of Ahwatukee

How did it start? Our first record of snowmen in our front yard is the 2007 picture below—but there are ten snowmen in that picture. We know that we didn't suddenly go out and purchase ten inflatable creatures to decorate the front yard for Christmas. It began more slowly with snowmen accumulating over a few years. But how, when and why?  Show More ⇓

Spawned by a big mouth bass. We can't remember exactly when our first snowman arrived, but a little research shows that it had to be after 2001. That's when Gemmy, a little Texas novelty company, brought the first inflatable snowman to the American market. That was the year after Gemmy introduced its wildly successful Big Mouth Billy Bass® to the nation. Billy was animated. Push his button and he would spring to life singing "Take Me to the River" and "Don't Worry Be Happy."

Unlike Billy, the inflatable creatures, marketed under the Airblown® name, got off to a slow start. Retailers didn't understand who would want a huge nylon snowman hooked up to something that look like a hand-held hair dryer. But with Billy's success, Gemmy had the staying power to keep trying for the 6 years it took for them to really catch on—along with a bevy of other inflatable Christmas and Halloween creatures, plus a Thanksgiving turkey.

Hooked by 2007. So, in one November or December after 2001, we were wandering around our local Lowe's or Home Depot or Walmart and came across a huge inflatable snowman on display—huge at that time being eight feet tall. It was love at first sight. Airblown hooked us and reeled us in. We bought our first snowman and took him home. But when we put him up, he looked so lonely. So when we were in one of those stores again, we picked out a companion and brought him home. A few more trips, and a few more years and our yard was filling up with snowmen!

Why snowmen? It's a bit of excessive logic. Have you ever seen something in a movie that distracted your attention from the story? A PacTel (a west coast company) phone booth at a D.C. airport killed Die Hard II for me. With such logic we couldn't possibly have a Santa, or a Rudolph, or even a Jesus—there's only one of each of them. Even if you have just one, what about those in your neighbors' yards? Snowmen have no such logical constraints. You can have as many of them as you want, without confusing anyone. And we do. (Then there's that Elvis thing which seems to bother no one.)

What do the neighbors think? So far, they have been incredibly supportive. When I'm out in the yard driving a stake in the ground to set-up a snowman, it is not uncommon for someone to be walking by. Invariably, they will say something like "I love your snowmen!" or "Our kids [or grandkids] love your snowmen!" Since I tend to procrastinate, I may get, "I was worried that you weren't going to bring them out." If you're a neighbor reading this, THANKS for your comments! It means a lot. And if you're a neighbor who doesn't appreciate the snowmen, thanks for not telling me.

Show Less ⇑

Click or tap on the year you want, then scroll the image below ⇆ to see the whole front yard.
Click or tap on a snowman to see his story below the yard image.

2007 • 2016 • 2018 • 2020