Going all out for Christmas
When the ghosts and jack-o’-lanterns get put away, the tinsel and sparkling lights start to come out of storage.
While many people decorate their homes for Christmas, some go the extra mile to make their homes festive inside and out.
For Wayne Long’s house at 96 Locust St., Hopwood, the work begins about six months ahead of time. His brother, Larry Long, starts checking the lights in June.
“All of August I was building new displays and rewiring some stuff. There is a lot of pre-work before we start putting stuff in the yard in October,” said Chad Long, Wayne’s son.
The result is multiple displays across more than four acres of property. Chad and Wayne struggle to even estimate how many lights there may be in total, suggesting they might be pushing a million.
Chad said one tree has more than 25,000 lights.
“We have lost count and never really kept track,” Chad Long said.
Wayne Long has been taking Christmas decorating to the next level for a long time now, doing so at his current house since moving there in 1995. Chad Long recalls fixing lights as a teenager.
“Growing up with this has been really cool. Probably the best part of this is all the time I got to spend with my mom and dad building the display, enjoying the display, and now for my kids to enjoy the display,” Chad Long said.
Wayne Long invites people to travel up the driveway to look at the lights, but requests they remain in their vehicles. When Chad Long is out fixing the lights in the dark, he will often hear people roll down their windows and express amazement at the displays.
“It’s really heartwarming to hear the kids, and how excited they get about it,” Chad Long said.
Brittany McLaughlin, of Peters Township, said it takes her three weeks to fully decorate the exterior and interior of her house.
“Growing up, my grandparents did this, my grandma Twila, and my parents as well. And I just thought it was so important for my children to grow up in a winter wonderland,” McLaughlin said.
Inside, all the kitchen cabinets are wrapped in ribbon, and the living room features dozens of ornaments collected over the years. One decoration, featuring Santa Claus standing in front of a house, was made 40 years ago by McLaughlin’s grandmother, Twila Golubosky.
McLaughlin is a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway, and she said she gets inspiration while showing her clients houses during the holiday season.
Also in Peters Township is Jesse Trapuzzano. Outside her home a large Santa decoration counts down the days until Christmas, but that is hardly a representation of the inside, where the Grinch has taken over.
It’s a theme she has stuck with for more than a decade.
“I just like all the colorful things that come along with the Grinch and Whoville, and it’s very whimsical and fun compared to the traditional Christmas decor,” Trapuzzano said.
In the living room stands a 12-foot Grinch-themed Christmas tree. The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who sit at opposite ends of the table in the dining room. Every room in the house features some sort of Grinch decoration.
Trappuzano’s 5-year-old son Palmer is also a Grinch fanatic, and is excited to offer a tour through the Grinch museum.
Which adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss story do they prefer?
“Jim Carrey,” Trappuzano said.
Benjie Graham, 4, however, prefers the 1966 cartoon narrated by Boris Karloff. So much so that he asked his grandmother, Lisa Songer, last year to turn the outside of her Washington home into a “Grinch House.”
Songer’s home stands out on Beech Street with green and red archways down the sidewalk, and all manner of Grinch-related decorations.
“Just to see his face … I could do that every day,” Songer said.
Why was her grandson so insistent on a Grinch theme?
“Because he’s green, and green is my favorite color,” Benjie said.