The Year that Changed the Holiday Decoration Landscape Forever
It was Christmas season of the year 2001 where houses were outlined in bright colorful lights, front yards were decorated with small plastic Frosty characters, handmade wreaths were hung on front doors, and red ribbon wrapped around porch columns making them look like candy canes to anyone who passed by. This was the traditional look of many houses at that time, however this particular year there was something new, exciting, and kind of strange that appeared in the holiday decorations market where many retailers and even consumers were quite hesitant to take in.
Inspired by the giant gorillas that you would have seen outside of car dealerships at that time, this new product was a giant 8ft Santa, a Santa like anyone had ever seen before, this one was made from nylon fabric material and filled with air from a custom box fan making it look like a miniature Macy’s Parade balloon without all of the people needed to hold it down.
A Company Who has Become a Leader in Holiday Decor Innovation
Known for their tremendous worldwide success of their talking fish Big Mouth Billy Bass and their animatronic holiday decorations such as their talking skulls for Halloween, Gemmy Industries who has been the leader in innovating seasonal and holiday products since 1984 designed the prototype of this giant Santa in early 2000 to fulfill their vision of a new type of holiday decor that the world didn’t know they wanted just yet. The original version had a hairdryer which would fail relatively quickly and was ultimately replaced by a patented fan which can run continuously for months at a time.
Twenty years later, this bold move has more than paid off as these holiday inflatables have now expanded to just about every holiday as well as characters just for fun where families can celebrate their love for a movie or a kids show by quickly popping up an inflatable in their yard.
A New Tradition that is Here to Stay
While many other companies have also joined the holiday & yard inflatables movement with exclusively licensed designs, out-of-this-world sizes, motorization, and much more, Gemmy Industries has stayed at the top of their game and remains the industry leader with their Air Inflatables brand which is available in almost every home products retailer.
This phenomenon has drastically changed the landscape for outdoor decorations over the last two decades and while some may love them and some may feel the opposite, it only seems to be growing each and every year.