Over the past five years inflatable air blown Christmas decorations have gotten larger and larger though the methods used by manufacturers to keep them stable and standing upright has not changed much. Like a lot of people, I like the inflatable decorations because they’re easy to set up, easy to take down and they store in a box that can be tucked away at the end of the season. The downside is that the larger decorations tend to fall over a lot during the stormy and windy days of November and December. About two years ago I picked up a 12′ Tall Santa Claus Airblown Inflatable made by Gemmy
Large inflatable air blown decorations often blow over.
Most airblown decorations for the yard are built in a very similar manner. The decoration part is usually made of a thin material that is similar to what they make tents out of. It’s a lightweight material that’s generally weather-resistant. At the bottom of all of these inflatable decorations is a fan unit with four plastic legs that usually collapse in for storage. The fan sucks air in from the bottom and blows it up into the balloon-like structure above it, inflating most decorations in just a minute or so. Most of these decorations also have one or more light bulbs in them so they can easily be seen at night. Gemmy Industries Corp is one of the largest manufacturers of these types of decorations. You can find them in many stores around the holidays, but you’ll almost always get a better deal when you buy your inflatable decorations online
They come in all shapes and sizes, but generally the larger the inflatable decoration the more prone it is to blowing over. The bottom fan unit does usually come with some very small stakes which are meant to keep it attached to the ground. These decorations are so lightweight and big they they easily catch the wind, almost like a giant sail, and then get knocked over and have their stakes ripped right out of the ground. We’ve all driven past houses that had giant inflatable snowmen or Santa Clauses or football players sitting on their side or rolling around the lawn. When these decorations fall over they can not only get torn and damaged by objects on the ground, but they are also pulling their own electrical cord which has the potential to make these decorations unsafe.
Add a steel plate to each leg of the base.
Stabilizing Your Inflatable Decorations
I grew tired of going out after storms to pick up my 12′ inflatable Santa, so I figured there had to be a way to keep it upright. I originally thought about simply cutting a 2′ by 2′ square of plywood and screwing the fan base into that, but then I realized it would be sitting in my yard for about two months and I figured when it was time to put it away that I would have a large square of dead grass to deal with in the spring. The holes on the feet of the base are too small for heavy-duty stakes, so I starting thinking about how I could add additional anchoring power to the four existing feet. Here’s the solution I came up with:
Items Needed
- 4 10″ steel plates with holes in them (these can usually be found by the outdoor hinges and door accessories at the hardware store)
- 4 appropriate screws with bolts (be sure the screws will fit through the holes in the plates as well as the bottom feet of your inflatable fan base)
- 8 long nails/spikes (again, they should fit through the holes in the steel plate)
- Some quality camping tent stakes
Assembling Your Base Stabilizers
This is pretty straight-forward. All you need to do it run the screw through the hole in the fan base and then through the steel plate. Bolt it on, tighten it and you’re done! You’re basically making each leg of the plastic base much wider. Repeat this for each plastic foot.
Once you have the plates tightened on you can use those large nails to secure the base to the ground. By using two nails that are spaced on either ends of the place you’re essentially doubling the potential holding power of the stakes. I also drive the nails into the ground at an angle, much like you do with tent stakes if you’ve ever gone camping.
Here’s a quick video of how to put the metal stabilizers on the base as well as some other useful tips:
Other Stabilization Tips
There are a few other things you can do to make sure your inflatable decoration stays up all holiday season long. First and foremost, follow the directions (if there are any) and don’t try keeping your decorations inflated during big storms or blizzards.
Use the Base Leg Straps: Most airblown decorations have straps around the base that are supposed to be attached to the legs. I’ve seen a lot of people forget or skip that step when they are setting up their yard decorations. Those straps make a big difference (they essentially widen the base of the inflatable) and you usually cannot fold the legs back in unless those straps are unhooked before putting everything back in the box.
Use All the Guidelines: The larger inflatable decorations often have two or more string lines that are also meant to be pulled out and staked down. These lines will often keep a very tall decoration from leaning or blowing in one direction or the other.
Use Camping Stakes For Everything: Really, those little aluminum “L” stakes bend easily, slide out of the ground easily and they make pretty lousy stakes for large inflatable decorations. When possible toss them and use quality camping stakes. I prefer the plastic ones with several ridges or “sides” around them. If your ground is really frozen when you’re putting up your decorations you may want to resort to metal camping stakes.
Put Your Decorations On Level Ground: Don’t try to set these things up on the side of a steep hill, because you will have problems. Use good judgement when you’re setting up larger air blown decorations because they are often big enough to knock people or things over. I have a neighbor who had a large inflatable snow globe up on her front and during one windy storm last winter. She didn’t have it tied down properly and it ended up blowing across her porch and breaking several ceramic planters she had put to the side.
Air blown decorations are popular because they’re easy to put up and easy to take down with a minimal amount of maintenance required. Manufacturers should begin to realize that the larger inflatables need stronger hardware to hold them steady and even all season long. Until they do, you can use these tips to keep your decorations in place and avoid going outside to reinsert stakes in the ground every few days during the holiday season.
Just wanted to say thank you! We did this to our 11 foot Mickey Mouse this weekend.. He is standing nice and tall even after a rain last night.. I did have to get stronger tie down cords (the ones that came with him broke).. :)