Of all the Christmas tables I’ve decorated for our church’s annual Christmas Banquet, this one was the most magical of all.
Walking in the sanctuary filled with twinkling lights and clear balloons was an experience that brought wonder to the guests.
Several uttered an audible “Wow!” as they entered the room.
The pictures really don’t do it justice.
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The Bobo Balloons with fairy lights were the main attraction of the centerpiece which was accentuated with gold and black colors.
I’ve decorated the church’s Christmas dinner for several years in all kinds of different styles and documented the process here if you’d like to see more.
Materials used for the light up Christmas centerpiece
I’m sure you’ve seen people sell these light-up Bobo balloons at festivals and other events, and maybe you paid $5 to $10 to acquire one for your child (Or yourself, no judgment here.)
However, when bought in bulk these beautiful balloons are rather inexpensive and a great option to light up a room for a Christmas party.
They look like big transparent bubbles and made the place look like a fairy tale.
These are the materials that I used for this year’s Christmas table and where I got them.
For the Christmas Table Centerpiece:
- Light up Bobo balloons with sticks in white. Buy them from AliExpress to get wholesale prices if you have the time to wait for the slow shipping. If not, you can find them on Amazon too – (Also sold under the name Bubble Balloons – We used the 18 inch diameter standard balloon.
- Gold metallic string placemats
- White Tulle
- Shimering Gold Tulle
- White snowflakes flower sprays (Leftover from a previous event)
- Gold pipe cleaners
- Mason jars painted with white chalk paint (From the previous rustic centerpiece Christmas table)
- Golden votive candle holders
- Votives
- Golden star confetti
- Star table numbers (Free in the Downloads Library)
Christmas Table settings:
- Black tissue tablecloths
- White 10” plastic plates
- “Tis the season” paper plates
- Golden napkins
- Plastic silverware with black handles
- Clear cups
The whole idea for the table really started with the “Tis the season” plates from Oriental Trading.
After that, the gold and black theme just worked itself out.
It’s always a good idea to start from one piece and match everything else to it. It will make your Christmas table decorating more fluid and eye-catching.
Great to play with a crowd:
How to use the Bobo balloons.
The sellers of the transparent Bobo balloons have really good instructions on how to painlessly inflate and attach your balloon to the stick.
You really need to read and follow the instructions provided and stretch the balloon first (without nails) before you fill it with air.
We used my handy-dandy double electric pump, but you could use a manual hand pump also.
If you’re going to have any birthday parties in the future do yourself a favor and get yourself an electric balloon pump. They’re not expensive and you will not regret having one on hand.
After we followed the instructions and inflated the balloons with enough air, we shaped them with our hands a little bit so that they took on a more rounded shape. The material’s a little tougher than you might expect and sometimes without a little help they don’t quite look balloon-like.
The sticks were easy to put together and the LED lights were not difficult to insert into the stick.
However, the difficult part was getting the string lights around the balloon so that they would not slip off.
My solution was to first stick a glue dot at the very top of the balloon where the two lights cross.
As I strung the lights across the balloon, I would press the string down into the glue dot and it gave the lights great stability.
I ended up using another glue dot at the very end of the string just to make sure the light string wouldn’t detach itself.
The glue dots and the lights were easy to remove at the end of the night as all the balloons were given to the kids. I ended up keeping the lights and the sticks for future use.
How long do the Bobo balloons last?
Well, in my tests, the balloons I got were great quality and if well tied they lasted at least 3 days when filled with normal air. I didn’t test helium.
But the great thing is you don’t need helium with the stick!
We filled the transparent balloons in the early afternoon and they lasted all night with no issues.
Get more ideas, go check out:
Putting the Christmas table centerpiece together
I wrapped the Bobo balloon sticks in white tulle to soften the effect of the lights and hide the plastic.
To keep the balloon on the stick standing up inside the Mason jar, I used random pieces of white Styrofoam that I shoved in the jar to keep the stick steady.
Then I inserted the spray of white snowflakes and the golden pipe cleaners for a shimmering accent.
I had some gold sparkly tulle so I used it around the Mason jar.
I added a golden votive to add some light effect on the table and of course the table numbers in a golden star shape to match the theme.
The golden string placemat and the gold star confetti brought it all together in one cohesive look.
This table decoration would also work great for a New Year’s Eve party or a wedding party. The table numbers were created using the free golden star New Year’s banner.
Our Church’s Christmas banquet always makes for a joyful day filled with Christmas carols, good food, and cheer. It’s the main event that we all volunteer for as a family.
If you’re looking for a fun game you can play with a crowd at your Christmas dinner go check out the Left Right game with free printable. It always makes for a fun ice breaker.
Don’t miss all the free Christmas printables on the blog as well as a wide array of Christmas printables in the shop to help make your holiday season stress-free.
Don’t forget to pin it: