"A little bit of history"

The little neighborhood that could..........and did!......
and does............

How did this start?
In the early 1980's during the energy crisis, one of the neighbors "inherited" several barrels of lights from their parents who had normally used them to decorate their business.  Being an electrician, he put them all up and has never stopped.  The light show began to grow each year and they stocked up at the after Christmas sales.  One by one, all of the neighbors joined in and they also began to add each year.  As the displays grew, more and more cars would come in to see the lights each night.  

One night in 1996, we were out repairing lights.  A woman stopped her vehicle and offered a small donation to us.  She explained that she would like to help us continue the lighting tradition.  We thanked her but suggested that she make her donation to the local food bank instead.  The following summer, the neighbors all gathered to observe National Night Out in August and began talking about Christmas.  We decided to put up a donation box and suggest that folks could make a donation to the food bank if they were inclined.  We had no idea at the time that our neighborhood would gain the notoriety it has or that we could be the vehicle for incredible donations from the community to the food bank.

Each night, the lights came on at 5 PM.  They stayed on until 10 PM on Sunday through Thursday nights and 11 PM on Friday and Saturday.  (See Calendar for current hours.)  Christmas Eve is the one night they must stay on through the night so that Santa is sure to find our neighborhood!  As the lights come on each evening, so does the music that is piped throughout the cul-de-sac.  Then several of us head to the Candy Cane Shack!!  That's right, from our red and green shelter known as the Candy Cane Shack, we pass out candy canes to each and every visitor who stops.  This year, we have already stockpiled more than 30,000 candy canes!  We started the candy cane tradition the first year that we began accepting donations to the food bank and the number of canes required each year has grown beyond belief!

It is also well known in the region that Santa makes frequent appearances here on the weekend nights leading up to Christmas Eve.  We are also lucky enough to have him on hand to greet little kids and big kids alike from 5 PM until well past bedtime on Christmas Eve.  On Christmas Eve, you can expect a long line as this has become a family tradition for many in our area.

Why do we continue this?
The food drive has become a mission for this neighborhood.  Since beginning the food bank donations in 1997, we have now taken more than $175,000.00 to our local food bank.  We have been fortunate enough to donate many tons of  food as well, thanks to our wonderful community.  Last year we gave them 11,229 pounds of  food to help those in need in this area.

Fun facts to know ~ silly things you always wanted to know:
T It takes the whole month of  November for us to prepare the light show.  We begin on the first Saturday after Halloween.
T A JLG lift is donated each year for us to access the 50+ foot fir tree at the entrance of our  cul-de-sac.  Last year, the tree held 55 strings of C9 lights (the big ones!).  We also wrap all of the light poles like candy canes and light several other large trees around the cul-de-sac.
T The majority of our displays are hand made!  They are drawn onto OSB, cut out, painted, and painstakingly detailed to prepare for display.  Current displays include a family of carolers, Santa in a Model T, an 8' Grinch, the Nativity, Frosty's root beer stand, a train, Santa and his reindeer, Elfco Field (named after the Seattle Mariner's Safeco Field), a golfing Santa,  Holiday penguins, an ice fishing reindeer, caroling mice, welcome and directional signs, matching name signs for each family and much more.
T Taking the lights down, repairing, labeling, drying, and packing can easily take up to 6 weeks. If we are done by Valentine's Day, we consider ourselves fortunate.  
T Our power bill is the one thing that we dread after Christmas.  Yes the bill is very high but we consider it our donation to the community for their enjoyment.
T During December, the neighborhood has featured annually on Steve Pool's Parade of Lights, then hosted him for a live broadcast from the cul-de-sac in 1997, 2004, and 2005, was highlighted on Evening Magazine with John Curly in 2004, in 2006 KOMO's Rachelle Murcia did a live broadcast for 2 hours from the cul-de-sac, and then featured on HGTV's Outta Control Christmas in 2004 and 2006.  What friends we have in the broadcast community!

                     

Do we compete with one another?
Absolutely.....what fun would all of this work be if we can't laugh at ourselves and encourage one another with a bit of friendly competition.  While putting our displays up, we never turn all of the lights on during the month of November.  So........none of the neighbors can actually be sure what the other one is doing.  We love to surprise one another!!  One neighbor changes their roof each year and it is always a well kept secret until the night of official lighting.

But, will we help each other?
You bet!  Can't reach that tree?  The JLG is moved from house to house to help where ever needed.  A power outage?  Never fear, our resident electrician to the rescue.  Need an extra set of hands?  You might get ten!  This is a wonderful community effort that brings our neighborhood closer together each year.