balloons outdoors. Many come down in the sea and along shores, where animals mistake them for food and strings wrap around wildlife.
- Keep balloons indoors with a weight attached, so none escape by accident.
From the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and NOAA; see Sources below.
How the count works
The calculator multiplies the garland's length by a number of balloons per foot, then shares them out by size and colour and adds spares for the ones that pop. Shares that don't add up to 100% are scaled to fit.
Balloons per foot is a rule of thumb, not a standard: 5 makes a slim garland, 8 a full one and 12 a very full one. Balloon size, how far you inflate them and how tightly you cluster them all change it.
Find your own number
Blow up and attach one foot of your garland the way you plan to build it, count the balloons, and enter that number. Count each size too, and you have your own mix.
Questions
Why buy spares?
Some balloons pop while you inflate them or come out the wrong size. Pick up the pieces at once if young children are around.
Can I make the garland in metres?
Yes: choose metres. Balloons per foot stays per foot, so 8 per foot is about 26 per metre.
Can I let the balloons go after the party?
Please don't. Released balloons come down as litter, many in the sea and along shores, where wildlife can eat them or get caught in their strings.
Sources
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC Warns Consumers of Suffocation Danger Associated with Children's Balloons (Pub. 5087): children under 8 can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons; adult supervision; collect the pieces of broken balloons at once.
- NOAA Marine Debris Program, What Goes Up, Must Come Down! (26 June 2018): many balloons end up in the ocean and along shores; they are mistaken for food and their strings wrap around marine life; keep balloons inside with a weight attached.
- Balloons per foot and the size mix: decorators' rules of thumb with no published standard behind them, labelled as such and adjustable.