Reindeer In Livingston: Camuso Holiday Display Returning For 2024

LIVINGSTON, NJ — A popular holiday experience is returning to Livingston for 2024: the Camuso Family Christmas Display.

Located on Robert H. Harp Drive at the Livingston Oval, the free display is set up and maintained by the volunteer Camuso Holiday Display Committee, otherwise known as the “Camuso elves.” An opening night is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7 (see below). The final day it will be open this season is Wednesday, Jan. 1.

Weather permitting, the exhibit will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. on weekdays. It will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Learn more about this local display and get directions here.

Since last year, the committee has been meeting to raise funds and to plan improvements to the display, chief “elf” Tom Cooney said.

This year, the group will be selling holiday ornaments made by the elves. Names will be painted on them and they will be placed around the display. The ornaments will be given to the donors when the display is taken down. The cost will be $20 per ornament.

Some other attractions will include a ginger bread house, and an “elf on the shelf” that is hidden somewhere in the display.

Other events at this year’s display will include:

• OPENING CEREMONY – This year’s display will open with a lighting ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Livingston Starliners Dance Team will open the event at 6:30 p.m. Lights will go on at 7 p.m.
• SANTA AND HIS ELF – The Livingston UNICO will once again sponsor Santa and his elf at the Gazebo on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
• CHANUKAH CANDLE LIGHTING – On Thursday, Dec. 26, there will be a Chanukah Candle Lighting to celebrate the holiday. Rabbi Simeon Cohen of Temple Beth Shalom will help participants light candles with songs and Chanukah cookies.
• FIRST RESPONDERS – Also this year, the Livingston Police Department will be added to the exhibit next to the Fire and First Aid Departments. Livingston’s first responders will be sponsoring an event at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, which will feature crafts for kids, a Santa appearance, hot chocolate, a Clydesdale horse and wagon ride for the family, a petting zoo and pony rides. “We are excited to be part of this annual effort that brings so much joy to our community and beyond,” said Sean Whalen and Joy Klapal, members of the Livingston Community Policing Unit.

“This is a community event, and we want every group in town to feel welcome to participate,” Cooney added. “So come and help celebrate this Livingston tradition with us.”

Sponsors of this year’s event include Fairview Insurance, Schumacher Chevrolet, Air Group, Progressive Companies, Livingston UNICO, Livingston Kiwanis Club, the Rentis Family, and the Knights of Columbus.

SPECIAL NEEDS

The Livingston Advisory Committee for Disabilities (LACD) and the Camuso Committee will be sponsoring a special LACD Camuso Holiday Display Event on Friday, Dec. 13.

The free event for people with special needs and their families will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. In case of snow or rain, the event will be postponed to Sunday, Dec. 15 (same time). To check on the event status, call 973-535-7961, ext. 7102.

Visitors will be able to meet and take a photo with Santa, and receive a present. Free refreshments will be served, and there will be balloon arts available for guests of all ages. Guests should RSVP by Dec. 6 by visiting https://formurl.com/to/Camuso2024, or email Qing Liu at aotyan27@gmail.com.

THE HISTORY OF THE CAMUSO DISPLAY

Here’s some history behind the annual display, according to camusodisplay.com:

“For many decades prior to his passing, Ernie Camuso of Burnet Hill Road in Livingston designed and built one of the most elaborate Christmas Displays New Jersey has ever seen. A toymaker, and later machinist, by trade, Mr. Camuso collected numerous animated robotic figures. Many were designed to be doing specific tasks related to toy building and loading Santa’s Sleigh full of gifts.

“The animated characters, coupled with tens of thousands of colorful lights arranged in a display open to the public on his front lawn attracted thousands and thousands of people each year around the holidays, eventually requiring police traffic control on Burnet Hill Road. People in and around Livingston grew up viewing the display each year and many have very fond memories of it. Dating as far back as the 1960’s, the display has touched generations.

“The centerpiece attraction is the Christmas tree built by Mr. Camuso. It stands 26 feet high, rotates on a mechanical base, and has more than 10,000 colored lights adorning more than 100 individual tree branches, capped with a 4 foot lighted star.

“Over nearly four decades, Camuso amassed more than 100 animated figures and numerous mechanical display pieces. Following his death several years ago, the Camuso family could no longer set the display up each year. They turned to the Township of Livingston and the entire collection was donated to a volunteer group known as the Camuso Committee. Many of the figures and display attractions were determined to be very old, broken, brittle, and in serious need of careful repair and restoration.

“Since 2011, members of the committee have worked tirelessly to begin the process of restoring the entire collection to its’ original condition. This has included painstaking restoration work that is time consuming and at times costly in terms of materials needed. Although many have been repaired, many more are still in need of restoration.

“The resurrection of the Camuso display has drawn thousands and thousands of people to the exhibit the last [several] years. Endless stories are told by visitors of how they travelled each year while growing up to the Burnet Hill residence and how they remembered particular characters and scenes. Many travelled from very far away for the opportunity to once again see a part of their childhood and share it with their children and grandchildren. The display is an iconic part Livingston history and the work of the volunteers in bringing it back has been well received and recognized by the public.”

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