I want a hippopotamus for Christmas...

This cute hippo design uses one 260 balloon and one pink heart balloon. I used a gray 260 balloon, but a silver, brown, or even light purple, light green, or light blue one would work well. This is another neat way to use a heart balloon. (I've seen a heart balloon used similarly in a cow balloon design as well.)

To make the balloon, follow these hippo balloon instructions by Bonnie Davis.

My comments: When inflating the balloon, you'll want to leave about a 5 inch tail. (If you leave less of a tail, you'll run of space for the balloon to expand.) Near the end, if you find that you've run out of balloon or don't have room to make any additional twists, you can settle for only using four belly balloons (instead of five). Just deflate the remaining bubble that you don't need, tie a knot, cut off part of the end if it's too long, and wrap the knot around the body to hide it. Your hippo body will only be made of four bubbles and won't be as big, but will still look pretty good.

 

[ Hippo balloon instructions by Bonnie Davis ]