Every year, the various vendors put out new products, but something
unusual for Christmas 2009 was the 15' Santa Balloon from Home Depot.
Plastic tubes (might have been wiser to use metal) form a basket
that Santa stands in. Above that is a blower motor that inflates a
pretty darn big red & white balloon plus provides air to pump up Santa.
The balloon has multiple tie-downs ... good thing, because it can really
move - check out this wild video when the winds picked up after Midnight.
Watching it as people on the Internet inflate/deflate it is crazy -
here's some time-lapse footage ... also at
2x and
8x speed.
Inflating the Santa Balloon for the first time in the backyard
A couple of "real" ballooons float over mine early in the morning
Santa Balloon at Sunrise
Santa Balloon in the Front Yard - Mouse Over for no snow
Santa Balloon in 2010 with Kyle, Alek, and Dirk - Mouse Over image for closeup
Some tears have developed in the fabric which reduces the inflation power, but so far the packing tape seems to be holding
I've also had a couple of the plastic tabs break off ... but HEY, this Santa Balloon is used a LOT!
In 2012, one of the four main struts cracked - darn!
I backed out the screws slightly, and it is staying on ...so far
I sent an Email to Home Depot inquiring about getting a replacement strut ... which they forwarded to Gemmy ... who promply sent a replacement - how cool is that!!!
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