I hate popping balloons too. I'm still traumatized by a party game at Kierney Hoffman's fifth birthday party where we had to SIT on balloons and the first one whose balloon popped won. OMG, that was torture--I had to pretend to sit on mine without actually putting weight on it because I didn't want it to pop, while all the time bracing myself for the inevitable pop I knew would be coming from someone else's balloon.
And now I have a kid who is obsessed with balloons. He hugs them and lays on top of them and wants to sleep with them. I've learned that if you wait a day until they are no longer really tight, you can cut a hole at the bottom of the balloon (where the knot is) and they'll deflate pretty quickly, but without any alarming noises.
I'll have to try the tape and pin trick on new balloons, although that would make my son very sad.
Sarah