Holiday Blow Molds

On the vintage market, Halloween blow molds remain more valuable in general than Christmas themes, since there were far fewer Halloween characters produced than were sold for the Christmas Holiday Season.

Holiday Blow Mold Timeline

1881
  • The Celluloid Novelty Company of New York receives the first United States patent for extruding a polymer into a parison, establishing the technical foundation for the blow molding process.
1936
  • Rubber Display, Inc. founded in Port Washington, Wisconsin to produce large commercial and holiday advertising displays from hard molded rubber and latex.
1937
  • Enoch Fergren and William Kopitke develop the blow mold machine from a process for blowing glass Christmas ornaments.
1938
  • The Hartford-Empire Company acquires the license and machine.
1939
  • The Hartford-Empire Company begins mass-producing blow-molded plastic bottles.
1946
  • Bayshore Industries is founded in Elkton, Maryland, manufacturing rubber balloons, toys, and rubber Halloween masks.
1952
  • Rubber Display, Inc. becomes Mold-Craft (also known as Heller Industries) and begins producing blow-molded characters.
1953
  • Carolina Enterprises launches Empire Plastics (also known as Empire Plastics Corporation, Empire-Carolina Enterprises Inc., Empire Industries, and Empire of Carolina) alongside its Judith Novelty Sales division.
1957
  • Don Featherstone designs a plastic pink flamingo for Union Products, establishing the market for non-illuminated 3D plastic lawn characters.
  • Cado Company is formed in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to create industrial parts.
  • General Foam Plastics Corporation (GFP) is founded in Portsmouth, Virginia
Early 1960s
  • NOMA International begins manufacturing blow molds in Glenview, Illinois, focusing on illuminated Christmas figures.
  • A.J. Renzi Plastics begins manufacturing blow molds and plastic novelties in Leominster, Massachusetts.
1961
  • Bayshore Industries moves operations to Amsterdam, New York, and becomes a subsidiary of Miner Industries, shifting production to plastics.
1962
  • Beco of Chicago, Illinois introduces blow-molded Christmas characters, including illuminated Santas and snowmen.
  • The first blow mold product pictures are published in the Sears Christmas catalog.
1963
  • Poloron of New Rochelle, New York begins manufacturing blow mold characters.
  • Dapol Co. of Worcester, Massachusetts begins manufacturing blow molds.
  • Catalogs feature blow mold Christmas themes including nativities, Santas, and carolers.
  • General Foam Plastics relocates to Norfolk, Virginia, and produces a variety of spherical blow mold Jack-O’-Lantern candy pails in colors like orange, green, pink, and teal. Models included Little Jack, Jack O' Pail, and Big Jack, ranging in sizes of about 5.5 inches to 12 inches diameter.
Mid-1960s
  • Empire Plastics establishes blow mold manufacturing operations in Tarboro, North Carolina, introducing Halloween and Christmas lawn decorations.
  • Bayshore Industries debuts hollow, blow-molded plastic seasonal items, including a 17-inch “Haunted House Lamp” in orange and green colorways, unlighted candy pails, and holiday string lights.
1965
  • Beco sells its operations to MSL Industries acquires Beco but continues to use the Beco brand name.
1966
  • Mold-Craft/Heller Industries closes after a fire.
1967
  • Union Products (UP) of Leominster, Massachusetts begins manufacturing blow mold products.
  • Don Featherstone expands their seasonal catalog into illuminated Halloween and Christmas characters.
July 1968
  • Beco is rebranded as MSL Plastics and operations move to Franklin Park, Illinois.
Late 1960s
  • Bayshore and Empire Plastics increase Halloween character production, manufacturing standalone illuminated jack-o’-lanterns, ghosts, witches, and skeletons.
1970
  • General Foam Plastics acquires MSL Plastics’ entire lineup of molds, tooling, and inventory.
1973
  • Drainage Industries begins manufacturing blow molds in Appleton, Wisconsin, offering lines of non-holiday lawn items and seasonal figures.
1977
  • General Foam Plastics acquires Dapol Co. molds.
  • Bayshore Industries ceases all manufacturing operations.
June 1979
  • Poloron ceases blow mold production to transition its manufacturing infrastructure to modular housing construction.
1981
  • Sun Hill begins manufacturing blow molds in Hong Kong and Sanford, Connecticut, introducing Easter bunnies and Halloween pumpkin characters.
1982
  • Empire Plastics purchases Poloron’s medium-sized nativity mold set following the company’s asset liquidation.
1985
  • Bayshore Industries novelty molds are sold off to competing holiday manufacturers.
1987
  • Tucker Plastics Inc. (TPI) begins manufacturing blow molds in Coaticook, Quebec, Canada.
  • Santa’s Best begins manufacturing blow molds in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and Mexico, introducing licensed pop-culture and cartoon characters, including Disney and Peanuts lines.
1988
  • Holiday Innovations of Edison, New York acquires the remaining Poloron mold inventory.
1992
  • Empire Plastics acquires Holiday Innovations’ assets, including Poloron molds, after its closure in 1991 following quality issues.
1997
  • Grand Venture begins manufacturing blow molds in Washington, Pennsylvania, entering the market with Christmas and Halloween figures.
1999
  • Sun Hill ceases blow mold manufacturing.
2000
  • General Foam Plastics acquires Empire Plastics’ molds, including past acquisitions from Beco, Poloron, and Santa’s Best.
2003
  • General Foam Plastics acquires remaining Santa’s Best assets.
2004
  • Farley International Technologies Inc. acquires TPI.
2005
  • Prime Plastics acquires Grand Venture.
  • Farley International Technologies Inc. files for bankruptcy without producing any TPI characters.
  • Air-blown fabric holiday inflatables capture a larger market share of retail shelf space, displacing hard plastic figures.
2006
  • Union Products closes.
2007
  • Faster-Form Corp. (Faster Forms) acquires Union Products assets but never enters production due to a market shift toward fabric holiday inflatables.
2008
  • Nu-Del Manufacturing Company, Inc. (Nu-Dell Plastics) acquires Farley International Technologies’ TPI molds.
2010

    Cado Company (now Cado Company DBA Union Products) acquires Union Products from Faster-Form.

2012
  • Union Products begins manufacturing select holiday characters.
  • Drainage Industries ends its manufacturing run in Appleton, Wisconsin.
2015
  • Union Products begins manufacturing former TPI characters, including Snowman with Penguin and the NOEL Candle, possibly acquired from Nu-Del Manufacturing Company.
2017
  • General Foam Plastics closes its manufacturing facilities in Norfolk, Virginia and Tarboro, North Carolina, ending domestic production of its inherited catalog.
2018
  • Union Products acquires select historic molds from the General Foam Plastics liquidation auction, including the Nativity set, Wise Men, Mrs. Claus, Dancing Santa, and Toy Soldier.
2020s
  • Manufacturing companies including Gemmy Industries, Pan Asian Creations, and Mr. Christmas begin production on new molds and licensed reproductions.
  • Retailers establish major seasonal partnerships to distribute these new lines, with products sold through Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, Target, Cracker Barrel, Michaels, and Spirit Halloween.