The best way to spread Christmas cheer is ... a giant gingerbread man?

EAGLE MOUNTAIN — What started as just a silly idea in a group chat has become a movement connecting an entire community. And at the heart of it all are 20-foot tall blow-up gingerbread men.

More than 50 inflatable gingerbread men grace the lawns of Lakeview Estates and Westview Heights in Eagle Mountain. Several of the houses, and subsequent giant gingerbread men, are visible from Cory Wride Memorial Highway.

"It transcends our neighborhood. The community at large is really able to piggyback off this camaraderie and this neighborly, community feeling," Eagle Mountain resident Chris Gillis said.

Gillis and Merritt Reed were the main proponents behind the matching Christmas decor. Gillis got the idea from his friend who lived across the street from a Lehi neighborhood that all got blow-up Santas last year. The friend decided to make his neighborhood festive too by doing gingerbread men this year, and Gillis thought his neighborhood would be interested, too.

At first, the plan for the Eagle Mountain neighbors was just between Gillis, Reed and a few others. "Immediately, we jumped on it just because of the type of group we are, and we thought it would be obnoxious and funny and festive," Reed said.

The friends posted on a neighborhood Facebook page about the inflatables in case anyone else wanted to join, and soon after, the trend caught on like wildlfire. Neighbors would post updates on when their inflatable would arrive, and just last week, a public service announcement was sent out, warning everyone to keep their "gingerbread boys" safe by deflating them temporarily during some high wind and rain.

"There's definitely FOMO that happens now when you have a 20-foot gingerbread boy across the street," Reed said.

Reed said it has been so fun seeing how the idea has "snowballed" in the neighborhood and even found traction on social media. The gingerbread men became a way to "unify everybody," no matter their background, religion or prior relationships, he added.

He said someone recently posted on their neighborhood Facebook group, "I think this is silly, but I see these gingerbreads and just am feeling connected to everybody, which warms my heart."

While inflatable lawn decorations aren't for everyone, when everyone in the neighborhood has their own 20-foot tall one, "there's something magical about it," Gillis said.

Now, whenever someone comes home and enters the neighborhood, they are immediately surrounded by the gingerbread boys, giving off a sense that the neighbors are connected and care for each other, he said.

"You can't always choose your neighbors so when you start realizing your neighbors got your back over something so silly, it's just super inspiring in the most random, weird way," Gillis said.

Reed and Gillis even jokingly forced the Christmas spirit onto one neighbor who didn't want to join by sneakily installing an inflatable in his yard in the middle of the night.

"People are definitely feeling united as far as a sense of community, which has been really fun," Reed said.

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