Must-see holiday display: Mass. mom builds giant snowman with hundreds of empty milk, water jugs
“Jughead” the snowman, a Massachusetts mother’s holiday creation, is a must-see attraction for those who enjoy the magic of touring local Christmas lights displays.
Melissa Morgado, a mother of two who lives on Pierce Lane in Somerset, built the gigantic snowman using nearly 800 empty plastic milk and water jugs that were donated by the community.
Morgado told WJAR-TV that her 5-year-old son enjoys blow-up decorations versus Christmas lights. As she and her husband brainstormed ways to fill the yard, the idea of Jughead was born.
Last year, Morgado took to social media to share her idea and asked residents to save their empty jugs. She collected hundreds and started building the snowman, but a devastating storm hit, wiping out all her work.
“So much work went into him, and everyone had started to get so excited to see him done, I felt like a total failure. I put out an announcement that Jughead went down and the town clearly felt the same devastation that I did. Immediately people offered to fund another, bring more glue sticks, and even help rebuild... But I was just exhausted and cold and I had already broken three glue guns trying to get him finished in the freezing temps,” Morgado said in a Facebook post. “I reluctantly agreed that I would try again next year. I kept good on my promise, even though a rebuild still seemed so daunting, I’m not one to go back on my word. On Sept. 17 this year I put out another call for jugs. This time we put an old dog crate out so that people could help out by dropping them off too. The response was unreal. People would drop by, roll the window down, and toss a jug daily!”
Morgado said she spent about 100 hours assembling Jughead using glue and wire. The display stands about 11 feet tall and Morgado says she put lights in the middle so it would glow at night.
“He lights up from the inside at night! He is super sturdy now because of the base we built inside. He is held together with hot glue and rope, as well as wire spokes inside,” Morgado explained. “Everyone is so excited. The people in town have been amazingly supportive and now I get to see them all come take pictures with him and create their memories. It’s been such a beautiful time.”
Jughead is also decked out with a pipe made from a pool noodle and a carrot nose.
Morgado has since launched “Jughead’s Momma” shop on Printify, which offers shirts, pillows, mugs, wrapping paper, and more featuring Jughead’s face.
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