Decorations at Holly Hill’s Twi-Light II Motel continue as Christmas tradition

HOLLY HILL — Families laughed and smiled, first-time visitors stood in awe, and drivers looked on fascinated as the Twi-Light II Motel’s Christmas decorations shined bright on Ridgewood Avenue Wednesday night.

A visit to the iconic spot in Holly Hill has become a tradition for many locals. The approximately 300 decorations — which include nativity scenes, Christmas lights, a Ferris wheel, blow-ups of The Grinch, dinosaurs, snowmen, nutcrackers, movie characters and, of course, Santa Claus — have been up since after Thanksgiving Day.

“There is nowhere else that does decorations like this,” said Ashley Cox, a local resident who has visited the motel three times this year with her family. “I think no matter what your age is, you’ll enjoy coming and seeing all this. It makes you pretty excited for Christmas.”

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The motel has been decorating since 1980. The owners, the Johnson family, are originally from Virginia. Tammy Johnson said that because of the warmer weather, the Christmas “feel” in Florida is not the same as in other states — although this year’s exceptionally cold Christmas weekend might make up for that.

The decorations, she said, are meant to bring that feeling to visitors.

“They bring Christmas joy to other people,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t normally feel that much like Christmas here in Florida. And I just like to see everybody happy.”

She said visitors from other countries, such as Sweden, England and Germany, have also paid the motel a visit this year. But most are locals who have made the visit a longtime Christmas tradition.

“They say they enjoy the decorations with their family,” Johnson said. “It’s something kids love, something (families) can all do together.”

While she mentioned that the visit to the motel is free, donations are appreciated. There is an optional donation box for those wandering around the property and those driving through.

“It just gives them pleasure to be able to come back and do it,” Johnson said. “I hear so many people saying, ‘Thank you, this has been such a tradition for us for so many years.’ And then you see people that come here now with their own kids that used to come as a kid. It’s cool.”

‘It makes it look really magical at night’

Johnson said there are no fewer decorations than in years past, despite the fact that Tropical Storms Ian and Nicole blew away some roof lights and damaged a few decorations.

The proof that this year is in no way a disappointment was in Susan Bloom’s eyes. A first-time visitor, she moved from South Florida and was amazed to see the decorations, enthusiastically taking photos with her phone and chatting with her friend, Sandy Reid.

“It’s amazing, it’s beautiful, it’s a lot of hard work,” Bloom said. “Last year I knew this was here, but I never had a chance to come down at night to see what it was all about. This is just incredible — I don’t know where to look first.”

Bloom said she misses seeing big displays like this in Florida communities and not just in malls and parks.

“This is just crazy,” she said.

“They have all the traditional Christmas themes,” Reid said. “But also new themes. I didn’t know we had Christmas dinosaurs or winged dragons.”

Reid said the decorations play on people’s “love for toys and fantasy in childhood.”

“It makes it look really magical at night, and that’s what I like about it,” Reid said. “It’s like a night of lights.”

A popular feature with children is the traditional train ride, which takes kids and their parents around the motel on the same path as those driving.

“It’s consistently beautiful, it’s always well done,” said local Ginger Mason as she reminded her child to keep their feet inside the train as it toured the grounds. “It’s just good for kids. You get out and walk; you don’t have to drive through, which is nice. It’s beautiful, and it’s just down the street. We love it.”

For Johnson, it’s the moments seeing kids interact with the decorations that stick in her memory and make creating the event year after year worth it.

“When little kids go up and hug the little blow-ups, I think it’s so adorable,” Johnson said. “Just seeing them be happy.”

Visitors can drop by the motel from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday until Jan. 2. The Twi-Light II Motel is located at 1125 Ridgewood Ave. in Holly Hill. For information, call 386-253-0672.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Twi-Light II Motel's Christmas decorations amaze visitors once again