Halloween is Here: Inflatable Hot Air Balloons

Giant black cat. Jack-o’-lanterns in a pile. Striped spiders, ghosts, grim reapers, even licensed characters like that Star Wars, peanutsAnd The Nightmare Before Christmas. You’ve almost certainly seen these inflatable decorative items, whether in someone’s yard, in a TV show or movie, or just on the shelves of your local big box store. Maybe you even pick some up for your own collection.

The typical inflatable decoration pieces you see everywhere are Airblown Inflatables by Gemmy Industries. Although many people read the name as “gimme,” the company name is pronounced like the first name “Jimmy.”

How do I know this? As it turns out, I worked for Gemmy Industries for almost 10 years as their lead writer at the time. I wrote everything from out-of-the-box text, to instruction manuals — you name it, I did it. I am the author and editor of thousands of SKUs for them every year, and even help translate them all into French and Spanish for sale in Canada and Mexico.

With one week until Halloween, let’s take a look, shall we?

So…What Is It?

If you’ve ever seen a giant purple ape sitting on top of a car dealership or a crazy armed figure on a street corner that hovers while partially deflating and then inflating again, Airblown is like a decorative version of that.

Generally there is no internal structure in Airblown. When taken out of the box, it just looks like an empty bag or a deflated balloon. But when you plug it in, there’s a fan on the inside that turns on, so there’s that inflates itself in seconds. Yes, the italicized part there? I can’t telling you you how many times I wrote those words.

Then all you have to do is install it so that wind and weather conditions don’t carry it into your neighbor’s yard, and you’re all set. Whether it’s an Airblown that’s just a solo character, or one that expands into an entire scene, it’s a pretty easy way to decorate for Halloween, or any themed holiday. And when you’ve done that, it’s pretty easy to install deflates for easy storage. (Another phrase I use often.)

Most Airblowns fire in some form or another. Some have special lighting effects or projectors built into the interior. For example, there was an Airblown dragon a few years ago that had changing flame patterns in it that looked like it was about to spit fire. Pretty cool.

They come in all shapes and sizes, from 2-foot-tall static figures to giant animated displays. The ease of installing them and the variety of price ranges is, in my opinion, a big reason for their mass appeal.

But That’s Not All

In addition to those meant for your yard, you’ll also find a variety of inflatable Airblown Halloween costumes. If you’ve ever seen anyone running a marathon or attending an event wearing a T-Rex, Thanksgiving Turkey, or Oogie Boogie, you can be sure that Gemmy nailed it.

Like their yard-dwelling cousins, Airblown costumes run the gamut, from simple illusion costumes to elaborate ones that look like you’re being chased by a monster or riding a bull. Many of them are meant to be cute or funny, while some are definitely…ahem…more mature. Fun fact: a long time ago, Gemmy used to make novelty items for the back shelves of Spencer’s Gifts, and there are still some of them left in their product line.

After all, if you walk into a Spirit Halloween store and see an inflatable costume on the shelf, it’s almost a guarantee that it came from Gemmy.

They Are Everywhere

Even though I have moved on from this company, there is no getting away from Gemmy products, especially Airblown. I’ve seen it in TV commercials, especially for Lowes, and even seen it in episodes Doctor Whomost often in their famous Christmas episodes.

In my travels, I’ve seen Airblowns sitting in the yards of million-dollar homes in gated communities, and I’ve also found them in remote farmland communities in small-town Oklahoma. As I said, anywhere. (And as much as you see around Halloween, just wait until Christmas!)

When I find it now, I feel proud. It’s a reminder that I was working on something that people still enjoy today, something that was meant to be celebratory and entertaining. I wish I could remember that part more strongly when I was in the middle of things at the time, but I guess that’s just the way it goes sometimes.

So, if you’re traveling and see Inflatable Air in the yard or at a passing trick-or-treater, I hope you’ll think of me.

Happy Halloween everyone! Thanks for reading!