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Friday, March 29, 2024

Supply Chain Shortages Are Dimming Christmas Displays - The New York Times

Last updated Wednesday, December 22, 2021 03:00 ET

The plump penguins with winter scarves were aglow, as was virtually the entire exterior of Leonard Mosley’s house in Del City, Okla. He had accumulated enough lights over 15 years of holiday decorating to spell “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Birthday Jesus” in cursive across his roof and a fence.
Santas, snowmen, candy canes — he had it all, including a first-place title in his city’s 2020 Christmas decorating contest to defend. He estimates that he has invested more than $3,000 in his setup, and yet it wasn’t enough.
“I’m out here hunting for lights,” said Mr. Mosley, 59, as he searched the aisles of a Walmart this month for blue bulbs, taking time off from his job running a barbecue restaurant.
He left empty-handed, joining many holiday home decorators who are struggling to find supplies amid the global supply chain crisis, a lingering disruption that has not spared those who obsessively turn their homes into illuminated wonderlands each December.
This month, retail experts said, evidence of the supply chain upheaval could be seen in the picked-over decoration aisles in stores, and on websites warning customers of the limited inventory for certain holiday staples. Items in short supply include inflatable Santas on motorcycles, red and green twinkling lights, and the computer chips that make neighborhood displays flicker to the beat of holiday songs.
And so Mr. Mosley and other extreme holiday decorators are struggling to enhance their light shows this season. The shortage...



Read Full Story: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/22/business/christmas-decorations-supply-chain.html

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