Christmas Lights to the Extreme
Dec. 24 -- With 30,000 Christmas lights on their Seattle home, Vikki Hoyt and her husband Lee Burns realize their holiday spirit may seem out of control.
This year, Burns even decorated the back of his roof with bulbs.
"No one will ever see them," he admitted.
Every year, Christmastime means homeowners across the country once again pour hours of hard work and megawatts of electricity into transforming their houses into glowing cathedrals of Yuletide cheer.
Jerome and Shailyn Drazkowski in Federal Way, Wash., have more than 29,000 lights and more than 100 lighted yard figurines this year, along with a bubble machine, an inflatable 8-foot snowman, Grinch, Christmas tree, polar bear, nativity scene, gingerbread village, and more.
In New Castle, Del., Rich Faucher and his wife Linda have been gradually expanding their holiday decorations for 23 years. It's now one of the most elaborate private displays in the nation, with more than 1 million lights and scores of Santas, snowmen and other figures.
The extravaganza is meant to "try and restore the spirit of Christmas as it was truly meant to be," the family says on its Web site, http://christmashouse.0catch.com.
For Fun, Attention, and Good
Some hard-core decorators simply enjoy the attention. A major league display can earn a mention on the local news and become a regular stop for local tour buses. Others are in it to help others.
The 100,000 or so lights adorning Joe Lester's home in Tewksbury, Mass., help raise money for charity every year. This year, Lester is donating the money raised from visitors to help Stephanie O'Neil, whose husband Dennis was killed shortly before Thanksgiving, when his cherry-picker tipped over while he was hanging holiday lights.
"I have a son that's 18 months old, and she has a son and a newborn daughter, and he was hanging Christmas lights, and I'm hanging Christmas lights for three months," Lester said. "It kind of hit home." Lester raised more than $1,500 in the first two weeks of the display.
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