Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 23:41:12 -0700
To: balloon@balloonhq.com
From: Mike <mikekenyon@balloonhq.com>
Subject: Birthday Enhancement Idea

Hot Maryland greetings!

I wanted to share an idea for a way to enhance any birthday balloon - 
hat or sculpture. Swing by your local craft store (for me, it's 
Michael's) and check out the selection of music box buttons. Buy one 
that plays happy birthday. The one's at Michael's are about the 
diameter of a 50¢ piece, and a bit thicker than a checker piece. 
Next, stuff this into a balloon using your favorite method. Capture 
it in a semi-soft bubble, and work the balloon into whatever piece 
you like. Now you (and the recipient) can just squeeze the button 
through the bubble, and the sculpture plays a very relevant tune. I 
think I got my buttons for $1.90 or so - there are probably cheaper 
sources, and other songs that are appropriate. Let Me Call You 
Sweetheart is a nice touch for the celebrating couple at an 
anniversary party, while the Brahm's Lullaby would work for a baby 
shower. Somewhere Over The Rainbow is a great touch for a rainbow hat 
- imagine a festival with 50 people walking around with that tune 
playing on their heads!

If anyone finds a source for these buttons with a wide variety of 
songs, please let me know. A 'hi-tech' balloon with an appropriate 
song sounds like a definite higher perceived value strategy to me!

Mike in Maryland, where the temperatures are high, and the twisters are hot!



-- 
Once when Lord Mitsushige was a little boy and was supposed to recite 
from a copybook for the priest Kaion, he called the other children 
and acolytes and said, "Please come here and listen. It's difficult 
to read if there are hardly any people listening." The priest was 
impressed and said to the acolytes, "That's the spirit in which to do 
everything."
- The Book of the Samurai, Hagakure