'DITTO' Neighbor Lights Up Christmas Display Competition

In a quiet Los Angeles suburb, residents realized they couldn't compete with the elaborate Christmas decorations that one house had on display. (John Chapple/PacificCoastNews)

Most cities have them-those few homeowners that have Christmas spirit overload. Year after year, a Tarzana, Calif., home is decorated with elaborate lights and over-the-top Christmas decorations that make the other houses pale in comparison.

Their next-door neighbor, Lisa Steele, knew she couldn't compete, so she decided to light up the competition with a little humor. Steele wrote the word "DITTO" using a string of Christmas lights, with an arrow pointing to their neighbor's display.

"It was a funny thing to do because our neighbors, every year for I don't know how long, have been doing this elaborate display, I mean it's pretty amazing." Steele said. "We get a lot of people all the way until the end of new year's, and they marvel and bring their kids. My roommate and her boyfriend thought it would be super funny, and [the neighbors] are cool with it."

Steele jokes that her display not only gives people who came to see her neighbors' lights a good laugh and some holiday cheer, but also saves her a ton of money on electricity.

"We get to have all the fun without the light bill," Steele laughed. "This is the second year we've done it, there's no rivalry or anything. Ferb [the neighbor with elaborate lights] actually helped her put it up this year."

And here's a fun fact: Steele says Ferb from the hit cartoon "Phineas and Ferb" was named after her neighbor, whose wife works on the show.