NJ family wins national Christmas lights contest, $50,000

If my town held a contest for best Christmas decorations my house would never win. Heck I couldn’t even come close on just my street. So imagine winning a national contest for best Christmas house.

The Martel family of Hamilton, NJ doesn’t have to. The already know what it feels like and have a $50,000 check to prove it. The Great Christmas Light Fight aired on ABC Wednesday night and what’s known as ‘Martel’s Christmas Wonderland’ took the trophy.

If you watched that video and you’re thinking hey, they’re not practicing COVID protocols, you’re right. This was filmed in 2019 before the pandemic hit.

They’ve been at this for 35 years. Their home display, open to all, includes a magical walk through and even a miniature Ferris wheel.

Son Tim Martel told NJ.com, “We do it because we love to do it. There’s too many people that look forward to this. That’s why we do it.”

The family has a Facebook page dedicated to ‘Martel’s Christmas Wonderland’ with info if you’d like to pay a visit. Oh, and back to that business about the episode being filmed before the pandemic? Now that the virus is here, it isn’t stopping the display or the spirit of this Mercer County family. You just have to social distance and mask up. The positivity the Martels have about keeping the display going even in this dumpster fire year of 2020 is inspiring. They just truly believe in making people happy.

Check them out talking about this in the NJ.com video below.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.