NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – A Neptune Beach man stepped up his holiday decorating game by honoring a holiday movie classic: “A Christmas Story.”
“You’re looking at an exact scale replica of the leg lamp from ‘A Christmas Story.’ It is 420% bigger than the one that appears in the movie, so it’s 20 feet tall,” J.P. Michalik said.
The design includes a pink bunny-suit wearing Ralphie hugging the leg.
Michalik said he used golf netting and a half-mile of 14-inch fringe to help give the lamp its memorable look.
“Everyone’s decorating their houses, and I thought it’d be fun to have a neighborhood competition, who could have the best Christmas decorations,” Michalik said. “I was tossing and turning one night and then I had this epiphany.”
No word on whether he shot his eye out while building the replica -- or on how “fra-GEE-leh” the giant lamp is.
“People come by and sometimes their kids haven’t seen the movie and they’re like, ‘Oh no, we gotta go home, and we’re going to force you to watch this movie,‘” Michalik said. “A 40-year-old movie with no CGI and people are still quoting it 40 years later.”
The major award is located at the corner of Second St. and Magnolia St. in Neptune Beach.