For over a decade, a family on Lady’s Island in South Carolina has been spreading the magic of the holiday season with their enchanting Christmas light display. Known affectionately as the Cadds, this family has transformed their home into a winter wonderland, complete with more than 100,000 twinkling lights, intricate wooden displays, festive decorations, and even machines that create a snowy atmosphere.

Each year, hundreds of locals and visitors gather to experience this spectacular display, a cherished tradition that brings joy to all who see it. The Cadds’ display has become a community highlight, drawing people of all ages to bask in the festive glow. “You hear the kids screaming and jumping up and down, shouting ‘Oh my God! Look, Santa Claus!’ It just brings you back to younger years and makes you feel like a kid again,” shared David Cadd, capturing the essence of the joyful occasion.

While the Cadd family generously opens their festive home to the public, they kindly request that visitors respect their property and the carefully crafted decorations. Above all, their hope is for everyone to embrace and share in the true spirit of Christmas, making memories that will last a lifetime.

“You hear the kids screaming and jumping up and down and like, “Oh, my God! Look, Santa Claus!” and all that stuff. It just brings you back to younger years and just makes you feel like a kid again,” said David Cadd.

If there is one thing the Cadd family does ask for, it is to respect their property and the decorations but ultimately they want everyone to find and feel the true spirit of Christmas.

David said that’s what he and his wife were looking for when first coming to Lady’s Island years ago.

“My wife and I came here in 2005. We never saw this,” he said pointing to the array of lights. “When we were young, we used to drive around and see places like this and we’re just like, ‘You know what? We want to do that.’ We want to be those people that do that.”

Now, after 21 years, thousands of dollars and time invested, community members can soak in the lights and several unique wooden displays, which are hand crafted by none other than the Cadds themselves.

The Cadds start prepping early. “We start our new cut-outs, all the wooden stuff that we’re going to do, the new designs…we start those usually in June and July,” said David.

David said it takes them a few months to get all the new wooden decorations carved and painted. David carves and his wife paints.

“My son helped some this year before he moved over to Texas and he painted one object and he goes, “Oh my God, this is so hard. I can’t do this anymore.” My wife is laughing and she goes, “Yeah, I do it all the time,” David said. “We painted like 20 new things this year.”

He said after finishing up the wooden cutouts, it’s about an 8-week process to get all the decorations laid out and set up.

The Cadd’s said they love putting in the effort every year just to see the community’s reaction on opening day.

“We just love listening to and talking and getting excited, and then people come up to us like, ‘Oh, this is a holiday tradition. We do this all the time and you change everything up. We just love it.’ So, it makes us feel good,” he said.

The Cadds have counted about 500 people coming onto their property every night.

Never once have they asked for a penny, even with the time and labor.

Many people have asked about their electric bill. David said it’s something they learned to manage as years went by.

“The solar panels help out a lot but it’s about like $320 to $330 depending how many days I have it on,” he said. “But it’s not bad. I mean, it could be more. It wouldn’t matter. We still are going to do it for the community. It just doesn’t matter, it’s for them.”

Word about the display has spread more and more every year. At this point, it’s considered a ‘local attraction’ for many families.

“That’s good. I want it to be!” said David. “We want everybody to come enjoy themselves, you know, have a place to go where they can take pictures and stuff or do proposals for weddings or whatever they’ve done like we’ve seen in the past. So, yeah, we’re looking forward to everybody coming.”

The Cadds said because of the tough year locally and the recent government shutdown, they set up a food collection box for community members to donate to.

David said Beaufort County has stepped up, with several carloads of nonperishables already donated to local food banks.

The Cadds will continue their free light display all the way until December 28^th. They are located at 66 Springfield Drive on Lady’s Island. Parking is located on the side of Springfield Road. They ask you not to pull down or park on the driveway.