PALM COAST, Fla. (December 18, 2022) While huge events take place from St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights to Palm Coast’s Fantasy Lights displays, one neighborhood is keeping it small and keeping it local.

Offering kids in the neighborhood a place to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, snap a few cute family photos and even enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, Dina Badaracco, with the help of her neighbors has created a quaint holiday alcove.

Kids in holiday pajamas stopped by on Sunday for a photo with Santa and to toss a few extra fluffy ‘snow balls’ around. It was the second weekend Badaracco created the winter wonderland for her Woodlands subdivision, and she said it’s been a blast watching the neighborhood kids stop to play.

“I decided I wanted to do something for the community. After COVID and everybody’s been stuck at home, we need to get out,” she said. “I like to do my backdrops and I like to make people smile.”

“I said why not do it in the neighborhood? We had a lot of people that came, they like the cookies. I met a few (new people) over the last two times that I did not know. Of course you always know your corner but there are a lot of corners. Now I know who these people are and it’s kind of cool. The neighborhood really came together.”

Recruiting neighbor Michael Taylor to be the best Santa in Palm Coast (no offense to any other the other best Santas!), Taylor loves the community vibe created by the interactive scenery. Thanks to events like this, many of the neighbors are closer than ever.

“Dina asked me to help out our community to make a little fun thing for the kids, so I’m happy to help,” he said. “Kids had a lot of fun. Some kids were a little apprehensive until they had a snowball fight and they warmed up. Everything was perfect.”

“In the Woodlands we try to make everybody a community because we don’t have enough of that anymore,” said Taylor. “It’s working because everybody knows each other around here.”

Giving the families a bit of holiday joy and getting to know the neighbors is worth the itchy mop of silver hair on both his head and face, and toasty suit he’s decked out in while playing the holiday’s number one elf.

Badaracco, owner of Dina’s White Glove Cleaning service honed her decorating skills in the restaurant her parents own in addition to showcasing her talents at events for the Elks’ Lodge and other private events.

“I owe it to my mother. My mother and my father own a restaurant so I grew up in the business. I always saw my mother decorating,” she said.

Getting into the swing of things, she’s already looking forward to Valentine’s Day, receiving a dubious look from Taylor about playing the part of Cupid.

“If I can just give back a little to the community, where it’s not costing them anything and they’re still getting beautiful family pictures, I feel good. I feel like I achieved something,” she said.