SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — For 30 years, Forrest “Frosty” Nunley transformed his Avenues home into Frosty’s Winter Wonderland, a sprawling Christmas display of vintage lights, blow molds and holiday characters that became a tradition for families across Utah.
On Saturday, nearly all of it went home with them.
WATCH | Frosty’s Winter Wonderland sale sends nearly all decorations home within minutes
Nunley, who is retiring the display after Parkinson’s and a recent cancer diagnosis, held a Christmas and antique sale at his home. He said people lined up down the street by about 8:30 a.m. After the sale opened at 9:45, most of the decorations were gone within minutes.
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For years, the display covered Nunley’s home at 805 E. 18th Ave., from the driveway and front yard to the roofline. It became so well known that Frosty’s Winter Wonderland appears by name on Google Maps.
The collection started modestly. Nunley and his wife put extra decorations from their first Christmas tree outside. Within a few years, he began hunting for vintage blow molds at thrift stores, yard sales and other secondhand shops, adding new pieces nearly every season.
The result became a free destination for generations of visitors.
For Jen Roush, Saturday’s sale was not an ordinary yard sale. It was a chance to bring home part of a family Christmas tradition.
“This actually isn’t really my thing, but I’ve come here with my kids for years,” Roush said. “I love this place. It’s a Christmas tradition that we have, so I had to come and have it still be a part of my life.”
Roush said her two children now live out of state, but when they return home for the holidays, visiting Frosty’s Winter Wonderland is still on their list.
Her daughter, Ellie Roush, grew up making those visits.
“It’s special,” she said about taking a decoration home. “It’s gonna be a family heirloom.”
For Nick Wiggill, a vintage Santa face carried a different kind of memory. His hand shaking as he remembered his father.
“My dad played Santa for just shy of 40 years before he passed away,” Wiggill said. “So this is kind of special.”
Wiggill's dad played Santa in Ogden, so he and his father never visited Frosty’s Winter Wonderland together.
Others came to begin their own tradition. Raquel Castellanos, who moved to Salt Lake City about six months ago, said she had never seen the display. She and Trevor Castellanos bought decorations to start a tradition of their own.
“We have two kids, and so I think bringing some of this home to our family… and bring a little joy to their lives is perfect,” she said.
Nunley said he cried for three days before the sale. But seeing people carry pieces of the collection into new homes also reminded him why he built the display.
“To see people so happy to take a piece of history back to their own home, they can always have good memories,” Nunley said. “It’s been such a wonderful blessing for my whole family to be able to bring happiness to other families.”
For Nunley, the display was never about the plastic decorations.
“ It was me giving people a happy experience, a free Christmas experience you couldn’t have anywhere else. I want them to remember the good times they had here and be kind to each other, no matter what,” Nunley said.