IDEAS FOR PLAYING THIS PARTY GAME WITH FAST MOVING HELIUM BALLOONS
Now you have your balloon and gondola, and have practiced making it move,
here are some fun ideas to make your party or activity successful.
THERE ARE MANY FUN PARTY GAMES.
GET MORE DETAILS ON THESE PARTY IDEAS FROM THE FREE DOWNLOAD OR INSTRUCTIONS WITH THE PACKAGE.
PARTY GAME 1: SPEEDY GONDOLA
Play with contestants in a line or timed as individuals.
PARTY GAME 2: MASTER OF THE GONDOLA
Played in a line or a circle by adding obstacles to the course. Players maneuver their gondolas around the obstacles.
PARTY GAME 3: BULLSEYE
The bullseye (included with the kit) is placed on the floor. Each individual gondolier tries to land closest in a predetermined amount of time. It's as little as 20 seconds, depending on space and skill.
PARTY GAME 4: BALLOON CRAZIES
With the bullseye in the center of a circle of gondoliers, everyone moves towards the center at a signal. Whoever lands closest is very lucky!
PARTY GAME 5: WINDBAG
You can guess how this works; It shows who has the most hot air. Winning is a dubious honor, but some like to blow instead of waving their hands.
HOW TO HAVE A FUN BIRTHDAY PARTY GAME WITH THE GREAT GONDOLA BALLOON RACE
You wouldn’t believe what a fun party we had when we played the Great Gondola Balloon Race at a birthday party.
When kids found out we were going to play a party game with the balloon races, everyone wanted to come. That was good because the last party we had seemed to conflict with everyone’s lost babysitter and fishing trips, and visits from Uncle Tooter. This time we had a mob; it was birthday nirvana. They even ate all the cake so we didn’t have to endure it for the rest of the week.
They started coloring their Gondolas when they first arrived. It was something to do and kept them busy instead of running around fighting and bonking each other with the couch pillows. The kids really had fun making elaborate designs on the nifty little boxes. Those who arrived late made them much simpler, and everyone was ready to start the races at about the same time.
We let them practice a little. It was a good thing the ceiling was low, because a couple of the kids kept letting the balloons escape. (Funny how their little paws seem to hang on to everything you want them to leave alone.)
The balloon doesn’t just move when you wave your hand at it, but they all figure it out in a few minutes. It seems to help if you break the wrists, but some of them were still too stiff to loosen up anywhere. After a few giggles they started to loosen up. Most of them get good enough at it that they have to jump out of the way or it would hit them and stick to their clothes because of the static electricity. Some of them thought it was easier if you let it hover near the floor and pull your hands parallel along either side. Little folks like that better because they don’t have as much trouble bending over as adults do. It would come right towards them as they walked backwards. Of course, they weren’t always looking out behind them and we bumped a few bums, which caused more giggles.
The races went great. First we just went across the room and back. It was about 20 feet and we did three relays of 4 kids each, than had a run off for the winners. So we anointed “SPEEDY GONDOLA” and gave her a little badge which she wore proudly for the next three days at school.
The next fun game was to race in a circle, around some obstacles, to see who could go around the circle and get back to their starting number fastest. By doing it in a circle everyone had a different place to start and finish. In the end we had them do 3 laps. It was bedlam, but they all wanted to do it again. So we did two practice races and then the real thing. Some raced with the balloon high, others with it low, and some of them tried to just push it with their chests. That didn’t work very well. So, we gave a certicate and prize to the Master Gondolier who seemed to have developed a personal relationship with his balloon and gondola.
When the party game was over we just took the ballast out of the gondolas. They all floated safely to the ceiling so we could concentrate on the cake and the presents. Some of them wanted to keep playing; I caught one little guy standing on his chair trying to get his balloon down. These crazy party balloons take care of themselves and their little gondolas; unlike some of the neighborhood smarties who almost started the cake fight. (Don’t ever let your mother-in-law make the cake!) At least while they were playing with the balloons they were focused. We told them that if they behaved themselves they could play with the balloons until it was time to go.
Most of the kids went home at the suggested time, but some of the boys stayed around to play with the balloons. They got them to hovering about 4 feet up and shot rubber bands at them. They whooped and hollered and had a great time until one of the balloons burst. Poor little guy had a broken heart too, but I think it popped because it hit a pin a decoration, not because of the rubber band.
After the party we let them all take their balloons home. They trooped out telling their folks what a fun party game they played with the Great Gondola Balloon Race. I sat down exhausted, but not for long. I wanted to play with one of those darned balloons myself, and I figured that the clean up could wait for more important things.