#Decorations August 23
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August 2026 several of us are going to take on the 30-Day Plugged in Coach4aday Challenge. Each day, we will feature an item from home or office that requires being plugged into a source of electricity to operate. We will reflect on how it makes life easier. For Day 23 it is on outdoor Christmas DECORATIONS.
If you lived in Lumberton NC during Christmas holidays you knew there was a landmark at 2101 North Elm Street. Hector MacLean home always had a motorized Santa waving as you drove by. That Santa was an example of outdoor Christmas Decorations becoming more elaborate with electricity.
Day 23-Lighted Christmas Decorations Timeline
I’m not sure what drives some men to channel their inner Clark Griswold at Christmas, but we’ve all seen an American home that looks like it came straight out of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Outdoor Christmas decorations became electrified gradually. Electric Christmas lights arrived first, in the late 19th century, while illuminated or animated lawn figures such as Santa, Rudolph, and Frosty became especially popular in the mid-20th century.
The image below might be from the 1960’s
Timeline
- 1880s–1920s: Electric Christmas lights began appearing, first indoors and later on outdoor trees and public displays.
- 1950s: Postwar prosperity, suburban homes, and widespread electricity created a major boom in outdoor Christmas decorating. Lighted Santas and reindeer began appearing on American lawns.
- Late 1950s–early 1960s: Plastic blow-mold decorations became popular. These hollow plastic figures could be illuminated from inside with a light bulb. Santa, snowmen, reindeer, nativity scenes, and other characters became lawn staples.
- 1963–1966: One of the earliest large three-dimensional Santa-and-sleigh sets was being produced by Beco, and illuminated Santa figures were appearing in major Sears and JCPenney catalogs.
- Late 1960s: Decorations became even more elaborate, including illuminated and animated Santa displays.
- 1970s and beyond: The glowing plastic Santa, reindeer, Frosty-style snowman, and nativity scene became a familiar part of the American Christmas landscape.
Inflatable Decorations
Inflatable Christmas decorations are a relatively recent phenomenon. Gemmy introduced its Airblown Inflatable line in 2001, but the real surge came between 2003 and 2006, when inflatable Santas, snowmen, reindeer and other characters rapidly began taking over American front yards. By 2006, they had become one of the fastest-growing categories of Christmas decorations.
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