First birthday parties are big business and getting bigger each year! In a recent survey by Sainsbury's, the average parent spends around £280 when throwing a party for their 1 year old, and that's before buying any presents! 80% of parents surveyed say they'll be spending more on their child's party than last year, so now is the time to grab your piece of the profits!
This makes first birthday parties a huge opportunity for balloon decorators. We've collected industry tips and the biggest 1st birthday trends to inspire you to get creative and make every 1st birthday one to remember!
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STAY TRENDYDo your research! See what is trending on websites like Etsy, Pinterest, and Instagram. If you offer trendy and popular-now designs, customers will buy from you instead of ordering items and trying to decorate themselves. The most popular themes right now are:
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EXPAND THE THEMEQualatex has a great range of coordinating products that can be utilised into expanding a 1st birthday theme into something magical. Using balloons from a variety of themes can help turn a simple 1st birthday theme into something fun and engaging, such as the Astronaut theme (First Trip Around the Sun), using a Donut balloon for the "O" in a "Sweet One" theme, or the Floppy Eared Bunny for a "Some Bunny is One" theme. |
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TAP INTO PREVIOUS CLIENTSKeep track of your wedding and baby shower clients - where there is a baby shower, there wil be a 1st birthday! Schedule an email or birthday card one year after baby showers to remind them how much they enjoyed their baby shower balloons and to keep you in mind for 1st birthday (and beyond!) celebrations. |
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GO THE EXTRA MILEMake sure to differenciate yourself from high street stores. Add extra touches to your offerings that clients won't be able to find in local discount stores, or do themselves. Adding personalisation to Deco Bubbles or Microfoil balloons brings an extra element to any décor pieces. Use new trending phrases such as "Little Miss / Little Mr One-derful", "You are One of a Kind", and "Welcome to One-derland" Adding foil fringes or tassles to balloon designs brings an extra dimension and higher perceived price point for very little additional cost. |
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USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO GROW WORD-OF-MOUTHPost post post! Make sure to alwasy share photos and videos of your set ups. Ask the Mum if she’s on Facebook or Instagram so you can tag her when you post photos of their event - this will get your work in front of her other parent and parents-to-be friends! Whenever possible you should also tag the venue, cake shop, caterers and any other business whose product appears in your photo. Compliment them as well. The more interaction you can encourage the better! |
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Always leave business cards or a point of contact with the balloons. When you decorate a first birthday, the likelyhood is that guests are typically the same age and their will be other new mums in attendance, so they will remember the beautiful décor you did when their little ones turn 1 and they will have a way to contact you. |
Need more inspiration to grow your first birthday business? Check out some of our favourite first birthday work here!
