Buying a Yard Inflatable Decoration: Tips & Advice

Let’s talk inflatable yard decorations!

We spoke with three industry veterans for their advice on how to buy an inflatable. We also purchased one of the inflatables in this article (the dragon that you see above), in order to do a hands-on review. Along the way, we learned some basic tips:

• Secure your inflatable to the ground using provided stakes. This is important since even the slightest breeze can blow an inflatable over to the next state. Another tip: stake your inflatable early if it is winter—it is harder to drive a stake into frozen ground later!

• Some new inflatable have lights and animated features. These tend to be more pricey, as you might imagine.

• If your inflatable gets a tear, consider using transparent duct tape for the repair. This tape is most effective for large tears. For smaller tears, you can use a sewing kit.

• Factor the snow in. Most folks use a timer to inflate their inflatable during the afternoon or evening hours. If there is light snow, most inflatable fans can power through this—heavier or wet snow may require some work on your part to get it fully inflated.

After spending several hours researching quality and features, here are the best inflatables on the market today. 

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!