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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Auction decoration ideas: Elegant (yes, elegant) balloons
May 07

Auction decoration ideas: Elegant (yes, elegant) balloons

Sherry Truhlar 4 Comments

Oversized balloons at benefit auctionI don’t like to write about auction decoration ideas. If it doesn’t make you money, I’m less inclined to spend time educating you on it.

And rarely do auction decorations make you money.

But many of the volunteers on your benefit auction committees LOVE talking about decor, don’t they?

They get excited planning the colors … considering the centerpieces … thinking of ways to incorporate fun elements. It pains me that your budget for the decor may grow out of control.

(It’s so much smarter to spend your budget on more important elements, like a top-notch auctioneer.)

Benefit auction decor - big balloons Sadly, I’d also be willing to guess that it’s a lot easier to get volunteers to sign up for the decor committee than to sign up for the procurement / acquisitions team.

So all that said, here’s an idea that is affordable AND elegant.

You might equate balloons as something appropriate for a child’s birthday party, but not a benefit auction.

Or you might consider balloons (especially the 11″ traditional size) appropriate for a school auction, but not a nonprofit gala.

charity auction decorations - big balloons

With me standing next to them, it gives you a sense of the balloons’ size.

These photos will convince you otherwise.

These over-sized balloons measuring 3′ and 4′ lended an air of sophistication to this nonprofit gala of ~420 guests. They were used in the silent auction (in multiple colors) and in the ballroom (in shades of pink) to beautifully fill the large space. They created a “dropped ceiling” effect.

The helium started to wane in a few of them by night’s end, but most of them stayed up and looked great.

Not too expensive and it looks beautiful. Don’t you think so?

Here’s another resource for you, if you’re thinking this idea has legs.

There’s a top-notch balloon expert in California (Sandi Masori) who wrote a book about decorating events with balloons. She interviewed me about my experiences using balloons at auctions and featured me prominently in her book, The Event Planner’s Essential Guide To Balloons.

So if you want to learn more about this inexpensive decor idea that packs a powerful punch, head to Amazon and grab your own copy of The Event Planner’s Essential Guide To Balloons.

It’s written just for you!

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Copyright © 2013 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Comments

  1. Sandi Masori says

    August 2, 2013 at 4:03 PM

    Hi Sherry,
    Great article and a very effective use of those jumbo balloons. Beautiful photos. Obviously, as a balloon professional, I’m partial to using balloons for most any sort of event (with proper thought and design), so thank you for spreading the word and showing people that balloons can do more than most people think.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      August 2, 2013 at 4:14 PM

      Thanks for visiting the blog, Sandi. I’m not sure if this is “your thing,” but here’s an older post also using balloons. You might enjoy it: https://www.redappleauctions.com/balloon-gala-centerpieces-nonfloral/ Creative uses in both cases!

      Reply
  2. Jana L. Sheeder says

    May 11, 2013 at 1:04 AM

    Very nice! Unique. Most decorations include the smaller-sized balloons.

    I’ve had great luck with MYLAR balloons (the thick “foilish” ones) versus latex (the thin, “typical balloon material”) ones with my volunteering work. The mylar balloons stay up (strongly) through the entire event…and last for days afterwards…ugh. I tend to use them for an event, then donate them through freecycle, to a children’s hospital, to other groups for their events, etc.

    Mylar balloons are also refillable, but that means deflating them (or waiting days for them to deflate) and storing them. They don’t usually look new once they’ve been used (can get scratched up), so I prefer just to pass them along to someone else to use once we’re done with them right then.

    I’d love to see if the giant balloons come in mylar (but they’d surely be cost-prohibitive).

    You can also purchase the mylar balloons online (ebay, party superstore websites, etc), then fill them as needed for events to save money. For one event, we’d use the same theme (smiley face) mylar balloons, so I stocked up on those and pulled out a new set for each event (then passed it on – paid it forward, as it were!).

    Thanks for sharing your balloon info.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      May 11, 2013 at 2:14 AM

      Thanks for the ideas / suggestions, Jana. Sounds like you brought smiles via balloons to TWO groups, given your donation post-event, too.

      Reply

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Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick

Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)

Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)

Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)

I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)

If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member

The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee

We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” 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 The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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