So last week my kid’s birthday was coming up, and man, did he want a bunch of helium balloons floating around. Sounds simple, right? Wrong.
The Big Helium Shock
First stop: Party City. Walked in feeling good, walked out feeling robbed. They wanted like $4 PER BALLOON filled! My dude wanted 10 balloons, maybe more? Yeah, no. That gas ain’t cheap.
Called around a couple other party stores nearby. Same story. Racket. Pure racket. Even the hardware stores people mentioned online? Nada. Zip. They looked at me like I was nuts asking for helium.
Getting Desperate (& Resourceful)
Okay, time for deeper digging. Started searching online real hard: “helium balloon fill near me cheap,” “affordable helium,” you name it. Basically begged Google for a miracle. Found a local forum post mentioning grocery stores sometimes do it. Wait, really? The produce counter?
Felt kinda dumb. Never noticed before. Went straight to my usual Safeway. Cruised past the veggies, looked around… nothing. Asked the guy stacking apples. He pointed me to the back corner by the damn cakes. Hidden gem!
Scoring the Cheap Stuff
Saw a little sign tucked away: “Balloon Inflation Station.” My heart did a little jump. Asked the bakery counter lady how much to fill my own balloons.
Her: “You got the balloons?”
Me: “Yep!”
Her: “It’s $1.99 per balloon.”
SAY WHAT?! From $4 to $1.99? Now we’re talking! She also sold balloons there cheap if you needed ’em.
Mission Balloon Success!
Brought my son’s balloons back later that day. Lady hooked up the tank, filled ’em up quick. Kid picked bright blue and green. Watched ’em float up, tied ’em down. Perfection. Total cost: under $15 for eight balloons. Compared to the $30+ elsewhere? Winner, winner.
Shout-out to that bakery lady. Saved the party and my wallet.
Lesson learned: Stop thinking just party stores. Your big supermarket back by the cakes? That’s the real helium hero. Go find it!