Have a very Minions Christmas to those who live on Wagoners Trail in the Kortright Hills area of Guelph.
Over 60 Minions are inflated on David and Arlene Robertson’s front lawn. They have so many Minions they are sprawling on their neighbours lawns too.
It all started when David Robertson received a Minions toque with a Despicable Me 2 DVD in 2013.
Robertson had seen two inflatable Minions at Canadian Tire and the collection has grown from there, he has over 100 and counting of Minions.
“I guess we had a field trip yesterday and everything. Thirty kids with two teachers came by,” said Robertson.
Not only are the Minions up for Christmas but Easter, Thanksgiving and Halloween too.
It takes Robertson three full days to put up the Christmas display. They never deflate and are on 24 hours per day. He said the electricity bill peaks this time of year and he added a second circuit to power the minions to avoid breaking a circuit.
The Minions even have their own radio station, turn on 88.1 and you will hear the Minions singing Christmas carols. One of the Robertson’s neighbours made a sign with the radio station number on it.
Five of the Robertson’s neighbours have gotten involved and have part of the Minions collections put up on their lawns too.
His neighbours think he and his wife are the Griswolds with their Christmas display, he said.
“I said if he was running out of space, and we ended up with Minions,” said Andy McCartney, one of the neighbours who joined in on the Minions’ display on his lawn.
“I mean, it was sort of a carry-on from Halloween,” said McCartney. “And then a week or two later, the Minions come up. The Halloween Minions go away. And Christmas comes out.”
“But in the last few years, yes, we've had more traffic. It's great,” said McCartney.
His grandchildren come by and take photos with the Minions too.
Robertson’s collection has slowed down in the last couple of years because he couldn’t cross the border to buy more Minions because of the pandemic.
He said there is a larger market in the U.S. for Minion inflatables and about 80 per cent of his collection is from there.
Border patrol gives him a strange look when he said they ask him if he has anything to declare and he said he went for a Minion run, said Robertson. They shake their head when he shows them a picture of the Minions on his lawn.
Robertson said he knows of another home in Guelph that has Minions put up for Halloween.
“With a corner lot you can work magic and they had every single inflatable for Halloween,” he said.
His neighbours ask him ahead of each holiday when the Minions are going up.
