This is our first year celebrating Halloween in our new home – which means I finally have front yard space to set up on-theme Halloween inflatables! Truly when we were shopping for our first home I was already thinking through how the yard space would be perfect for Halloween spooky season decor. Big front walkway to line with pumpkins? Check. A house on the corner, perfect for positioning big Halloween inflatables to spook the neighbor kids (and dogs)? Also check.
I will caveat this post with one thing: I like Halloween decor that looks classic, classy, and not tacky. So yes, I might love a good Halloween inflatable moment – but I personally like to give my yard a theme and am pretty picky with the decor I choose. So if you’re on the hunt for the most unique, fun, interesting, but also aesthetic Halloween decor style – this blog post is for you!
What to consider when shopping for Halloween inflatables.
Before you race off to add to cart, there are a few things to think through before adding Halloween inflatables to your seasonal decor this year.
Sizing.
When shopping for Halloween inflatables, make sure to check the sizing so that you don’t feel either underwhelmed or overwhelmed when you open the box. I’ve been fooled once or twice thinking I found a giant size inflatable for a great cost, only to realize the online images were not to scale. Whoops!
You’ll also want to take a lap around your outdoor space to assess where what sizes of Halloween inflatables can fit. It’s honestly no fun to start to blow an inflatable up only to find it hits the edge of your roof or takes up too much yard space to allow for other decor.
Power sources.
When setting up our outdoor Halloween decorations this year, we ran into some major power source issues. Because this is our first Halloween in the new house, we really had no idea there was only one outdoor outlet available – and it’s in the backyard, no less. So that meant if we wanted outdoor Halloween decor in our front yard, we’d need to run extension chords all the way around to the front. And if we wanted more than one of our Halloween inflatables in the front yard, it meant we’d need an extension chord with multiple outlet options.
Setting up and organizing your power source is also important specifically when it comes to Halloween inflatables because many inflatables, in theory, run all day long. Unlike Halloween twinkle lights which typically switch on and off based on daylight, Halloween inflatables look rather sad if they’re left deflated during daylight hours. You’ll likely want those bad boys inflated 24/7 (or only shut them off during the wee hours of the night). The two inflatables we currently have running in our yard are airblown – meaning they’re self inflating. A little fan runs inside them when plugged in, keeping the airflow going all day! We put our two inflatables on a separate extension chord from our Halloween lights so that the lights are not on all day, but the inflatables are.
Storage.
I was so wildly tempted to buy giant Halloween inflatables this year, but only held back because I wasn’t sure we had a great set up to store them in the off-season. One would think that inflatables are easy to pack away. They’re inflatable after all! That’s unfortunately not always the case. If you are shopping in store, you can scan the items on the shelf and judge your storage capabilities based on box size. If you’re shopping online; however, you’ll want to click around on the site until you see the additional information found in the description or terms section of the item. Keep an eye out for anything about packaging or overall dimensions when inflated and un-inflated.
Cost.
Many inflatables don’t come cheap! Before you go window shopping, I’d recommend sitting down and thinking through how much you want to spend on Halloween decor in total this year. Budgeting isn’t always fun, but honestly I didn’t want to blow all my cash on two decorations alone. I wanted to save room to spend money on lights, pumpkins, and other accent pieces. The going rate for a small inflatable these days (under 5′ tall) usually lands under $50 USD. If you’re on the hunt for anything slightly more “life-sized,” unfortunately, you have to be prepared to spend a little extra.
Pick a theme!
Or be eclectic if that’s your vibe. Who am I to dictate what you do?
But for me – I love a good theme. I really wanted to do a Halloween inflatables Disney vibe, but unfortunately all the Disney inflatables were sold out at my local Home Depot Halloween section! We instead pivoted and went for a more generic Halloween situation, but chose inflatables that could potentially fit under a Disney theme if we’re able to get our hands on the inflatables I want later on.
Transparently, this is why I recommend shopping for all Halloween inflatables and decor online. Stores get limited inventory and sell out FAST!
The pros and cons of using Halloween inflatables in your decor.
Blow up Halloween decorations always seem like a slam dunk. But are they?
The pros.
The kids will probably love your house.
If you’re trying to be THAT house this year for trick-or-treaters, adding an inflatable Halloween decoration to your yard will likely make you a popular pit stop! Kids and parents alike love to take photos with Halloween blow ups. They make for great impromptu Instagram photo spots.
They’re minimal work for maximum impact.
Unlike many other DIY Halloween decor ideas or decorations, Halloween inflatables come with little to no setup. There are no major parts to install or assemble. There are no heavy pieces and parts. Inflatable Halloween decorations are pretty much just thin piles of fabric, a fan, and air. That said – outdoor inflatable Halloween decorations give maximum impact. Inflatables are interesting, unique, and can be as large or as small as you want.
They’re great for the environment! Sort of.
Unlike pumpkins and other single-use Halloween decor items, Halloween blow up decorations are able to be used year after year. I always feel super guilty tossing my pumpkins when Fall ends (don’t worry, I keep them through November!). It’s really nice to be able to pack up a big, impactful decor item to re-use next year.
The only little caveat to the sustainability of inflatables is that they do require constant power to stay inflated. To save energy, we pop outside each night right before we go to bed to unplug ours. We then just plug them in again in the morning when we let our dog out (we’re early risers).
They’re honestly a whole lot of fun.
What else can I say? In all honesty, inflatable decor is just REALLY fun to work with. Halloween is easily my favorite holiday. When we moved in and as October approached, I told my husband over and over that I wanted to be “THAT” house when it comes to Halloween decor. I want people stopping by to snap photos in our yard. I want kids in costume to come pose with my porch packed with pumpkins. I want to be the host of the Halloween parties. And I definitely wanted to be THAT house that trick-or-treaters know is where it’s at on Halloween night.
Halloween inflatables are so much fun. I’ve actually caught a few people on our security cameras posing with ours! There’s something about secretly catching strangers getting VERY into our decor that gives me a strange sense of accomplishment. So really, I can’t deny it. Halloween inflatables are just SO much fun to have up in the yard. We’ll likely keep adding to our collection as the years go by!
The cons.
While the kids may love it, your local dogs will not.
We live in a neighborhood packed with dog owners so I can confirm outright: dogs hate Halloween inflatables. They don’t just hate them. They’re like, very #triggered by them. Even our own Goldendoodle isn’t a fan – and it’s our house! I often catch poor unsuspecting dog owners out for a walk with their pooch rounding our corner only to have a very upset dog at the end of their leash. The barking isn’t my favorite, LOL, but it’s a cost of doing business I suppose.
The big, fun inflatables can be expensive.
We opted for a couple smaller Halloween inflatables this year just to reign in on the budget. That said, there are so many larger inflatables I was truly dying to get and add to our yard decor. I really feel like the bigger the inflatable, the more fun! It was just a bummer that all the items I wanted were so pricey and aren’t sold at stores where being a member can get you a discount simply by showing your card (ahem, Costco!). Sorry to say it, hands down the best inflatables are at Home Depot. And many of them are on the pricey side!
That said – I think they’re worth it. Just like the Home Depot 12 foot skeleton, which is ALSO on my dream Halloween decor wishlist! The actual 12 foot skeleton is obviously sold out – so I can’t link it – but you can find other skeletons here.
My favorite Halloween inflatables this year.
Home Accents Holiday 4 ft. LED Crouching Black Cat with Bright Face Airblown Halloween Inflatable
We’ve got this spooky kitty cat sitting in our front yard. The local dogs hate him. I’ve named him Machiavelli.
Home Accents Holiday 5 ft. Pumpkin Head Reaper Airblown Halloween Inflatable
I couldn’t get my hands on any of the smaller Jack Skellington inflatables this year so opted for this Pumpkin Head Reaper guy instead. He does a solid job!
Disney 3.5 ft. Standing Jack Skellington Halloween Inflatable
6 ft. LED Jack Skellington with Tombstone Airblown Disney Halloween Inflatable
Gemmy 8 ft. Lightshow 2 Face Jack O’ Lantern with Micro Lights Airblown Halloween Inflatable
2.5 ft. Zero Airblown Disney Halloween Inflatable
4 ft. Hanging Oogie Boogie Airblown Disney Halloween Inflatable
9 ft. Oogie Boogie with Lock Shock and Barrel Scene Airblown Disney Halloween Inflatable
Are you adding Halloween inflatables to your yard this year? Drop your thoughts in the comments down below!