Growing up, I used to love watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We used to always watch it on TV while the grown ups were prepping the turkey and mashed potatoes, and I was absolutely mesmerized by the giant balloons and floats! They’re pretty crazy when you think about them: these massive balloon characters being led by the people down below. We were inspired by this iconic hallmark of Thanksgiving to create a miniature version as a centerpiece (I guess great minds think alike)! Read on to see how we made our little balloons and let us know if you’ll be adding any characters of your own in the comments below!

Materials Needed: 5” Mini balloons (in blush, goldenrod, yellow, and lime green), 11” balloons (in red and goldenrod),  6” mini heart balloons (in white), 260Q balloons (in white and red), balloon hand pump, balloon sticks, scissors, low temp hot glue gun, cardstock (in various colors), ½” hole punch

Santa

• Step 1: Inflate a blush 5” mini balloon until it is round in shape then knot and trim the balloon tail. Inflate an 11” red balloon until it is round in shape. Attach the mini balloon to the top of the larger balloon with hot glue. Secure the balloon tail to the balloon stick cup.
• Step 2: Cut rectangles for arms and legs out of red cardstock, mittens and boots out of black cardstock, and a beard, eyebrows, and trim for Santa’s suit out of white cardstock. Use a ½” punch and black cardstock for eyes. Hot glue all the pieces onto the balloon figure.

Elf

• Step 1: Inflate a blush 5” mini balloon until it is round in shape then knot and cut off the balloon tail. Inflate a 5” mini balloon in a different color until it is slightly larger than the head, but not fully inflated. Hot glue the head to the top of the body then attach the balloon tail to the balloon cup.
• Step 2: Use a ½” hole punch and black cardstock for eyes and cut round circles out of pink cardstock for cheeks. For a hat, cut a triangle as wide as the balloon head and add details in coordinating colors. Cut rectangles for arms and legs out of cardstock, then glue on hands and boots. Cut a strip of black cardstock for a belt, then glue a yellow buckle to the center. Hot glue the pieces to the elf.

Turkey

• Step 1: Inflate a 5” mini goldenrod balloon and an 11” goldenrod balloon until they are round in shape.  Cut off the mini balloon tail attach it to the top of the larger balloon with hot glue. Secure the balloon tail to the balloon stick cup.
• Step 2: Cut a bunch of feathers out of colored cardstock and use a ½” hole punch for eyes. Cut a triangle out of orange cardstock and fold it down the middle for a beak. Hot glue the beak to the turkey head, then add a gobbler. Cut two thin rectangles out of yellow cardstock for legs and webbed feet out of orange cardstock. Attach all pieces with a low temp hot glue gun.

Dachshund

• Step 1: Inflate a 5” mini heart balloon until it starts looking like a heart. Let out some air, and then massage the balloon, distributing the air so it starts to look more like a dog’s head. Knot the balloon then trim of the tail. Inflate a 260Q balloon until it is 7” in length, knot, then trim the balloon tail. Turn the heart sideways then use a low temp hot glue gun to attach the head to the body.
• Step 2: Cut ears, legs, and a tail out of white cardstock. Use a ½” hole punch for eyes and cut a nose out of black cardstock. Hot glue the pieces onto the dachshund.
• Step 3: Hot glue the balloon stick to the bottom of the dachshund.

Toy Soldier

• Step 1: Inflate a blush 5” mini balloon until it is round in shape, then knot and trim the balloon tail. Inflate a red 260Q balloon to 10” in length, knot, and twist the centerpoint of the balloon and bend. Knot the end of the balloon to the balloon tail then trim off the excess.
• Step 2: Hot glue the head to the top of the balloon body, then glue a balloon stick to the bottom of the red balloon.
• Step 3: Cut a rectangle out of black cardstock and round the top for a hat, rectangles for arms, and thin strips of yellow cardstock for shirt details. For pants, cut a rectangle wide enough to wrap around nutcracker’s body. Fold the rectangle in half then cut the center for pant legs. Wrap the pants around the balloon body and hot glue where it overlaps to secure the shape.   

Crafting by Justine Pon