Seventh and Final Year for Popular Jersey Shore Christmas Miniature Village

Since 2012, one local family has been welcoming throngs of visitors to their home for a festive holiday tradition, to view an elaborate miniature village that they’ve created to celebrate a Jersey Shore Christmas. This month, they will be hosting the event for the seventh and final time, and area residents of all ages are invited to come join the celebration.

Jimmy and Michele Glynn of Red Bank explain that the public village display was inspired after Superstorm Sandy struck the Jersey shore in October 2012. Their sons James and Matthew were youngsters at the time, and decided to transform the family garage into an imaginative holiday world to inspire and bring the community together. That first year, they sent out invitation flyers to friends, family, and neighbors, and a crowd of 200 people turned out to enjoy Christmas music, hot chocolate, desserts, games, and the impressive display. They also collected donations for the charitable organization Middletown Helps Its Own. The event was such a great success, it has continued ever since, with funds raised in subsequent years for a charity near and dear to the family, the Wounded Warrior Project, which serves veterans and service members who have incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001, and their families.

Mr. and Mrs. Glynn recently shared, “We have been fortunate to meet many people from the area who all enjoy the holiday season. Last year, a Holmdel family of 14, with family traveling in from Florida, unloaded from their camper. It was certainly an incredible sight to see them, one by one, donning Santa Claus stocking caps and come out of the camper. They explained to us that part of their family tradition was to visit different Christmas lights displays throughout Monmouth County. We were thrilled that they made their family tradition a part of our own tradition.”  

Now in their seventh year, the family has been hard at work building this season’s Jersey Shore Miniature Christmas Village. They explained, “As in every year, we change it out and add new features to our enchanted village. We have planned different sections this year to include the amusement park on the pier, the boardwalk, the ferry harbor, little Italy section, uptown NYC, and Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights, also known as Dyker Lights, and the North Pole. However, as the boys, James and Matt, have gotten older, this will be our last year of our village ‘open garage’ display.”

This year’s Jersey Shore Christmas Village open house will be held on Saturday, December 16, 2018 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Glynn home, located at 28 Sugar Maple Drive, Red Bank, NJ. As in past years, they will serve hot chocolate and desserts and play continuous Christmas music. The boys have come up with new clues for the EyeSpy game they conduct for the children – and adults who find themselves as children once again. As always, there is no charge for the village, as the event is meant to spread holiday cheer, but they do have a token of appreciation box, with any donations going to the Wounded Warrior Project. All ages are invited to attend.

And once again, the Glynn family hopes to have a tremendous turnout from friends, neighbors, and visitors for their Jersey Shore Christmas Village finale – because, after all, it is the most wonderful time of the year!