Lawn inflatables rise to occasion

Inflatable News

Lawn inflatables rise to occasion

Who would have thought the rotund Santa Claus could get any bigger?
This holiday season, he's literally blowing up and appearing on lawns everywhere.

The outdoor inflatable Christmas decorations, which feature the traditional Santa Claus and snowman icons, as well as Snoopy and Grinch characters, took off in popularity last holiday season and helped make Christmas and Hanukkah decorations an $8 billion industry in 2004, said Pam Danziger, president of marketing consultant firm Unity Marketing. That's up 5 percent in one year, she said.

But this December, simple inflatables won't cut it anymore. The new thing is inflatable snow globes, which are generally 8-feet-tall with snowmen inside and "snowflakes" blowing throughout, said K-Mart spokeswoman Colleen Cleary.

"It's one of the big trends in outdoor decoration," Cleary said. And Pittsburgh, generally slow on the take for trends, isn't being left behind. Globes are popping up across Pittsburgh on lawns and in storefronts.

Shaina Cadman, 30, of Munhall, walked out of her home just last week to find that her neighbor had put one on his lawn. So will Cadman be joining the trend?

"No," she said. "I think they're very tacky."

A fan of the simple white lights and wreaths, Cadman said the inflatables are a little too loud for her taste.

There's good news for the Cadmans of the world -- Danziger said the super-sized inflatables probably won't have much staying power.

"The people who are inclined to buy them have already bought them," she said, and over time, the things should start disappearing.

"They're cheap and they're cute," Danziger said of the regular inflatables that can retail for anywhere from $20 to more than $200. "But I would definitely say they're just a fad."

Toni Reed, 32, of West View, said she bought her four inflatables because her 5-year-old son loved them. He picked them all out himself, Reed said, and all the neighborhood kids come out to see them when they inflate them before dinner.

Nanette Merchant, 39, of Ross, is a proud owner of an inflatable family of snowmen, and she admits that the newer globes have caught her eye.

"They're sooo cute," she said. And expensive, she added.

Although the Merchants love to decorate -- Burt Merchant has a reputation for being a Clark Griswold (the holiday-light lover of "Christmas Vacation" fame) -- they don't necessarily spend a lot because many of their decorations are gifts or hand-me-downs, Merchant said.

Some things just have to go on the wish list.

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