SUMMIT TWP., MI - Some families celebrate Christmas by making cookies, others take their kids to see Santa Claus.

But one family singled out the bathroom at Kelly Express Mart, 1825 Horton Road, as an annual Christmas tradition, Manager Cheryl Ballantine said.

"Every year for Christmas, when their grandchildren came up to visit, they would bring them up here and get their picture taken in the restroom," Ballantine said.

Currently decorated for Valentine's Day, the unisex bathroom has red lights, streamers, wreathes, balloons and other decor.

The bathroom has a different theme about once a month, Ballantine said, with decorations for St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, winter and more. She's never heard of another bathroom like it.

"One little boy came in here to use the bathroom and he came out running to his mom and he said, 'Mom, there's a party in the bathroom!'" Ballantine said.

The lavatory ornamentation started about 30 years ago, she said, and workers have enjoyed keeping it up ever since. Kelly Express Mart will reimburse the store whenever it adds new decorations, Ballantine said.

Pieces have piled up, as Ballantine went through 12 totes of decorations recently to get rid of broken, decades-old items. It typically takes one to two hours to redo the bathrooms every month, she added.

The fancified bathroom is so familiar with the Mobil gas station, that customers will question what's going on if the space is ever empty, Ballantine said. Weekly compliments come in to staff about the bathroom, she said. Employees also take pride in the cleanliness of the space.

One customer even said she wanted to bring her husband for a date.

"The customers just get such a big kick out of it," Ballantine said. "They open up the door and they just are, 'Whoa!' They don't expect in a public restroom to see something like this."