California Family Lights Up the Neighborhood

Dec. 9, 2008 — -- Scott Weaver and his wife Rochelle have helped make their Rohnert Park, Calif., cul-de-sac one of the most vibrant in the area with themed, holiday decorations celebrating the season, but also paying homage to their deceased family members and classic cartoon characters.

A home that was much more subdued 15 years ago now includes hundreds of hand-sketched cut-out plywood characters.

"It started slow and progressively worked its way up," said Rochelle, 46, who works as a loan processor.

Her husband, 48, said, "I started putting up lightings and it just snowballed. Every year, I'd just add to it and add to it."

He was further encouraged during his second year when a visitor dropped by his home.

"It made me feel so good that someone wanted to get out of their car to see my decorations," he said. "I was just honored that someone wanted to see my house and that may have planted the seed for me to try and make it better and better."

Weaver's enthusiasm proved contagious and his neighbors began requesting decorations for their homes. Now, all 14 homes in the cul-de-sac feature Scott Weaver's artwork.

Adorning his home and others is, literally, a full-time job. Weaver spends four of his annual five weeks of vacation preparing and decking out his home. It involves working seven days a week and sometimes putting in as much as a 12-hour day.

And it has become a family affair. The Weavers' 17-year-old son Tyler helps out. "He helped probably over 12 days this year," said Scott, who works as a supermarket produce manager.

Weavers Winter Wonderland

The cheery display has become so massive that it has garnered its own moniker — Weavers Winter Wonderland.

Each year, Weaver adds more decorations to his Christmastime scene, which includes a working six-and-a-half-foot waterfall.

"I love fantasy and this is like my own little way of showing my artwork for fantasy," he said.

This year, his additions included a 23-foot-tall Genie with Aladdin and Jasmine on a 6-foot-long carpet.

"I'm going to slow down at some point, but this year I made about 30 new cut-outs," Weaver said.

To make the magic come to life, he starts preparations before most people can buy candy for trick-or-treaters.

"When people see me cutting in the driveway in October, they know something's coming," he said. "It makes people want to participate."

And along with several Disney and Hanna-Barbera characters, the Weavers' trimmings also include a memorial to his deceased parents and dog.

In addition to the 6-foot-tall angel that has a silhouette of his mother and a "Lion King" scene that represents his father, he also has a memorial to his dog, Chloe.

The image of the Great Dane sits on his lawn, just as his dog used to before her death in October 2003. The ornament serves as a memorial to the pet and Weaver even mixed in some of Chloe's ashes into the gray paint he used to decorate the plywood replica.

The Payoff

The payoff for all the hard work and dedication is seeing others enjoy his work, he said.

"Close to 1,000" people visited Sunday and "there are a couple of nights towards Christmas we get close to 3,000," said Weaver, who added that his electric bill is about $1,300 a month.

And of all the visitors he has received over the years, one boy sticks out in his mind.

One rainy night three years ago, a boy named Santiago asked Weaver for a candy cane for his mother, who was serving in Iraq. Weaver said he was touched and gave the boy and his cousin stuffed animals, too.

And the boys' joy validated what he does.

"I spent so much time doing this because I know what the end result is," Weaver said. "It's going to make thousands of people happy."

Click here to learn more about Weavers Winter Wonderland and click here to check out the other homes featured on "GMA" this week.