The holidays are usually filled with fun surprises, like the secret Santas who go to stores to pay for customer’s layaway accounts. But in Chippewa Township, Pennsylvania, there’s a group of elves who are taking holiday cheer to new heights by leaving 18-foot inflatable light-up snowmen on yards around a neighborhood.
So far, around 60 of these Frostys are standing tall on people’s front lawns, and each one has been a surprise to the homeowners.
The neighborhood where they’ve been popping up, Highland Meadows, even has a Facebook page for the snowmen now:
The slow snowman invasion began around Thanksgiving after the apparent kidnapping of an inflatable turkey from the yard of neighborhood resident Cindy Turconi.
“I posted on Facebook, ‘Thank you for the snowman but who has my turkey?’” Turconi told Insider. “So then it did magically come back into my garage … I don’t know why we were one of the first ones but we love it.”
In the days and weeks following the arrival of Turconi’s snowman, other homes in the Highland Meadows neighborhood would wake up to discover their own Frosty on their front yard.
Donna Schaefer, who has also received one of the secret snowmen on her lawn, said as the number of snowmen in the neighborhood grows, so does the excitement of her neighbors.
“Everyone is going nuts,” Schaefer told TribLive. “With everyone isolated and sick, or having a hard time, what a nice time to bring cheer.”
But who is leaving these formidable Frostys on people’s front lawns? Surveillance has shown a group of teenagers dressed up in Buddy the Elf and reindeer costumes installing the snowmen.
One lucky snowman recipient actually caught a drop off on video and shared it on Highland Meadows Snowmen with the caption, “Elf SWAT caught in action!”
The secret snowman team has moved from covert operations overnight to placing the inflatables earlier, with Christmas music blasting from a van, so families can watch.
Kellie Coennen said as soon as her three children heard the music outside, all of them took off to watch the snowman come to life.
“They came running outside to see what was happening and they saw Frosty on the yard and they were so excited,” Coennen told Insider. “It’s made all of us neighbors closer … and just during a hard time, it brings joy to everyone.”
A few people who have spotted the group said they recognize a number of the teenagers, but the mastermind (and financier) behind the snowmen is still a mystery. Insider noted that the snowmen sell for $399 at Hammacher Schlemmer. However, inflatable Santas are starting to pop up in the neighborhood now. Did the secret Santa run out of snowmen?
Maybe the mystery is just the way it’s meant to be. It’s all about the wonder and magic of Christmas and sharing it with others.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
