Being a Ballooner

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Want to plaster a huge smile on someone’s face with 10 cents of material and 20 seconds of work? Make them a balloon! In 2022, I discovered ballooning, and have used it in my joy-delivering arsenal ever since.

It’s all about joy

Balloons are a fantastic vehicle for generating joy. A 10-second dog will make any kids under 8 thrilled. More complex balloons are required for older kids; need to spend some time studying that.

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How I started

The genesis at 5 am

  • As a kid, I was able to make a simple balloon dog.
  • Not sure why, but I didn’t do balloons until Zach was 12 (OMG - What a waste!!)
  • For the last 10 years, people asked me if I could pull a rabbit from a hat.
  • A Sunday after Zach’s 12th birthday, I woke up at 5 am and thought maybe I’ll make a rabbit balloon.
  • I kept doing it for the next 5 hours.

First time at 2 pm

  • Came with Amelia working on my rabbit.
  • Kids started coming up to me, asking to make a Cow, or a Monkey, or something else.
  • I’d keep repeating, I can make a dog, on the 4th try, they’d say OK - can you make me a dog.
  • Then I got braver, and when kids asked for a UFO, I’d make something that looked nothing like a UFO, and the kid would look at me and cock their head, checking if I was trying to trick them. After 30 seconds of me holding my composure, the kid would run off thrilled with her UFO.
  • Then a kid asked for a bunny, and I tried making one (recall just starting out this morning), and it was awful, but the kid was thrilled.

Amelia’s Grade 3 holiday Party

Highlights:

  • Didn’t get an invite, e-mailed teacher said I’m a professional clown, got me an invite
  • Deaf kid
    • Had an interpreter, who is probably a huge thing in the kid’s life.
    • Wanted a balloon, could see him asking the interpreter, and interpreter saying wait to the back of the line.
    • Gave kid balloon
    • Kid’s balloon unraveled. Saw kid asking interpreter to get a new one, interpreter said no.
    • I tried to get the kid’s attention to come to me and get a new one. He wouldn’t.
    • So I went to him with an awesome balloon
    • Later, kid started seeing other discarded balloons and picked them.
    • Eventually, the kid had like 10 balloons and was so happy beaming.
    • He was like exploding with joy and had a spontaneous giant hug for the interpreter before leaving the room.
  • Coming back to school after the party
    • Left school after the party
    • Came back to pick up Amelia
    • Like 1 in 8 kids had balloons (recall, I did balloons for a full grade)
    • Kids so happy walking with parents
    • Best part, no one recognized me. I could just savor the moment of the joy everyone had.

The Selflessness of Balloon teachers

  • Most of the balloons I learned from YouTube.
  • Amazing that folks would just share the balloons for anyone to make

Psychology of Balloons

Grown ups want balloons too, but are afraid to ask

  • Most grown-ups won’t take a balloon, but if you say give it to your partner, they’re really happy to, and their partner enjoys it. For partners, a flower, with a teddy bear on it is always a winner.

Everyone is happy with their sword, until someone else gets a mega sword

  • Life lesson here, happiness is a differential. Think of this when you want to compare yourself to others.

We want to believe makes it so

  • Kid says he wants X, I make a Y, then tell them it’s really an X
  • Kid feels he got a Y, checks for validation from others
  • Others, including me say no, it’s an X,
  • After the kid negotiates with himself and decides you’re not lying, kid runs off happy.

Joy Hack, joy is contagious

  • Want to bring joy to a parent, make their child happy.
  • Life lesson here as well, find the lever that’s the easiest to move to have the best impact.

Impact vs Effort

It took me low years to learn magic, and people like it. It took me low weeks to learn to make balloons, and kids like it way more.

It takes 10 seconds to make a dog, and like minutes to make more complex stuff. At first, I pushed myself to learn more complex stuff, but honestly, kids are just as happy with a 10-second to make balloon dog as anything more complex.

Ethical Considerations

Should I make guns?

Decided a water gun blaster is fine. I now make that. I also make a water gun blaster that shoots water.

But boys want guns, and girls want mermaids

Balloon inflators

Manual Slow: Qualtrix 160 - in my cargo pants

This thing is designed for Q160s, is annoyingly slow, like 20 pumps slow, but it fits comfortably in my cargo pocket so I’m always ready to make a balloon (even if incredibly slowly). Perfect when you see a kid.

Manual fast: Qualtrix 260 - in my travel backpack

The standard balloon inflator, needs about 4 pumps, but it’s big and doesn’t fit in my pocket. I keep it in my travel bag so I can use it at the airports.

Portable Electric

Super fast, and great for being swarmed by kids at a playground. I keep one in the car, and one at home.

Some of my creations