Here's a pair I found alongside the road today. The first time I passed them, they were laying in the ditch next to some trash cans. All I could tell was that they were blow molds of some kind. We were late for something, so I made a note to look for them on the way back. It wasn't until I stopped on the way back that I realized that they were Santa and Mrs. Santa from two entirely different manufacturers. No markings on her, he is marked "Empire, Tarboro NC."

Both have the #2 HDPE recycling sign, and she still has the UPC code on her back, which set the earliest dates they could have been made.

His dimensions are more caricaturish than hers. Anyone want to chime in?

Nice find Paul, never seen either before, crazy what people decide to toss but a great gain for you. Looks like Mrs. Claus has been on vacation, she has a nice tan. Do you know roughly when companies started using the recycling symbol on blow molds?

The recycling symbols with the little arrows in a triangle and number like 1 for PETE, 2 for HDPE, etc. STARTED in 1988, but it's probably safe to assume that some manufacturers were slow to get on board. That's what I meant about the earliest possible dates for these guys. Of course the molds could be much older.

Mrs. Claus is definitely made by "General Foam." She's still available, at least the lighter-skinned version is.

Found a good home for Mrs. Claus. Santa is so kitchey, I'm tempted to keep him and set him out next year.

You should keep him..........

Here's our Santa lit up near a grapevine tree that we also rescued (the lights are new, though).

Hooray for Recycling!