Buy Plastic Pink Flamingos Online: A Plastic Pink Flamingo Primer

Is your yard beautifully green but missing something pink? Plastic pink flamingos may be just the thing. Created in 1957 by Don Featherstone, these pink plastic birds have been popping up in yards and gardens ever since.

Did you know that plastic pink flamingoes were originally only in 2D? The Union Company made many 2D lawn ornaments, including ducks, dogs, and frogs. The company eventually wanted to take its lawn ornaments to the next level, and it hired Don Featherstone to make its duck ornament into a 3D figure. He was successful, and his next design was the plastic pink flamingo you see in yards today! The plastic pink flamingo was a big hit in the 1950s, which was a time when people loved bright colors and kitsch.

Plastic pink flamingos always come in pairs, one standing watch and one bending down to feed. “Authentic” plastic pink flamingos will have Don Featherstone’s signature under their tail, as well! You can also get Halloween plastic flamingos that look like skeletons, “reindeer” plastic flamingos for Christmas, turkey flamingos for Thanksgiving, and pastel Easter flamingos! If you’re a plastic flamingo fanatic, there’s a flamingo for you for almost every holiday—and if you’re a sports lover, you can even get sports flamingos handpainted in the colors of your favorite team. (See www.plastic-flamingos.com to be blown away by the vast variety of flamingos.)

After the 1950s, tastes changed, and people lost interest in plastic pink flamingos until a renaissance for bird in the 1980s. Now, flocks of plastic pink flamingos are used in “lawn greetings” and as fundraisers for cancer research.

In the lawn greeting industry, plastic pink flamingos (among other animals) are placed at night in a person’s yard, along with a sign celebrating their birthday, anniversary, or another achievement. For instance, a congratulations lawn greeting with pink plastic flamingos might say, “I’m tickled pink that you graduated! Congratulations!”

Plastic pink flamingos are also placed in flocks in people’s yards to raise money for cancer or other worthy causes. After their yard has been “flocked” while they are sleeping, the person will then pay a small amount to “flock” someone else’s yard, and so on.

Plastic pink flamingos are kitschy but fun, and they make a great gag housewarming gift as well as good decorations if you’re throwing a 1950s-themed bash. Sometimes they even become part of the family—those who live the RV lifestyle often take their pink flamingos with them from place to place, setting them out proudly in their “yard” everywhere they go.

You can buy plastic pink flamingos online or at stores like Home Depot, Lowes, or Menard’s. If you live in a place with a lot of sun, your flamingos may tend to fade over time and will have to be replaced. You may also wish to put your flamingos in a garage or safe place if heavy storms are coming--they're relatively lightweight and may blow over or away.

Sources: Rick Blaine, “History of the Plastic Pink Flamingo,” http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2157127/history_of_the_plastic_pink_flamingo_pg2.html?cat=30

Useless Information, “Pink Flamingos,” http://www.uselessinformation.org/pink_flamingo/index.html