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Balloons by Absolute Value has provided balloon décor for over 30 years for all occasions. Cool dé

10/31/2021

Yesterday was quite the challenge for me decorating but nothing like the challenges the Mitzvah mom had in putting a party on for her son.

I talked, texted and emailed the mom beginning six weeks ago. Unlike a lot of moms she knew exactly what she wanted and my job was to find the balloons in a balloon shortage. Did find all the balloons but it took four suppliers to make it all happen.

Her first major problem happened 3 weeks ago when her husband had what appeared to be a stroke in Vegas. He got well enough to get back to Denver where he had what appeared to be a second stroke. According to his doctors it was not a stroke but a viral infection of some sort.

Next problem, the florist couldn’t guarantee what the floral centerpieces would look like due to supply chain problems. That would have to wait till Wednesday of this week. The floral centerpieces were cute but nothing like the Mitzvah mom wanted.

This week she got more bad news she had to deal with, the Rabbi that worked with her son for months tested positive for Covid. A new Rabbi who her son had never worked with was brought in at the last minute.

That same day the Temple where they go to called to let her know that the Kiddush brunch was going to be held outside on the patio. Forty degree weather not ideal for eating and that eliminated balloons for me at the Temple.

There were other problems she faced that I won’t mention except the one that caused me to change my décor for her evening dinner party. She picked a really nice restaurant to have the dinner party at. One that I hadn’t worked before and I was just going by the pictures she sent me.

OOPS, the pictures didn’t match the actual room. The actual room was much smaller and seemed very cramped for the number of people who were coming.
Ceiling light fixtures caused a visual impact on Nicholas name in gold mylar letters too.

This is where my problem begins, we had to think of a new location for the name and readjust the spacing between letters several times to get in to fit in the room and under the light fixtures. Not a hard task but very timing consuming one. A job that should have been done in twenty minutes took us an hour and twenty minutes.

Now I have to say that the restaurant was awesome to work with and our final décor brightened the room. Hope the Mitzvah mom liked it to, everyone else did.

09/19/2021

Over the years there are certain venues I like to decorate in for one reason or another. The Curtis Ballroom at the Landmark Comedy Works is one.

There are many reasons why you prefer one venue over another. Close to our house for quick delivery, easy to load in, high ceilings, clean, organized, great owner and friendly staff. For me a friendly staff always ranks at the top of the list of things I like.

My firm believe there is basically two types of Mitzvah’s: for the kids and the second one is for the parents / adults to schmooze. The Bar Mitzvah that we did on Saturday the 18th was definitely for the kids.

The pictures I am showing you today is the area where 45 kids and four adult tables were going to eat. The décor is called a balloon topiary. Simple, elegant and yet whimsical.

What I don’t have pictures of is the kids play area. 25 amusement games from classic pinball, basketball hoops, sit down racing, frogger, skee ball and the latest dancing machine game. It looked like a funny night for all.

There is a side benefit of the Curtis Ballroom for me it is in one of Denver’s premier comedy clubs. I get to try out my new word jokes or what is now called Dad Jokes.

Question: Why does a milking stool only have 3 legs?
Answer: Because the cow has the utter.

Question: Where does a cat go when it loses its tail?
Answer: Walmart, there the largest retailer.

Question: Why do seagulls fly over the sea?
Answer: If they flew over the bay then they would be called bagels.

I know what you’re thinking…”Don’t give up your day job” LOL

09/12/2021

It is September 11th a day that most of us will never forget. That also changed our lives forever in many ways. It is still hard for me to grasp what happened that day and the days that followed.

I am sure we all have our stories of that day and the days following. The thing that struck me on the following days it was so quiet. Not a plane in the sky and the birds didn’t even chirp or sing, the quiet was deafening.

The country came together in a unity and for the most part supported President Bush. Twenty years later there are people and companies that won’t let 9/11 be forgotten.

One of those companies is a restaurant named “My Neighbor Felix”, it is ironic that this restaurant wasn’t around twenty years ago but it’s parent company was.

They offer great deals to Vets and men / women who are presently in the military. There food is great and everyone who works there has a super friendly attitude.

My thanks goes out to all the employees of “My Neighbor Felix” for being my customer.

08/28/2021

Yeah, I got to do another Bar Mitzvah yesterday. Not super big or extremely challenging but it was important for the family to have fun.

I loved the look of the dessert area, there is another table that will go behind the dessert table to hold a treasured bike that once belonged to the boys grandpa when he was a kid. Jonah in silver mylar letters will go over all of it.

I got home and got a call from another Jewish Temple that all indoor social events including Mitzvahs have been canceled or put on hold.

Why? Because the Delta Variant is spreading in the surrounding area and Jewish community like wild fires in California and the West. IT IS TIME TO GET VACCINATED AND WEAR MASKS. STOP THE NONSENSE AND LAME EXCUSES GET THE SHOT.

I don’t want another year like last year where almost all venues were closed for weddings, corporate events and mitzvahs. ONLY YOU UNVACCINATED CAN STOP THIS, GET THE FREAKEN SHOT AND WEAR A MASK.

08/20/2021

In these pandemic times you never know what is going to happen from week to week let alone day to day. In May I thought we turned the corner then the Delta Variant hit and people are still scrambling as what to do.

This week I had five school openings scheduled to do and then one by one they started to cancel, four cancelled and left just one for me to do. To mask or not to mask school kids caused all the cancellations. That’s the question.

But my competitor and friend Amy had a customer she just couldn’t fit in her schedule so she sent them to me. This client was mine for over 20 years and then the Broncos hired a new person who went with Amy.

The client was the Denver Broncos one of the best sports teams no matter what sport. I should say one of the best corporations in America. Mister Pat Bowlen (owner who died in 2019) believed that corporations should be highly involved in the community they did business in. He was a man of his word.

Mister Bowlen died from Alzheimer’s, his wife and family decided that they would get actively involved in Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado holding an Alzheimer’s Awareness during training camp each year. Sadly his wife Annabel has Alzheimer’s too.

That didn’t stop the Denver Broncos and the Bowlen family. In 2020 they held a virtual Alzheimer’s Awareness event with great success. This year 2021 the Alzheimer’s Awareness was held in person for the Denver Broncos fans at the training camp on August 18th.

Here are a couple of pics of the arch that I did for this event. I want to thank the Denver Broncos and the Bowlen family for letting me a part of this event. First pic features Brittany Bowlen and Annabel Bowlen daughters of Pat and Annabel Bowlen. Second pic has Brittany Bowlen talking to Bronco fans. Third pic has Bronco Fans entering the training camp under the arch.

06/14/2021

It is great to be busy again and seeing old friends in the hospitality industry. That was the case on Sunday June 6th, the deejay a long time friend, the air brush artist and a customer who I did a Mitzvah for in 2018. YIPPEE !!!

This was a beautiful outdoor venue that I never worked before. The bad part of this venue you had to schleep all the balloons and stanchions two blocks down a steep hill. Yikes we had to schleep all the balloons and equipment out of the venue when the party was over all up hill.

There are many forms of Judaism, two of the most common forms are “reform” and “orthodox”. Simply put “orthodox” is stricter and complies more with the Torah than “reform”.

In the “orthodox” version men and women are not permitted to sit together during prayer service or other functions. A wall, curtain, screen, plants or in my case balloon columns were used for this separation. The term for this is “Mechitzah” a physical barrier separating the men’s and women’s section.

When my customer Natasha and I were planning this we had to have something that was tall, fairly easy to move and would stand up to the outdoor elements,. We only had an hour to have everything in place, balloon columns were the perfect choice.

I have often mentioned this that plans almost always have to be adjusted too. First off they told us we could just drive up to the back of the pavilion and unload….oops a two block walk. Next the picnic tables could be moved, wrong they were locked down by the park staff.

That wouldn’t be any big deal normally except for “Mechitzah” which side would have more people – men or women. Men it was decided and they would have more tables on their side.

The other part of the décor was balloon gumballs, smaller balloons inside a three foot clear balloon. They are way cool but in the wind they were like dancing most of the night above the guest’s heads. It really was a cool effect once you got use to the swinging and swaying of the balloons.

I can tell you I was one tired puppy with all the walking up and down the hill. But my client was a very happy camper and that’s the most important thing.

06/12/2021

Sunday June 6th was the end of a big run of events for us. The Parkinson Association of Colorado a long time customer was missed last year because of Covid. They however were the first non-profit to organize and book us for a non-profit walk / run this year.

This is a very easy event to put together two arches: one for a photo booth and the second for the start / finish line. A bonus is we get to see hot-air balloons.

There are two things I am not crazy about: one is a 40 mile delivery and the other is everything has to be in place by 6:30 am. Which means my crew and I are getting up at 4:00 am to inflate balloons. No beauty sleep for this old guy.

Kyla and Joseph didn’t complain because we all know someone who has Parkinson’s. We also know a lot of the volunteers who give up their time each year. It’s like seeing old friends who you missed seeing last year.

06/10/2021

I have shown many pictures of Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s over the years that I have decorated for. That is usually the party or celebration side of the event. There is another side of this event and that is the religious side.

Now I am not going to try and educated you completely about the religious portion. Because I don’t know it all myself, rather I will give you a tease to Google or look it up yourself.

Before his 13th birthday, a Jewish boy or girl will attend lessons, usually at the synagogue, in Hebrew and in how to read the Torah aloud. On the Sabbath nearest to his / her 13th birthday, the boy will become Bar Mitzvah or in the case of a girl will become Bat Mitzvah. During the Sabbath service, the boy /girl will read aloud part of the Torah or a section of the Prophets to family, friends and members of the synagogue. That’s a very short version about a Bar / Bat Mitzvah….so much more to it … just Google it to learn more.

On Saturday the 5th of June we decorated both sections of the Bar Mitzvah. The pictures with lime green balloon clusters where to give some color to the religious side of a historic building in Boulder, Colorado.

The back story on the party side of this event goes something like thin. Beth my client was referred to me by a super client at the JCC ( Jewish Community Center ) in Boulder.

Beth knew exactly what she wanted, which is highly unusual. She emailed me a bunch of pictures and wanted to know if I could do this. Instead of orange she sent in the pictures….she wanted limes green balloons.

I looked at the pictures and laughed. I told Beth that was my work done for a planner friend of mine, her client who was a caterer and at a venue I had worked hundreds of times. She laughed too and naturally I got the gig.

My son Joseph and daughter Kyla helped me make this event happen. It always amazes people how fast we can decorate an event. From start to finish it took us a little over an hour to do. I love working with my kids.

THANK YOU NOTE FROM MY CUSTOMER:

Thank you Charlie! It was perfect! You are so easy to work with, I really appreciate it.

You delivered exactly what I had in mind.

With Gratitude,
Beth

06/06/2021

Graduation season is almost over and it felt so good to be really busy. The schools for the most part are done. Now it is time for individual families to celebrate.

A long time friend (Trish) called me up a couple weeks ago to help her plan a graduation party with two other parents. The party was originally planned for the 30th of May. But the weather forecast was for cool and lots of rain and the weather people were spot on. It rained all day and it was more than chilly.

Trish is a very smart lady and rescheduled the party for the 3rd of June. Sidebar: I always think of Neil Diamond singing the song “Desiree” on that day and I couldn’t get the song out of my head all day.

Now this party wasn’t a very big balloon event….an arch that welcomed guests and balloon clusters with the colors of the high school they graduated from (Cherry Creek) and the college colors the kids were going to - University of Colorado and the University of Miami.

The party was a big hit and I got to visit with my long time friend Trish. Thanks Trish, let’s get together again real soon.

06/04/2021

I felt like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth or Henry Aaron on May 30th. Cause I hit a grand slam home run when we decorated for a Bat Mitzvah. My client Rebecca and I put a plan together in less than two weeks from beginning to the end.

After a bunch of phone calls and emails we came up with something that was elegant, fun and whimsical. Some of the other requirements were it had to be shades of pink, bright and have the big “WOW” factor.

It was a rainy overcast day my son Joseph and daughter Kyla carried in a lot of bags full of balloons and 15 green stanchions. We were busy as bees assembling the flowers due to a limited time to decorate, less than two hours.

We formed an assembling line production, each of us had a specific task to do: put the balloons on the base, next the leaves were attached, finally the flower was assembled and attached to the stanchion.

Then I inspected the final flower and placed them on the tables. Lastly “ELLA” in silver mylar letters was place on the far wall.

The caterer and his staff, photo booth guy and the deejay were totally amazed and gave us a standing ovation. When the parents and the mitzvah girl arrived all they could say was “WOW” . The mitzvah girl’s eyes were as big as saucers, she just keep saying this is “amazing”. Plus she had the biggest smile, one of the biggest I had seen in years.

The big test came when the guest were arriving. You could hear gasps, “WOW”, “”I have never seen anything like this”, “MAZEL TOV”, “You’re a magician”, “You’re a Mensch”. I walked out of there with my chest puffed a little bigger knowing that what we did was amazing. I couldn’t have done this without my teammates Joseph and Kyla, they were awesome.

06/01/2021

Hannibal Smith from the A-Team use to say “I love it when a plan comes together”. It is apparent he never knew Murphy who created “Murphy’s Law”. “ "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong".

As a balloon company we almost always have to adjust plans for one reason or another. Most times it is a communications problem from the customer to me and my company.

That happen on the 28th of May to us, we were told to place a 60 foot balloon arch in the same place we had previously done twice before. But someone didn’t tell my contact that the plan had changed until after we had placed the arch and were ready to go back to the shop.

Ooops, Food Trucks were to go in that location and the new entrance location for student’s cars was switched to the other side of the high school campus. It required taking down the arch and walking the arch a long two and half blocks and finding a new location to rig the arch too…..

I felt tired like most people do on April First …….because they had a Thirty One Day March…… I just couldn’t resist a bad word joke. LOL

The first two pics are of the first location before the move. The rest of the pics are at the second location. Some show what the wind will do to an arch.

It wasn’t all that bad but the wind made rigging the arch in the new location a little tougher. But in the end Hannibal Smith was right “I love it when a plan comes together”. My contact, her boss and everyone else was happy as clam.

05/30/2021

The Bar Mitzvah that I did on Saturday the 29th really brought out how much I loved and missed doing events for over a year. The event had a great look but it wasn’t something that I hadn’t done many times before.

It was the people I missed the most, the event planner is top notched and we have worked together for a lot of years. Ricki is a very special person !!! Her daughter is now 18 and graduated from high school. I can remember her working with her mom Ricki on her first decorating job. It truly was something to be treasured in so many ways.

The seeing the event specialist from the hotel brought tears to my eyes. I guess I could say I knew her before she was born, some thirty eight years ago. Her dad was one of my closest friends back in the day and she resembles him a lot in facial features and her personality. It’s hard for me to believe that he has past 20 years ago. RIP Mikey.

My business reminds me of the TV series the “Naked City” it had a tag line at the end of each show that went like this “There are eight million stories in the Naked City… This has been one of them”.

Now I haven’t done eight million events, but all the events that I have done in thirty one year’s, do have a story that goes with it. I have been truly blessed that my Maker has given me this life to live.

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http://www.balloonsbyabsolutevalue.com/

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Balloon Magic from Balloons by Absolute Value

Welcome to Balloons by Absolute Value’s page.

For over 30 years we have provided the Denver / Boulder area with various balloon décor.

Create the party atmosphere with balloons, arches, centerpieces, columns, balloon drops, releases and sculptures. Combine any of the colorful designs to create a magical atmosphere that will leave lasting memories for you and your guests.

Let our skilled decorators add color, flair or elegance to your next event and make your special day stress and worry free.