BRANDON, Fla. — A Hillsborough County family is taking their love of Christmas lights and the Tampa Bay Lightning to a whole new level.
The McKernan family lights their entire front yard in icy Bolts blue.
“That would be my husband’s idea,” Tammy McKernan said. “He’s kind of a go-big-or-go-home kind of guy. This has been his brainchild from the beginning.”
It’s no secret that Tammy and her family are huge Lightning fans.
“I remember going to games when they were giving tickets away just to fill the stadium,” Tammy said.
Now, the family fills the front yard with life-sized festive figures dedicated to the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.
“When we put it up every year we get people that drive by and say ‘Go Bolts,’” Ron McKernan said.
They’ve been putting out the Lightning display since 2018. But it all started with their life-sized nativity scene on the other half of their year. The family owns a sign and printing company and makes all the cutouts — even the three Stanley Cups, including the one that stands 16 feet tall.
“We have a total of three, hoping to get the fourth one and make the display bigger for next year,” Ron said.
“It definitely gets a lot of attention because you can see it from the main road,” Tammy added. “It draws people in.
And, people keep coming with new additions added to the display each year.
“Yeah, we had to have Party Kuch this year,” Tammy said. “It wouldn’t have been a display without it.”
If you’d like to drive by the Lightning display, you can find all of the information at LightningChristmas.com.
