Friends, at first I struggled to inflate these as so many of us have. Then inspiration struck. What you need is an air mattress inflator and a hairdryer! Stretch the balloon before you try to inflate. Then stick it onto the air mattress inflator and start it up. It will start to inflate, then stall because those things aren't very powerful. Turn your hair dryer on to the hot setting and blow that puppy on the balloon as you inflate. The heat from the hair dryer not only helps the balloon material stretch but warms the air inside, expanding it. Don't hold the hair dryer too close or stay in one spot too long or you run the risk of popping the balloon or making it misshapen. If you have a helper to do the hair dryer it's probably for the best, but I did it on my own. After adding the hair dryer I was able to blow the balloon up super fast. I left it up overnight as a test, then used some jeweler's pliers to untie my knot and save the balloon for reuse. I'm going to decorate with these for my wedding later this year. Also, you might want some clear tape on hand to secure the lights in place and to wrap around the end of the light string, which are sharp wire and might pop the balloon. I love the look and I'll be buying more. Hope this helps!

I like how quick the item arrived, the packaging, and the detailed instruction that came on the packaging. I know that I wasn't going to be able to do this on my own so I contacted my favorite balloon shop whom I would have ordered them from if they sold them, and asked for help. I planned to order the colored bouquet to go around them so it didn't hurt to ask. I called and they were more than willing to assist but warned me that depending on the balloon some may pop but if I was okay with it they would do it. The first try a balloon did pop, I was okay with it because I didn't need to full pack for this event. The second time there was no problem and the second one he blew up just fine. They even placed the lights on and showed me how they worked. The balloons aren't the highest quality but the balloon desk said it was one of the better qualities they had seen for balloons like this. I had them up on Sunday and one of them just went low yesterday (Wednesday), the lights still last. I am happy about my purchase and have 9 more to use for future events.

The balloons are much smaller than I thought but i'm anxious to use them with the lights I tried out and work have not tried in a balloon yet

You have to string/wrap the lights on the outside of the outside.

Used these balloons for a party... I recommend using helium because it will keep shape longer. But if you use an Aire pump it does work. Just be careful to not inflate to large because they pop easily. Putting on the lights was easy but just a note... As tight as can be or the string moves and can fall off the balloon. But I would recommend these

They are pretty. You MUST follow the directions! Take your time and it will be worth it.

Really liked the balloons! They were super cute and my daughter loved them. However I was very disappointed that two of the lights didn’t work.

Loved this product. The biggest problem is the balloons popping at the seam. I bought a total of 36 and lost 10. Stretched them per directions and did not over inflate.

I really like them their very unique and easy to inflate. I used a ballon machine.the only thing is I thought the lights were white. The lights are actually multi colored.

These balloons are very awesome, ONCE YOU FIGURE THEM OUT. **Follow the directions**

Super cute product worked perfectly for my needs.will order again.

So so hard to inflate!! You have to stretch these further than you think before inflating. The more you stretch and work it, the more flexible the balloon becomes. But: totally worth it. The effect is wonderful! Because they’re latex, blowing up the balloons in a warm house also helps. Stretch the balloons further than you think you should. They stretch a good 18”. Stretch on all sides. You can feel the thickness change as you stretch the balloon. You want it to thin out. It won’t expand, even with an air pump, if the latex isn’t thinned. Hot tip: If you stretch them unevenly, they tend to blow up misshapen. Use an air pump. Make sure the seal between the balloon and the pump is airtight. We used a rubber band to help seal off any holes. Have someone help you. Be careful with the balloon “stem”. The seam rips easily and makes pumping extra difficult because you can’t seal the balloon around the pump as easily. We could rarely get them to expand beyond about 13-14”. But, if you twist the stem before knotting it, we found that they held their shape and did not deflate. Mine have been blow up for three days now and still haven’t deflated.

They were beautiful but you need to purchase a stand that has something on top to hold it up if you are not using helium.. The other thing is it is supposed to be reusable. I'm not sure how. I left them inflated because I could not untie them so storing them is not practical.

It was easy to assemble but it was very tedious. Took more helium to inflate than expected, especially if you want it to float higher.

Easy to inflate

These balloons were absolutely gorgeous!!! All of my party guests raved about them. They definitely added that extra touch of elegance to my event. The instructions are very vague as far as what to use to blow the balloons. I purchased a hand-held balloon pump, an electric balloon pump and helium. First, I tried the hand-held balloon pump and it was a joke. Don't waste your time or money on this option. Next, I tried the helium. I purchase a helium tank from Party City for approx. $38 with tax. I was able to blow 1 balloon to the size of a tennis ball. I could not get the balloon on the tip to use the helium so by the time I figured how to blow the balloon, I had wasted the entire helium tank. I practically thew $38 dollars away!!! Definitely don't waste your money on this option b/c it's hard to blow the balloons and they will shrink if you blow them the day before the event. The last and most effective and economical option was the electric balloon pump. I purchased a $17 electric pump from Walmart in the party section. This method worked like a charm once I figured out how to get the balloon on the tip. Make sure the balloon is secure on the pump tip allowing no air to escape; hold the balloon tight. Be careful b/c once no air is escaping the balloon, it will inflate fast! When removing the balloon, hold it tight and twist before tieing the knot. Once inflated, they will shrink over a 12-15 hour period; so don't wrap the lights on until the event. If not, you will need to re-wrap the lights on the balloon. However, the lights are easy to wrap on the balloon and they look gorgeous. The balloons are reusable but after 1st use, they are thinner and stretched. Therefore, I'm not sure if they can be reused. Pros: 1. Gorgeous 2. Reasonably priced Cons: 1. Balloons do not stretch as instructed 2. Poor instructions for how to blow up balloons 3. Balloons shrink over 12-15 hour period 4. Lights must be redone on balloons if blown prior to the event Overal, I loved the balloons and would purchase again.