Port Orange couple creates spectacular Halloween display at home

Dawn and Rudi Hoffman have been decorating their yard since 1984.


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  • | 1:13 p.m. October 27, 2017
Dawn and Rudi Hoffman with their Halloween decorations. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Dawn and Rudi Hoffman with their Halloween decorations. Photo by Nichole Osinski
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Every year around Christmas, when Dawn Hoffman was a little girl, she and her father would go to a nearby house that was elaborately decorated for the holidays. 

According to Hoffman, the family would create 3D dioramas that were animated and depicted all aspects of Christmas, from elves in Santa's workshop to children opening presents on Christmas day. For Hoffman, it was magical. 

One year, her father asked the homeowner if he could donate any money to help with the electricity cost. The answer was simple: "no, this is our gift to the community."

This was Hoffman's moment of inspiration. 

Dawn and Rudi Hoffman. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Dawn and Rudi Hoffman. Photo by Nichole Osinski

"I was sitting in the back seat of the car and I thought, 'you know what, when I'm big I'm going to do that,'" Hoffman said. "So I married somebody that likes to decorate and we've done it ever since we've been married."

That would be Rudi Hoffman. He and Dawn married in 1984 and the decorations have been going up at the same house on Robin Drive in Port Orange since that time, even if there have been some additions and updated decorations. This means when a holiday is coming up, the inflatable yard decorations come out. Even the inside of their house gets a makeover with holiday-themed decor.

For Halloween, the Hoffman's inflate a mix of family-friendly fall decorations, from giant pumpkins, to googly-eyed ghosts to smiling green witches. It's a process that the duo enjoy partaking in. 

Rudi Hoffman with his dogs. Photo courtesy of Rudi and Dawn Hoffman
Rudi Hoffman with his dogs. Photo courtesy of Rudi and Dawn Hoffman

That process usually takes around three to four days with the whole setup expected to be ready for the public to view by Oct. 1 or by the end of Port Orange Family Days. This year, because of the weather, the decorating was delayed and the Hoffmans put everything up in a record two days. 

"One of the reasons we do this is to make it a gift for the community," Rudi said. 

However, the husband and wife team don't stop at just decorations. According to the Hoffmans, they also give out around 50 pounds of candy to around 400 to 500 trick-or-treaters each year. 

As for the decorations themselves, they first started out as small luminaries and plastic models, which later became inflatable figurines. According to the couple, they now have 86 inflatables, which usually last three or four years. They do, however, still have one Christmas-themed inflatable that has been around since they bought it in 2003. 

Dawn and Rudi Hoffman with their Halloween decorations. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Dawn and Rudi Hoffman with their Halloween decorations. Photo by Nichole Osinski

"We do enjoy our decorations, the air-blowns, they are perceived as maybe commercial or tacky, but they're actually little bits of folk art and pop culture," Rudi said. "Even though these guys don't last forever this is still a collection that's taken years to develop."

What's next for the Hoffman's and their holiday decorating? 

Thanksgiving is coming up, which means all of their fall decorations are already being pulled out and the Halloween yard display will start to come down on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Soon after that, the Hoffman's yard will be filled with all Thanksgiving-themed inflatables. 

It's become a tradition that the duo doesn't just do well, it's something they exceed at. 

"We've had fun with it for all these years," Dawn said. "We're a good team."

 

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