Retailers can’t keep the huge seasonal lawn ornaments in stock.
By Jen Otterson
Special to the Sun Journal

GREENE – Dan D’Auteuil takes holiday inflation in stride. “I keep saying we’re all done buying,” he said.

But his collection of inflatable Christmas decorations just keeps growing.

Every night D’Auteuil inflates 10 Christmas decorations, some of them taller than he is. A colossal penguin, polar bear and reindeer stand in groups with the other inflatables on the lawn, while Santa and a larger-than-life New England Patriot overlook the scene from the deck.

D’Auteuil’s wife, Rachael, said that the couple added the inflatables to their holiday decorations mix because of their size and visibility. “The kids see them,” she said. “It’s a big thing, and they see them right off.” Her 2-year-old grandson loves to be there when his “pepre” turns them on. “He gets excited every time they go up.”

The nylon fabric decorations are anchored to the ground with ropes and stakes. The flip of a switch turns on the fans that inflate them, as well as the light bulbs that illuminate them from inside.

The D’Auteuils aren’t the only people putting up 8-foot-tall Grinches and toy soldiers in their yards.

Oxford Wal-Mart has been selling them as fast as they can get them on the shelves. At just over $30, inflatables have been selling since August. Co-manager R.J. Nowak said there isn’t a single inflatable left in the store.

Nowak wishes he understood the attraction of the oversized ornaments.

“If I knew what it was, I could be a rich man.” He suspects that it’s just the newness of the inflatables that attract people to them. They only went on the market a few years ago.

The Home Depot in Auburn is also having trouble keeping inflatables on the shelf. Customer service representative Sue Ferguson said there was only one left in the store, and it’s the display model.

Consumers need not panic, though. An Internet search for “inflatable Christmas decorations” turned up thousands of Web sites selling everything from Homer Simpson to the three wise men.

The traffic-stopping troupe at the D’Auteuil’s house on South River Road has been around for two years. D’Auteuil isn’t sure what prompted him to start buying Christmas decorations last year and to keep adding to the assortment this year. “My wife’s always been a real Christmas nut,” he said.

If it were up to his grandson, though, D’Auteuil says he’d have to keep buying. “He says, ‘More lights, Pepre, more lights.'”

The house on South River Road in Greene is easily visible from Route 202, just north of Lewiston. The lights are turned on every evening, and the D’Auteuils don’t mind at all if people park on the side of the road and just look for awhile.

In fact, they’ve heard that Santa himself may stop by this Saturday to see the lights. Everyone else is welcome, too.

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