Johnson Family Christmas Lights bring joy for the holidays

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - In her Castle Heights neighborhood, Ashli Johnson’s house is a bright light around the holidays.

For years, she has drawn visitors to her street to see what she has done with her festive decorations.

“She puts her heart into it because it reminds her of her dad and the times she had as a child. She gets such joy out of the people coming by,” said Linda Neeley, a friend of Johnson’s.

Friends and family have nicknamed her Miss Christmas for her love of decorating for the holiday.

For Johnson, her decorations mean much more than just Christmas lights. They remind her of her father and happy memories of childhood decorating for the holidays.

After he passed away nine years ago, Ashli started decorating her home in his honor.

“When I’m out there, it feels like he is really close to me,” said Johnson, “It feels like I’m connecting with him every Christmas.”

Every year, she adds to the holiday decorations, and the display has grown tremendously.

This year, the lights are set to music and connected to a radio station that will play music for the lights to dance along with.

After tornadoes struck Bowling Green last year, Ashli created a canned food drive in conjunction with her Christmas Lights. The food was then donated to local charities to help families affected by the storms.

Ashli’s Christmas spirit is not only limited to her yard. She strives to help anyone she can, however, she can.

“She goes above and beyond in everything she does in life. Not just the Christmas lights, but as a case manager for her clients, for her family,” Neeley said.

This year, Ashli would love to meet and greet all the visitors that show up to see her lights. She likes to see cars slow down to see the display and would like to meet those people.

On Friday, Dec. 2, she will be handing out candy canes between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to meet with anyone that stops by.

“We live in a world where everybody thinks of me and themselves and I want people to come out and just be kind and find joy,” Johnson said.

The central message that she wants to convey to the community is that she wants to bring joy and smiles to people.

If you would like to check out the Johnson Family’s lights, you can find them at 1076 Castle Heights Road or find them on Facebook at the page ‘Johnson Family Christmas Lights.’

The lights will be up every night until Jan. 1.

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