Everyone On Pinterest Is Obsessed With This (Slightly Ridiculous) Holiday Decor Idea (& We Don’t Hate It)

In a day and age when social media and inspiration-heavy sites like Pinterest make you feel like everything you create for your home or how you decorate for the holidays has to be (literally) picture perfect and super chic, there are rays of hope that sometimes the internet is up for something slightly ridiculous. Case in point: the recent obsession with not-the-least-bit-elegant-but-maybe-pretty-great giant balloon Christmas lights.

A recent report from Pinterest released earlier this month reported that “giant balloon lights” was up 1,024% in searches and saves (falling second to the cult favorite pineapple Christmas tree—up 3,406%). Never hearing of “giant balloon lights” myself, I was intrigued by the sharp upturn in interest and did a little research on what these were. Turns out, they are exactly what they sound like: balloons made to look like giant string lights (like above, available from Studio DIY).

My first thought was “well…this is a little much” but the more creative interpretations I saw, the more I started finding some joy in the nearly ridiculous decor idea. I mean, Christmas is the time to go all out and wear your holiday spirit with pride. We are living in a time when the tackier the Christmas sweater, the better, so why not indulge in nearly absurd seasonal trimmings and adornments?

From the looks of some Pins, these oversized faux lights can be made with balloons like in this image from Living Locurto (though I can’t imagine they would last very long), or from large plastic balls—the kinds you find for a few bucks in toy store bins—for a more enduring installation plus the addition of green plastic cups and ribbon. I can see the ball versions being really great outside, and the “lights” made with balloons strewn about the home in a smaller size (with glow sticks inside of them to light them up!).

If you’re not particularly into the super buttoned up, posh Christmas decor thing, you may just want to hop on board the “giant balloon light” DIY idea this year.