Giant black cats. Jack-o’-lanterns in a stack. Striped spiders, ghosts, grim reapers, even licensed characters like those from Star Wars, Peanuts, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. You’ve almost certainly seen these inflatable decorative items around, whether in someone’s yard, on TV shows or movies, or just on the shelves of your local big box store. Maybe you’ve even picked up a few for your own collection.

These distinctive inflatable décor pieces you see all over the place are Airblown Inflatables by Gemmy Industries. While many people read that name as “gimme,” the company’s name is pronounced like the first name “Jimmy.”

How do I know this? Well, as it turns out, I worked for Gemmy Industries for the better part of 10 years as their lead writer back in the day. I wrote everything from the text on the outside of the box, to the instruction manual — you name it, I did it. I was the writer and editor for thousands of SKUs for them each year, and even helped get it all translated into French and Spanish for sales in Canada and Mexico.

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

So…What Are They?

If you’ve ever seen a giant purple ape sitting on top of a car dealership or the crazy-armed figure on a street corner that flails around while partially deflating and then re-inflating itself, Airblowns are like the decorative version of that.

There’s generally no internal structure to an Airblown. When you take it out of the box, it just looks like an empty bag or deflated balloon. When you plug it in, however, there’s an air fan on the inside that starts up, so it self-inflates in seconds. Yeah, that part in italics there? I can’t tell you how many times I wrote those words.

Then all you have to do is stake it down so wind and weather conditions don’t carry it into a neighbor’s yard, and you’re all set. Whether it’s an Airblown that’s just a solo character, or one that inflates into a whole scene, it’s a pretty easy way to decorate for Halloween, or really any themed holiday. And when you’re done with it, it’s pretty easy to put up since it deflates down for easy storage. (Another phrase I used quite a lot.)

Most Airblowns light up in some form or another. Some have specialty lighting effects or projectors embedded on the inside. For instance, there was a dragon Airblown a few years back that had a shifting flame pattern on the inside of it that looked like it was about to breathe fire. Pretty cool.

They come in all shapes and sizes, from 2-foot-tall static figures to giant displays that are animated. The ease with which you can put one up and the variety of price ranges out there are, I think, big reasons for their mass appeal.

But That’s Not All

Beyond just the ones meant for your yard, you’ll also find a vast array of inflatable Airblown Halloween costumes. If you’ve seen people running a marathon or attending events dressed as a T-Rex, a Thanksgiving Turkey, or Oogie Boogie, you can bet that Gemmy made it.

Like their yard-bound cousins, Airblown costumes run the gamut, from the simple to elaborate illusion costumes to 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 adult in nature. Fun fact: way back in the day, Gemmy use to create novelties for the back shelves of Spencer’s Gifts, and there are still some remnants of that in their product line.

In any case, if you walk into a Spirit Halloween store and see inflatable costumes on the racks, it’s almost a guarantee that those are from Gemmy.  

They’re Everywhere

While I have since moved on from the company, there’s no getting away from Gemmy products, particularly Airblowns. I’ve seen them in TV commercials, particularly for Lowes, and even spotted them in episodes of Doctor Who, most often in their famous Christmas episodes.

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

When I run across one now, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride. It’s a reminder that I worked on something that people still enjoy to this day, something with the sole purpose of celebration and entertainment. I wish I had kept that part more firmly in mind when I had been in the thick of things back then, but I suppose that that’s just the way it goes sometimes.

So, if you’re out and about and see an Airblown Inflatable in a yard or on a passing trick-or-treater, I hope you’ll think of me.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Thanks for reading!