Helium prices are rising faster than a runaway balloon, and tighter supplies of the lighter-than-air gas are turning some party suppliers into party poopers as they ration rental tanks and balloons.
In a recent survey of balloon stores, florists and others by the International Balloon Association, 54 percent of respondents said they were experiencing difficulty obtaining helium, and almost 90 percent said they had experienced a price increase in helium in the past year.
Several issues have been at work, leading to the current shortages. In the United States, a larger portion of helium comes from the government’s National Helium Reserve, a vast underground gas field in Amarillo, Texas, that was started in 1925 to guarantee a supply for essential uses. Another big source — the world’s largest helium facility, in fact — is a plant in western Wyoming owned by Exxon Mobil Corp. Both the federal facility and the Exxon Mobil facility had to shut down for maintenance in the past few months. “It was supposed to be a few weeks, but it’s been prolonged,” Garvey said. “It created a real crunch in the market.” Big plants overseas, in Algeria and Qatar, slowed their production of helium during the recession and have yet to get back up to speed.
“So there aren’t enough plants in place to meet the demand.” Garvey said. “Customers have been put on up-to-50-percent allocation. That’s why balloon people haven’t been able to get it.”
The best guess as to when the “artificial tightness” in helium supply will loosen is by the end of this year, Garvey said. In the meantime, stores are coping as best they can.
Again, this is the type of inane situation that you only deal with when you are trying to plan your kid's birthday party and when you want it to be perfect. In your mind, perfection = a colorful array of balloons. Therefore, you must no doubt face a national helium crisis.
In case you are worried, all is well that ends well. The first store I contacted had helium balloons available, but at an increased price. Although I wanted some balloons for the party, I was not willing to pay $30+ dollars for a couple dozen balloons. The second store took my order without issue and quoted me 99 cents per balloon (no mention of any helium shortage). Perfect. But said second store also called me back three hours before the party to tell me that "Oops," they didn't have any helium afterall and could not fulfill my order (***insert barrage of expletives directed at store floral department manager for messing with crazy first-time mom trying to plan perfect 1st birthday party***). Third try was the charm though. Store #3 was able to fill my last minute balloon order at a normal price without a problem. I'm not sure how they managed to skirt the helium crisis, but I was grateful and didn't ask any questions.
Balloon crisis aside, planning for Ryder's train party was a ton of fun. I ordered the majority of his decorations (and invitations) from Etsy. It was super convenient to be able to order an entire customized package of matching decorations because I'm not exactly Mrs. Crafty/Creative. Putting together a piecemeal train-themed party on my own would have been way outside of my comfort zone. The Etsy package was also pretty cheap, which was key since I had promised myself that I would not go nuts planning a party for a kid that is too young to know the difference. Ryder's train t-shirt was also from a vendor on Etsy. I ordered the cake from a gal named April (Honey Hush Cakery), and she did a FANTASTIC job. I had sent her a picture that I had found on pinterest of an adorable train cake, and she was able to replicate it perfectly. And I did add one special crafty touch to the party. Take special notice of the train tracks (pictured below). I found a photo on pinterest of train tracks made with electrical tape on hardwood floors, and it looked very doable (even for someone who is crafty-challenged, like me). I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. I had never utilized Etsy or Pinterest prior to planning Ryder's party, but I will definitely be checking those sites out again in the future. What great resources!
The party turned out great. We had around 30 adult guests and 5 or 6 kiddos/babies. Most importantly, Ryder smashed his cake like a champion. I tried to manage my expectations, as I knew there was a chance that Ryder would refuse to even touch the cake, let alone smash it. But the kid did not disappoint. He was slow to take the initial plunge (as you'll see from the pictures below), but once he finally tasted his treat, he was hooked and put on a fabulous show.
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| The Invitation |
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| Pretty proud of these train tracks... |
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| Thanks Aunt Lauren for making this sign and setting up the Party Favor table! |
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| "Why you make me nekkid in high chair, Mama?" |
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| Not so sure... |
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| Still not so sure... |
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| Skeptical... |
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| Interested... |
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| More interested... |
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| Sold! |
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| Everyone applauding Ryder's transition from skeptical to sold. |
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| No caption necessary. |
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| "Why you been holdin' back on me, mama? This shiz is gooood!" |
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| "Bravo! Bravo! Cupcake is yummy and I am very proud!" |
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| MMMMmmmm... |
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| "I shall conquer you completely, Cupcake" |
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| "Since everyone is still staring at me and clapping, clearly they must want me to finish the entire cake. *dramatic sigh*... I shall try." |
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| "Mean Mama and Ro! Why you spoil my fun?" |
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| Gift-opening mayhem. |
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| Big girls Elizabeth and Charlotte were good gift-opening helpers. |
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| "Oooooh! I likey!" |
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| BFF Micah is excited because his mama just told him that he gets to eat cake and open presents in a few short months too. |
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| Besties and future besties. |
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| I always love me some Ms. Peggie! |
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| Cousins. |
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| Friends. |
Theme: Trains (and primary colors)
What we served:-oversized bowl filled with pretzel sticks and goldfish
-bright-colored candy dishes filled with Skittles and M&Ms
-bottled water, lemonade and sodas
-nugget and tender trays from Chikfila, courtesy of my dad's friend "Chicky"
-Two-tiered train cake for the guests (bottom layer was chocolate; top layer was vanilla)
-Jumbo "smash" cupcake for Ryder
Who was there:
-Mama and Dada
-MoMo and Ro
-Grandi and PawPaw
-Grandpa Chuck
-Auntie Sammie
-Aunt Lauren, Uncle Aaron and Cousin Elizabeth
-Uncle Shayne, Aunt Lisa, and Cousins Meagan and Madison
-Aunt Lynell and Uncle Charles
-Cousin Whitney
-Cousins Ari, Ellen and "Baby Dana"
-Uncle "R" and Aunt Linda
-Micah Kaufman and his mama and dada
-Charlotte Woods and her mama and dada
-Adelyn Holliday and her mama and dada
-Amy Ott
-Katie Holloway
-Emily Strong
-Ms. Peggie
Party Favors:
-Table set up for kiddos to decorate their own favor bags (brown paper lunch sacks) with stickers and crayons
-Once decorated, a sign (gratiously made by Ryder's Aunt Lauren) directed kiddos to fill their decorated sacks with the goodies sitting in a basket beside the table
-Goodies included: a bag of animal crackers, a "Push-Pop" lolly-pop, scented bubbles, and a party blower
Lovely post and celebration as well. My neighbor invited us for their house warning luncheon at one of the well known Venues in NYC last week. Cuisines were mouth watering and cup cakes were out of the world. Will definitely ask him about the details of packages and prices paid for all services for further references.
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