The Christmas of 2020
The final cheers to the year that never was!
What will it bring?
That has got to be the million dollar question right now, hasn’t it? And perhaps one that not a single scientist, politician or forecaster can answer! We’d probably get better odds on a legitimate White Christmas than knowing the likelihood that we will be able to invite a solitary grandparent to Christmas lunch!
In this, our Christmas blog, we thought we would take a trip down memory lane and tell you a bit about the year leading up to this festive season and how we intend to tackle it!
Overcoming the challenges that lie ahead
So, how do we navigate the festive period when we really don’t know what to expect?
Well, at Balloonista HQ we have been putting our heads together to come up with some solutions to suit all scenarios.
Our online shop will be packed with all of our usual goodies, including our ever popular inflated balloons packages. You will be able to find some new additions like candy canes and balloon shaped presents, amongst an array of shiny, Christmassy balloon ideas. We will be rolling out our DIY kits in a Christmas special version for the first time ever, and if that’s a step too far, we will have the garlands ready made for you to purchase for delivery straight to your doorstep.
If you want to go all out and order one of our bespoke Christmas balloon installations, including our fabulous balloon Christmas trees, we will be taking bookings for these from October onwards. We will obviously be abiding by all regulations as and when they are enforced, so if we are unable to install for you, we will deliver for you to place in situ. This may limit some of our more organically styled balloons, but there’s a lot we can do in advance so keep in touch!
You know, this pandemic has forced us to do a lot of thinking “outside of the box” and it is safe to say, this has taken us on a journey of discovery; one that we’d love to share, if you have a minute?
The Balloonista journey of 2020 thus far
You probably remember those dark March days when we started to hear this word “Coronavirus” being mentioned more and more frequently on the news and in conversation. Back then we felt rather flippant about the whole thing; thinking that we would never be seriously affected by something so unknown and powerful that it would grind the entire world to a halt. Then suddenly, when the UK was forced into lockdown – again a word that really didn’t mean much to us until this point – we knew this was no laughing matter.
That was the moment when Balloonista had to take stock (literally and figuratively speaking as the wholesalers were closing too!). So we stood strong and we reacted in a way that kept our community informed and involved: hosting live Q&A sessions with other suppliers in the industry and finding new ways of delivering our services to our clients.
This is when we developed an online shop for the very first time, to sell balloons rather than being purely a bespoke installation services provider. It took a lot of time and is ever developing, but it opened up a whole new client base for us and also shone a light on the Balloonista brand in our local community.
Another successful product we launched was our DIY balloon kit. This product comes complete with access to a video tutorial, personally filmed by Aurelija, our Chief Balloonista, and offers our clients the chance to put their creativity to the test! These were really useful in lockdown as it gave people the opportunity to decorate their “Virtual Party Backdrop” whilst holding Zoom chats and quizzes for all types of celebrations that wouldn’t ordinarily be held in their living room!
Emerging from the other side
As restrictions eased, we saw the growth of the “garden gathering” and boy did Mother Nature facilitate this for us! This gave our balloon architects the opportunity to work their magic once again and we made hay whilst the sun shone. Shops reopened, followed by bars, restaurants and hotels and we were there at every step; decorating foyers, windows and backdrops for all those businesses that had weathered the storm. We sent out 100s of balloons for product launches and social media promotions. It was almost euphoric and a little bit emotional at times!
Back to business - sort of!
It’s now time for us to plan our strategy for the upcoming festive season and beyond and we are busy doing this as we speak (or type)!
We are devising concepts and products that will be resilient to further restrictions and allow our corporate, entertainment and hospitality clients to reward their own staff and clients in a Covid safe approach.
So whether we find ourselves able to dine out with our favourite five people in restaurants and hotels still, take short staycations, or are confined to our kitchens once more, we will have balloon options available for all!
Our Favourite Christmas Product
One of our most exciting products is of course the balloon Christmas tree! This is a firm favourite amongst the Balloonista Team and we hope to be creating lots of them to fill the lobbies of hotels and the hallways of homes in and around London in the coming months. They really do tick all of the boxes: the latex balloons used in these are 100% biodegradable and the beauty of them is that no dressing or light hanging is required as we do all the hard work! The other big plus is that we can create a huge tree, to fill the space where it’s required and you won’t have to put your physics hat on to fathom how to get it through the door or up the staircase!
The best part is of course, that pandemic or no pandemic, this is Christmas and we will make it a happy time, however we have to do it and that even means tolerating another Zoom quiz!
Love and peace,
Team Balloonista
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