Birthday Party Decorators & Planners in Ottawa
Celebrations We Style
Show-stopping, for the moments worth it.
Sparkle Events are birthday party decorators working across Ottawa from a base in Nepean, covering Barrhaven, Richmond, Kanata, Orleans, Gloucester and Gatineau. We design and install themed balloon arches and garlands, marquee numbers, styled dessert tables, and gender reveal setups built around whichever reveal the parents have already chosen. Everything goes up before guests arrive, so nobody in the family spends the morning of the party inflating balloons. If you want the venue and the other vendors coordinated as well, that is booked as planning and scoped to the party rather than sold as a fixed package.
First birthdays, milestone parties, and gender reveals, playful themes and big balloon work built around the guest of honour. From the arch to the number to the dessert table.
Written by Heba Alfarra, Owner & Lead Designer at Sparkle Events · Last updated
What’s included
- First birthday & milestone setups
- Themed balloon decor
- Marquee numbers & letters
- Dessert tables
- Gender reveals
Often booked alongside: Balloon Decor and Rentals.
Birthday Decor Ottawa
The Birthday Decor We Build
Balloon Arches & Garlands
The arch or garland is built to the birthday's actual colours rather than assembled from whatever is in stock, which means specific shades usually need ordering in ahead of the date. Scale is chosen against the room. A garland that looks generous in a living room can disappear along the wall of a rented hall, so we size it to the space you have booked rather than to a photo.
Marquee Numbers & Letters
Illuminated 4 ft numbers are the piece most people picture when they picture a milestone party, and they photograph well because they light themselves. They rent for $80 on their own, with no styling package attached. Plenty of people decorate the rest of the room themselves and just want the number delivered and standing.
Dessert Table Styling
The cake and treat table is usually where guests gather and where the photos get taken, so it is styled as a set piece rather than left as a folding table with a cloth on it. We build it from real rental furniture: a gold sweet cart at $130, a three-tier display table at $130, or a suspended swing table at $230 for something less expected. The backdrop behind it is designed at the same time so the two read as one setup.
Gender Reveal Setups
The decor is built around whichever reveal the parents have already picked, a balloon pop, a pull-string box, or a powder burst, rather than us deciding the method for them. The practical part is framing: the reveal happens once and it gets filmed, so the backdrop behind it has to be clean enough that the moment reads on a phone screen. We set up before guests arrive, which also keeps the colour where it belongs, which is secret.
Do you want a birthday decorator or a party planner?
The two get used interchangeably and they buy different things. A decorator designs and installs the look: the balloons, the number, the backdrop, the dessert table. That is what most birthday bookings are, and it is what the prices on this page cover. A planner handles the parts around the decor as well, the venue's load-in and teardown windows, the other vendors, and the order the afternoon actually runs in. Both are available here and you can book either one. If you already have the hall booked and the cake ordered and you only need the room to look right on the day, say that when you send the date and the quote comes back as decor only.
What's included in a birthday decor package?
A themed balloon arch or garland built around the birthday's colours or theme, a marquee number or age-specific centrepiece, and a styled dessert table backdrop. For gender reveals, the reveal moment itself, a balloon pop, a pull box, or a powder burst, built around whichever method the parents have chosen. Everything is installed before guests arrive, so nobody in the family is blowing up balloons the morning of the party.
What drives the cost of a birthday setup?
Guest count and venue size matter, but the bigger swing is scope: a full themed build with a garland, marquee number and dessert table backdrop costs more than a simpler balloon-and-number setup, and that is a genuine choice rather than a corner cut. Rental pieces like marquee numbers can be added to any quote individually, from $80, so you can see exactly where the budget is going before committing.
How does a gender reveal actually work on the day?
The colour stays concealed until the moment itself, whether that is a giant balloon popped in front of family, a pull-string box, or a powder burst, matched to whichever method the parents have already chosen. We build the surrounding decor so the moment reads well in photos and video rather than getting lost in a busy backdrop, and we time our setup so everything is ready before guests arrive and the surprise is still a surprise.
Milestone birthdays or first birthdays: what changes?
A first birthday usually wants a soft, photo-ready smash-cake setup built around the guest of honour rather than a big crowd. A milestone birthday, a 16th, a 30th, a 50th, tends to want a bigger statement number, more balloon volume, and a look built for a room full of adults rather than a highchair. Tell us which one you are planning and we scale the design and the quote to match.
How It Works
From first message to teardown
Tell us the birthday & theme
Send the date, the birthday person's age or theme, guest count, and any colours or references you are picturing.
Design direction & quote
We propose a balloon and decor concept scaled to the theme, with an itemized quote you can adjust, including rental add-ons like marquee numbers.
We build it
We install the arch or garland, the number, and the dessert table backdrop before guests arrive.
We can take it down
Teardown can be included, so nobody is pulling balloons off a wall the next morning.
A Closer Look
Real birthdays & milestones, real work
Available to Rent & Order
Rent these for a birthday
Prices are per item. Add what you need to a quote and we confirm availability for your date.
Good To Know
Birthdays & Milestones questions
How much does balloon decor cost for a birthday in Ottawa?
It depends on scale. A full themed build with a garland, number and dessert table backdrop costs more than a simpler setup, and colour-matched balloons often need ordering in. Rental pieces like marquee numbers start at $80 on their own; for a full styled setup, send us the guest count and theme and we will send an itemized quote.
Do you set the party up, or do we do that ourselves?
We set it up. We arrive inside the window your venue allows, install the arch or garland, stand the number, and build the dessert table before any guest walks in. Teardown can be included in the same booking, so nobody is pulling balloons off a wall at midnight. If you would rather organize the setup yourselves, the rental pieces can be delivered on their own instead, from $80 for a marquee number.
How far ahead should I book a birthday setup?
A couple of weeks is comfortable for most birthday setups, and peak weekend dates fill earlier than that. If your date is soon, ask anyway. We would rather tell you honestly what is achievable than have you assume it is too late.
Do you do gender reveal decor, or only birthdays?
Both, and they are booked the same way. Gender reveal styling is built around whichever reveal method the parents have already chosen, a balloon pop, a pull box, or a powder burst, with decor designed so the moment reads clearly in photos.
Can I rent just the marquee number, or does it come with a full setup?
You can rent marquee numbers on their own, from $80, without booking any styling around them. Plenty of people handle their own decorating and just want the number itself delivered and ready to place.
