These Neighbors Are Engaged In the Most Wholesome Feud Over Inflatable Lawn Turkeys

Did you know that Thanksgiving decorations were a thing? Not that pop-up cornucopia that your mom has used as a centerpiece since you were a kid, and not the pile of Stovetop boxes that you carefully arrange at the the bottom of the trash bag, but real Thanksgiving-themed yard decorations? Amazon and Walmart both sell six-foot-tall inflatable turkeys, complete with autumnal tailfeathers and top hats; the Home Depot stocks an eight-foot wide ‘Turkey Family Scene’; and two families in Omaha, Nebraska seem to have purchased all of them.

Two years ago, Dan Vacha decided to put something in his yard between Halloween and Christmas, and that something turned out to be a giant inflatable turkey. His next door neighbors, the Friskopps, decided that they’d put three giant turkeys of their own outside. “My husband sent a friendly text and said, 'We won!'" Amanda Friskopp told WOWT. "The next year, they started out with more.”

So yeah, last year, both families added a few more turkeys to their front lawns—weird flex, but OK—and this year, their competition has gone absolutely bonkers. The Friskopps now have a full dozen inflatable turkeys in front of their house, on the roof, and in the trees. In an attempt to out-holiday the Friskopps, Vacha is ready with “two [turkeys] on standby” to attach to electrical cords and shove out onto his own grass. And everyone else in their neighborhood is probably wondering whether it’s worth a potential misdemeanor to stab two dozen turkeys in their bloated nylon abdomens.

“Oh, they think we're totally nuts,” Vacha told KMTV. “They really do, they think we're totally nuts. But they know me, I've always gone all out for Christmas and I've always liked doing decorations in the yard so this just takes off.” (Actually it doesn’t take off, Dan—a dozen oversized domestic turkeys and not a single one can fly?)

The Friskopps’ eight-year-old son hopes that his family will win… we’re not sure what, exactly, and he’s encouraging his folks to keep buying “two more [turkeys]” until they either have the most or they’ve unwittingly barricaded themselves into their own home.

As for everyone else on their street, at least there’s just another day-and-a-half until Thanksgiving is over. On the other hand, guess you’d better start bracing yourselves for Christmas.