Halloween Blows Up in Plymouth Neighborhood
A Plymouth family is keeping their neighborhood interesting this Halloween. With more than 70 inflatables on display, its unlike anything else in the area.
‘Disorganized Chaos’
In the daylight hours, a walk in the quiet cul-de-sac may bring up some questions. They’re questions homeowner Nate is happy to answer — after some steps.
Plug in the outlet, and the plastic piles covering his lawn come to life. They’re vibrant– characters of all shapes, colors and sizes.
“I wouldn’t even call it organized chaos. It’s just disorganized chaos,” said Nate, who did not want his last name published. “This started as like six of them nine or 10 years ago, and we thought it was really funny.”
Since the collection started, it’s grown massively. And every night of Halloween season, Nate and the inflatables rise to the occasion. Though if the wind is higher than 15 mph, he keeps them down.
“I want to say we have something like 70-something up right now. I don’t count them because I don’t want to feel like I have to outdo myself every year, as far as number-wise,” Nate said.
The 70-something inflatables range from spooky Halloween classics to the inflatable tube man. Some have been there for years, others purchased on clearance at the end of the season last year. Nate said he has even more packed away in the garage, and his neighbors often try to guess what’s new each year.
“It is really just a Halloween tantrum. It’s just Halloween barfing everywhere,” he said. “Just the things that we think are fun and cool just jammed together in ways that aren’t necessarily cohesive and sensible, but they’re fun.”
A sampling of Nate’s big Halloween yard display. Many of the characters switch around each year.
Collaboration in Action
His kids are in on it, with one part of the lawn curated by his daughter. The kids also insist some classic members of the collection, including the Frankenstein’s monsters that they’ve all named variations of the name “Ned.”
As for the neighborhood, some of the inflatables have happily expanded into the neighbors’ lawns. All kinds of people pull up to check out the displays, sometimes hundreds a season. They often have questions:
“How did you do this? Why did you do this? What’s wrong with you?” Nate said, recalling what people ask him, wide-eyed at the size of the display.
Nate has no plans of slowing down or going smaller. Some of the latest additions are a 20-foot Frankenstein’s Monster and 15-foot pumpkin. He’s happy to do it for years to come– because his favorite part is making people happy.
“It’s the smiles on my kids, the smiles on my neighbors, the smiles on the people who visit,” Nate said.
The latest, and largest, additions to Nate’s Halloween display.
Anyone is welcome to view the display, not far from 494 and Bass Lake Road. You can get Nate’s address by joining the Facebook group “Minnesota Home Haunts and Halloween Fans” and searching for Nate in Plymouth. It’s listed as the “Halloween Tantrum 2024” on the group’s Minnesota Haunt Map.
Nate asked that we not use his last name for privacy purposes.
