Secrets Behind Our Holiday Light Show: 2,500 Milk Jugs

If you have ever walked through our Holiday Light Show and admired the soft, glowing luminaries lining the paths, the answer behind them might surprise you. It is not fancy glassware or custom-made lanterns. It is milk jugs. Thousands of them.

A Tradition Since 1998

Since 1998, our grounds crew has turned plain plastic milk jugs into glowing luminaries by stringing light strands through them, lining the paths of the gardens with a soft, warm glow. Last year alone, the team used about 2,400 jugs to light the paths. Every single one is donated by community members who save their empties and drop them off at the gardens. Over the past few years, Alan Mood, has been the champion of the jugs, cleaning and prepping them until they are put out for display.

From Recycling Bin to Light Display

Turning a used milk jug into a piece of holiday magic takes more work than you might think. Here is what happens behind the scenes:

• Cleaning: Each donated jug gets filled with hot water and left to sit for a minute or two. This loosens the label glue so it peels off easily. Stubborn labels get a scrub by hand.

• Trimming: The plastic ring left behind from the cap gets cut away with a knife, and a hole is cut into the side of each jug so light strands can be threaded through.

• Weighting: A scoop of pea gravel goes into the bottom of every jug. Without it, the wind would send them tumbling across the garden paths.

  

  Volunteer Alan Mood is polishing off the sticky residue and getting them ready for the season.

  
  

Keeping Them Safe Between Seasons

Once the season wraps up, the jugs are not left to bake in a shed all year. Sunlight is actually their biggest enemy, since too much heat can cause the plastic to melt or warp. To protect them, the crew stores 15 jugs per crate in a storage building and built simple tarp covers to shield the crates from the sun.

Jugs that hold up well get reused year after year. The ones that get damaged or worn out along the way are retired. Last year, about 300 jugs were replaced, but with over 2,500 currently in rotation, the collection has plenty of extras on hand.

Setting Up for the Season

When it is time to put the display together each November, it is a true team effort. One crew member strings the lights along the path while another follows behind, setting each jug in place and making sure it is weighted down and ready to shine.

A Simple Idea That Keeps Giving

Nobody remembers exactly whose idea it was to start using milk jugs, though it is a tradition that has been passed down through staff over the years. What started as a practical, low-cost solution has become a small but mighty part of what makes our Holiday Light Show possible each year.

So the next time you stroll through the glowing paths at Rotary Botanical Gardens, take a moment to appreciate the humble milk jug. It might just be one of the hardest working pieces of holiday cheer in the whole display.