The 2025 edition of Valentine’s Day is fast-approaching. I have regularly commemorated holidays and special occasions with photographs of inflatable holiday decorations in Brooklyn. See, for example, posts on inflatable Christmas, Thanksgiving, and even St. Patrick’s Day decorations. Despite having published numerous Valentine’s Day-flavored articles, I have yet to post inflatable Valentine’s Day decorations. That ends today.

There is one residence on Hicks Street in Carroll Gardens which regularly puts up inflatable holiday decorations. I have previously documented its Easter and Independence Day offerings. It is not a heavily-foot-trafficked area because this stretch of Hicks Street is bisected by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway – with one side being Carroll Gardens and the other Columbia Street Waterfront District. The residence is fairly close to the Summit Street Bridge, which I covered in detail. Today I present an inflatable Valentine’s Day bear couple.

Inflatable Valentine's Day decoration featuring a small brown bear with a black tophat on the left and a white bear with a pink bow on the right. They are smiling while holding a heart which says Happy Valentine's Day.

I like to think that my taking this photo at night makes it more romantic. The bears look like they are out on a date – a classy date if Mr. Bear’s top-hat is any indication. While this is a good-angled photo, it felt a little distant. I decided on the scene that I wanted one with the bears looking into the camera.

Inflatable Valentine's Day decoration featuring a small brown bear with a black tophat on the left and a white bear with a pink bow on the right. The brown bear is somewhat obscured by a black cast iron fence. They are smiling while holding a heart which says Happy Valentine's Day.

There we go. The photo has a little bit more fence than I would like, but it still works.

I had almost forgotten about my nighttime Valentine’s bears when I came across another inflatable Valentine’s Day bear in neighboring Cobble Hill. I found this bear in front of a brownstone on Henry Street in Cobble Hill, a block removed from the less scenic Hicks Street stretch.

Inflatable brown bear in a tophat holding a red heart which says BEAR HUGS! and wearing an inflatable black tophat seen on a white folding table in front of a brownstone. There is an Italian flag behind the bear and a U.S. flag right above.

This bear is propped up on a table. He also has a top-hat. I wonder why the inflatable Valentine’s bears all have top-hats. He rests on an Italian flag, which in turn is under the stars and stripes. I had a wider shot of the scene but it did not come out too well, but this one does get both flags in the picture.

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