Installing holiday-themed inflatable characters have been a thing for a while now. The folks who live around Lake Martha have upped their game each Christmas season and dedicate each block to a specific character, such as polar bears, Santas and gingerbread figures.
This year, nearly 90 residents in the Loch Ness neighborhood got into the act by putting up giant dinosaurs that resemble Nessie, the mythological monster in the Loch Ness [lake] in Scotland.
In the community that is across Northwest 67th Avenue from the Windmill Gate Shopping Center, the smiling faces of green Brontosauruses wearing Christmas accessories greet passersby from front yards and swales and can be found hiding in bushes and standing between trees. Loch Ness HOA member Ibis Mendoza came up with the idea, and with HOA President Manny Ribadeo and neighbors sent out emails and flyers about the project to bring the dinosaurs to life in their community.
“Last year we had other associations that were doing the inflatables, and I was like, ‘Why aren’t we a part of this fun stuff?’” Mendoza said. Even their celebrity neighbor, a disco funk hitmaker, is participating in the neighborhood’s new tradition.
"I had also read in [The Miami] Laker that this isn’t just a Miami Lakes thing, this is a nationwide thing,” Mendoza said. The organizers circulated an Amazon link to buy the inflatables and soon, monsters began popping up. On Dec. 6, Loch Ness resident Rafael Schuck wrote in an email that 88 houses had dinosaurs in their yards, which is 61% of the 144 homes in Loch Ness, according to the certified public accountant.
“The fun thing is that a couple [of dinosaurs] are not the same and I kind of like that too, it shows a little diversity for our street,” Mendoza said. “We have a blue dinosaur … I thought it was adorable.”
Old acquaintances were not forgotten: Santa Claus rides a dragon in one yard; “Star Wars” characters appear in another and there are fun animals and cartoon characters, too.
“We live such busy lives, we’re in and out … this is the first time I see such cohesiveness,” Mendoza said. “I hope [it comes back next year]. It gives me hope to do more things.”