Dj Home Depot Price Target Cut To $405.00/Share From $420.00 By Oppenheimer

By Jennifer Williams

Landon Richard knew something wasn't right back in September.

The 30-year-old in Louisiana is among the real-life Clark Griswolds who begins planning for Christmas early in the year. It starts in March, when Home Depot insiders gather in Las Vegas in part to scope out the retailer's supersize holiday decorations. Enthusiasts count the days to the annual event and wait for photos and videos to leak online.

This year, three items made Richard's wish list: an 8 1/2 -foot tall reindeer, a Santa almost as big and a red-and-gold sleigh large enough to hold Saint Nick.

"When I saw the picture with the Santa and the sleigh, I thought, 'Oh yeah. This year I want to get both,'" he said.

But as August turned to September and the giants didn't materialize on Home Depot's website, panic started to set in.

Then rumors circulated confirming decorators' worst fears: The giants wouldn't be available in the U.S. this year.

The revelation fueled theories about why the massive lawn ornaments are sitting out this Christmas. Was it tariffs? Are they gone forever? It also spawned a gray market of Santas, reindeer and 7-foot candy canes — some marked up more than seven times the original price.

"Willing to trade a brand new 9 ft. Giant-Sized LED Santa's Sleigh with Reindeers for 8ft. Santa, located in St. Louis, MO.," one Facebook poster wrote. Willing to drive three hours, they added.

As time runs out, some are preparing to make compromises: When a Facebook user in late November sought help finding a Santa in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, someone alerted them to a place asking $250 for a Santa missing a leg and the base. The seller, a liquidator in Connecticut, said they'd go as low as $200. Amputee Santa hasn't sold.

Derek Weeks started his search about six months ago, still smarting from last Christmas when he couldn't secure a reindeer to go with his Santa. But when the 44-year-old photographer heard it wouldn't be released this year, he kicked his pursuit into overdrive.

He began desperately posting on social media in search of a reindeer and enlisted friends to help. One pointed to a listing around five hours from his Enterprise, Ala., home.

"I thought about it for a few minutes and realized it may be the only chance I had," he said. Weeks messaged the seller and put down a deposit to hold the giant until he could make the trip. At $300, it was a steal compared with some he's seen sell for over $1,000.

Home Depot's Halloween and Christmas decorations have something of a cult following. This is especially true for the oversize ones, which holiday decorators say are superior in quality and creativity. On Facebook groups, fans track leaks from the company's showcase and share tips on how to score the hard-to-get ones.

Amy Reed spotted the reindeer in March and had to have it. The photographer in Paintsville, Ky., immediately envisioned the perfect scene for her holiday photo sessions: There would be buckets and scarves along with the critical feature, the big antlered creature.

She started scouring Facebook for intel around July. Weeks later she was monitoring Home Depot's website for the drop. When news trickled out that the reindeer and its big friends weren't coming, Reed, 37, regretted the choices made by her year-ago self who passed on the 8 1/2 -footer.

"If I would have known, I definitely would have invested in it," she said.

After combing through resale options and finding some nearing $700 with shipping, she settled for a smaller substitute, which she secured for around $200 after driving around four hours round-trip.

"It's definitely not as grand as the giants," she said with a sigh.

Home Depot says items seen in leaked photos and videos from Las Vegas aren't always sold in the U.S. Some are in development or planned for other countries, said Aubrey Horowitz, the retailer's U.S. holiday decor merchant. That explanation hasn't stopped fans from speculating tariffs are to blame.

Home Depot executives have said over half of the items it purchases to sell come from within the U.S. Some of the biggest holiday decorations, such as the popular 12-foot-tall skeleton called "Skelly" and the Santa and reindeer, are manufactured by Seasonal Visions International, which imports many of its products from China. This year, SVI alerted customers that tariffs had prompted some policy changes, including shutting down phone and email support.

Levies "would not be the sole reason as to why we would change our assortment and strategy," said Horowitz. "The number one focus from my perspective is, we have to offer the best value and the best quality products."

This year's lineup includes more trees and characters like Mickey, Minnie, newcomer Goofy and some of the gang from Star Wars.

Dante Holmes and Cynthia Hamilton easily spend five figures on December decor from Home Depot. They had plans to add three or four reindeer and another Santa to their 3-acre spread.

"The giants are key," said Hamilton, a 54-year-old property manager in Richland, Wash. "You put out a wreath and you're like, well that's a dud."

They aren't willing to pay resale prices, so the pair are resigned to fewer giants. So too is Richard, whose only big purchase was a Santa in a sleigh with reindeer standing less than 4 feet tall.

"It's a lot smaller," Richard said, "which is a little sad."

Write to Jennifer Williams at jennifer.williams@wsj.com