The place where you go to renew your driver license or deal with your taxes might not be your favorite place on earth but this holiday season it could be the brightest -- thanks to Linda Fusco.
“It’s about a two hour wait in here," she tells one customer.
On Friday morning, she’s dressed as a Christmas tree but she normally works the registration and other desks at the Palm Beach County Tax Collector’s Office in Palm Beach Gardens. And it's what she's done with her office that has her customers talking.
“This winter wonderland -- it just reminded me how good life is," said Judie Gibson, a customer who was so moved by Fusco's holiday display, she wrote a letter to WPTV about it.
Fusco decorated her office with over 100 handmade snowflakes, each gently hanging from the ceiling on fishing line. She has worked at the office for over 30 years and always takes the time to decorate for the holidays. This year, she admittedly went 'all out' with her snowflake extravaganza.
"It makes people happy!" she told WPTV. “I bought card stock, bought paper, tape, and fishing line. I did it on my lunch hours, I did it on the weekends, I brought in trash bags full of snow flakes."
Some snowflakes are big and some small. Some she dusted with glitter as an added touch. Other snowflakes are even recycled from office paper.
“Dirty snowflakes," she jokes.
And if you want to take home a little Christmas spirit, just ask and she'll pull one straight from the ceiling and it hand it over.
“It’s a nice feeling. It's warm. They’re happy. It takes some of the edge off from being here," she said. “Some people cry when they see the snowflakes. They say it reminds them of old memories."
Linda’s holiday spirit was so special, it caught the attention of Gibson when she visited the tax collector's office on Thursday.
“I had actually come three times before and the line was so long to get your license," she said. “What was a dreading moment, turned into a winter wonderland."
In a world that’s usually filled with dreaded long lines, Linda is working hard to put the joy back into Christmas and the tax collector's office.
“That’s the lesson we can learn. From a snowflake, to a woman dressed as a Christmas tree with a start on her head — to carry that joy throughout the whole entire year," said Gibson.
Unfortunately, Linda says this might be the last year that she can fully decorate the office because of new security cameras
But she loves to decorate for each season and says she’s happy to get creative and continue her tradition.
