SPRINGFIELD — As soon as the sun sets, houses across Springfield and surrounding communities are already lighting up for the holidays, and they are doing it in a big way.
David Hayden began decorating his family home on Parker Street in October.
“I took my time with it. This is the first year my daughter knows lights and she can point out Santa. I know people are going to be driving around since they can’t really go anywhere, so I wanted to do something bright for everyone to enjoy,” he said.
Hayden’s brother, his father, Todd Hayden, and his fiancée, Sara Nepus, helped with some elements of the intricate display. It includes thousands of lights wrapped around the house, a giant nutcracker and a bright Merry Christmas sign he custom made.
Hayden loves Christmas so much he named his daughter Natalie, based on the Latin phrase natale domini, meaning birth of our lord or Christmas Day.
“Christmas is definitely his favorite time of year,” Nepus said.
Anticipating people’s desire to decorate early, many stores stocked up on Christmas decorations and started selling them earlier than usual this year.
Rose Wheeler, manager at Rocky’s Ace Hardware in Agawam, said she was able to use some leftover stock from last year. Ordering new products has become more difficult due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Normally people will come in right before Thanksgiving or on Black Friday, but we definitely saw people coming in earlier this year,” Wheeler said.
The most popular item? Battery-operated colorful string lights, Wheeler said.
“We are actually seeing people come in for colored lights, which surprised me a bit because usually people want the soft white lights for a warm look,” she said.
Proof of Wheeler’s assessment can be seen in neighborhoods across the city, including Leete Street, where several homes feature bright lights hanging from awnings, others shaped like candy canes clipped to fences, and one porch with two small Christmas trees decorated with colorful lights and ribbon.
A home on St. James Avenue features colorful lights, including an oversized green and yellow peace sign. Many houses opted for larger-than-life pop-up caricatures, from Santa to snowmen to nutcrackers.
“The most popular ones are always the penguins. They go first,” Wheeler said. “Personally I love to see the house all decorated, especially this year.”
Hayden turns the lights on around 5:45 p.m. every night and lets them go until about 11 p.m. He hopes people will smile when they see the house all lit up.
“I had thought about doing a light show, but this is a busy street and we already get people stopping in front of the house,” Hayden said. “I just hope people will drive by during the Christmas season and and enjoy it.”
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