Gifts for all! (balloonmoments.co.uk)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	balloonmoments.co.uk
Date:	28/08/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent service, a nice selection of balloons, honest delivery

Disadvantages: They try to push you into ordering the three pack of balloons, very feminine balloons in the main

When I heard my good friend was due to go into hospital for an operation I knew I should go and see her. The problem is that as she is recovering from swine flu she didn't really want me to come as I am in a high risk group and she didn't want me to take the chance. I then decided to get her something nice sent through the post for the day she returned from hospital; I thought about chocolates but she's diabetic, a hamper (she's on a diet) and flowers, which she just doesn't like. What to do with an awkward cuss like that?!

Eventually www.balloonmoments.co.uk was recommended to me so I decided to go and have a look, otherwise it was going to be a simple Get Well Soon card!

Balloon Moments specialise in, obviously, balloons. You basically go to the site, choose from their extensive range of balloons, specify a delivery date and await the phone call from the recipient thanking you for your gift.

It's such a very simple site to use. I went straight to the Get Well Soon balloons and immediately saw the one I wanted but you can also choose balloons for lots of other occasion such as new baby, good luck, birthday, anniversary and an excellent balloon for a new driver which is in the perfect shape of an L Plate!

The balloons are well displayed in this uncluttered and nicely designed website, at a glance you can see what category you are going to want to look at and there is no unnecessary clicking as sometimes happens on this kind of specialised shopping site. The selection of balloons could perhaps be wider as I although I plan to use this site again, I envisage there will be occasions not particularly well catered for by Balloon Moments. In particular I am thinking of the birthdays of the men in my life as even the blue balloons appear somewhat feminine in my opinion - there's a blue one which says 'Happy Birthday, Dad' and it still manages to look a bit girly!

There is one negative issue I have with the site and that is that when you click to add the balloon to your basket you'll see the tick box automatically chosen for you is the more expensive single balloon with two small foil balloons option. You will have to change this yourself otherwise you'll end up with a higher than expected total when you come to the checkout page.

Delivery is a standard £3.99 for Royal Mail Special Delivery which is guaranteed before 1pm on your chosen delivery date. Please be aware that they don't offer any 'rush deliveries' although the next date Balloon Moments are taking orders for will be visibly displayed on the home page. I am writing this review on 28th August and a quick look on the site advises me that the next possible delivery date is 2nd September, which isn't bad really considering there is a weekend and a bank holiday coming up over the next few days.

I was very impressed with the delivery of the balloon I sent to my friend. The delivery date given to me was perfect for when she came out of hospital and at around 11am she called to thank me for the gift which had arrived in a lovely robust box and came with a free pack of Ferrero Rocher. She was extremely impressed with the weight at the bottom of the balloon which doubles up as a magnet so once the balloon has gone down she can pop it on the fridge as a reminder of my gift to her. I got around to seeing her yesterday and the balloon is still proudly rising into the air, this was some eight days after delivery so it's impressive that it hasn't shrunk down to a shrivelled heap by now!

Also on the site there are various gifts that you can choose to have sent with your balloon, I had a look through them and they seem mainly to be teddies and engraved glass plaques. Personally I think these are rather overpriced from this site and you can get similar items cheaper on the high street, although I suppose they would make the balloon gift that little more special if they were added into the box for opening altogether.

I have been surprisingly impressed with www.balloonmoments.co.uk and shall certainly use their service again. Although I have ordered balloons from my favoured flower delivery service, Bunches, I have never used a site which is specifically tailored for balloons before.

I found the site easy to use, the delivery estimate to be accurate and the whole experience was a good one. Thankfully my friend is now recovering from the effects of her nasty flu and her operation but she completely appreciated the balloon which just goes to show that a service like this will be loved by adults and children alike.

Summary: Perfect for a Get Well Soon or Happy Birthday message!