Beyond the basic and obvious novelty – hey, it’s a balloon that hangs out and lights up the room! – there is a quintessentially German practicality to these still-playfully-Italian lamps by CrousCalogero design.

First, they come in both wall and ceiling variants, with variable-length strings (as surely kids of a certain age would want to access them – and too-young children should not be able to reach anyway).

Then, in the ceiling version, they can slot right into an existing socket, with the balloon-shaped fixture wrapping around and extending down without excessive hacking or modding required.