The Brandermill House of the Bottoms family, which won last year's USA Today's voting poll for "best holiday lights," will not be putting up a Christmas lights display this year.
The Bottoms family's home, which is located at 14309 Long Hill Road in Brandermill, has gained a lot of visitors during the holidays for the past 19 years. People would flock in the neighborhood to take a glimpse of the themed Christmas displays.
According to Richmond Times, Hunter Bottoms mentioned in his email that his family has opted not to install displays this year. "We've enjoyed every smile we have made over the years, but think it's time to give ourselves and our community a break," Bottoms stated.
The said house is owned by Hunter's father. The son has been putting up the Christmas lights and displays since he was 16.
The family is putting the word out early this year. This is to save people from the hassle of driving for miles to get to Brandermill only to find out that there aren't any lights display.
The Brandermill holiday display garnered even more attention when they won a 2014 national contest sponsored by USA Today. It got the most votes and was proclaimed the best private lights display in the country.
Unfortunately, with the win came a few mishaps. Thousands of people drove to the quiet neighborhood to personally see the winning display. However, the coming of visitors affected the traffic flow in Brandermill. Eventually, the crowds and the traffic jams caused major inconvenience to those living in the area, so the Bottoms family decided to shut down their Christmas display early, said ABC News.
Although Bottoms' wife gave birth to their first child, he denied that this was the cause of their decision. Instead he said it was more of giving their neighborhood a break from all the ruckus caused by the installation of their famous Christmas display.
