Balloons and Jingle Bells

Rating: Medium
Supplies: Jingle Bells, Latex Balloon

Jingle Bells are one of the best tools that trappers have in their arsenal.  Not only do they add a festive touch to your Christmas Trap, but they are loud and almost impossible to move without making noise. 

The problem with Jingle Bells is that if the escapees can manage to get their little fists around the jingle bell it can be silenced quite effectively. The solution: Put your jingle bells inside of a balloon! There is no way to silence a jingle bell bouncing jovially inside of a balloon.

Start by stretching the neck of the balloon with your index fingers as shown below.  

Drop the jingle bell into the balloon. For larger jingle bells it may be necessary to ask for help from a friend. One person to hold the balloon open and a second to drop the jingle bell into the balloon. 

 
Stretch the Neck of the Balloon

Stretch the Neck of the Balloon

 

Blow up the balloon as you normally would.

 
Insert Jingle Bell

Insert Jingle Bell

 

To make this obstacle easier...
1. Eliminate the jingle bell entirely
2.  Use plastic jingle bells. Plastic Jingle Bells make almost no noise, but the escapees will see the jingle bell inside the balloon and it will cause them to be wary, slowing them down.
3.  Use smaller jingle bells, the smaller the jingle bell the quieter it is.

To make this obstacle more difficult....
1.  Add more than one jingle bell to each balloon
2. Use larger jingle bells, the larger the jingle bell the louder it is.
3. Tape the balloons together with packaging tape.  Packaging tape adheres very well to latex balloons. If you try to peel the balloons apart they will pop! 

Merry Trapping!