By FRED KRONER
Traditions, even if they have been passed down for generations, have to start somewhere.
Dave Parsons started his tradition 15 years ago when he and his wife, Kris, began decorating their Mahomet property for the Christmas season.
It’s not something that Parsons grew up seeing every year. He doesn’t recall any outdoor lighting at the family home.
“My mom said, ‘I don’t know where you got that habit,’” Parsons said.
And yet, even before Dave and Kris Parsons moved to the Pine Tree subdivision 11 years ago, they were strategically placing Christmas lights throughout their yard.
Part of the appeal of the Pine Tree property is additional space.
“We have an acre,” Parsons said, “and the last 11 years, we’ve been able to expand and expand (the Christmas display).”
The former Mahomet police officer is a bit concerned as he rigged up his 2020 lights.
“I’m not sure we can expand too much more,” Parsons said.
There is potential, he said.
“I’ve joked that I might have to take over the neighbors’ (property),” Parsons said.
Parsons had most everything up and running by Saturday, Nov. 28, though he added a few more finishing touches on Sunday. He’ll keep the lights on until the lights go off on 2020.
His display is bigger and more elaborate again this year. It’s a fact Parsons can confirm by the workload.
“Last year, it took 70 hours,” he said.
This year, he reached the 70-hour mark the week before Thanksgiving and wound up hitting the 100-hour mark before he had completed his efforts.
Though he is aware of his inventory, Parsons hasn’t counted it piece by piece. He just knows there’s plenty.
“It takes up a lot of my spare time,” Parsons said. “There’s a ton of stuff.”
One of his additions is not obvious to the naked eye. Parsons had to add a 50-amp service to keep things operating smoothly.
The way the Christmas lights and decorations have evolved wasn’t anything that was envisioned at the outset.
“It’s a great holiday for a lot of different reasons,” Parsons said, “and we said, let’s put lights up.
“The next year, it was, ‘We can do better. We can do more.’”
Once he accepted his own challenge, there was no turning back.
“It kind of happened,” Parsons said. “The drive was, ‘Can I top myself?’ All of a sudden it was, ‘This is a really bad habit.’”
It’s not one he is willing to put in the rearview mirror, especially since storage isn’t an issue.
“I have a large, almost bonus room, above the garage for everything,” Parsons said.
The centerpiece is a green Christmas tree with white reindeer.
“That’s where the beginning is, and I’ve fixed it up,” Parsons said.
Another piece of his showy display goes across his roof, where the words “Merry Christmas,” are spelled out and illuminated in two rows.
“They are 4-foot by 4-foot boxes, held with baling wire and hinges on them so they can be folded up at the end of the year,” Parsons said.
That section alone took almost four hours to get located in the proper place.
Surprisingly, Parsons said his power bill only rises by about $60 during December, thanks in part to the use of LED lights.
Not working for the police department this year has been beneficial to Parsons as he tackled the outdoor lighting project.
“Being retired helped,” he said. “I could spend a little more time on it and be better organized. We’ve added a lot more, too.”
When he purchases more items for his display, his thinking is not necessarily about how it will affect the visual experience of visitors.
“When I buy, I look at how I can fix it, and if I can’t, I generally don’t buy it,” Parsons said. “Every year, some stuff I’ve had wears out and I’ll put something aside.”
In some cases, the fix-up work begins prior to even putting the item out for the first time.
“A lot of times, I buy a product and re-do it to suit my needs,” Parsons said.
One example is in his side yard, where a rope is hung between two trees for a deer and sled to be displayed.
“I wanted to make it look a little nicer,” said Parsons, who bought new lights,” but the lights didn’t match, so I had to re-wire it.”
It’s not just the outside which gets attention as the Christmas season draws near.
“There’s stuff inside in all of the windows,” Parsons said.
Those who have traveled by his residence in the past might not see everything in the same location from one year to the next.
“We take complete pictures, and we can go back and look and say, ‘that was there,’” Parsons said, “and sometimes, we flip it around.”
The time needed to get everything displayed and lit up is not a factor in how many items are brought out of storage annually.
“It’s a labor of love,” Parsons said.
If he is slow getting started, Parsons will hear about it.
“The neighbors look forward to it and will ask, ‘When are you going to light it up,” he said. “It’s kind of neat to realize our neighbors were anxiously awaiting us to turn things on.”
Parsons is not opposed to seeing how other homeowners have prepared their properties.
“This year, I look forward to getting out and looking at different things and learning some things,” Parsons said. “When I worked for the police department, and was driving around in the evenings, I’d get some ideas.”
His goal, however, is not to have his display be more expansive or better than what anyone else has put together.
“It’s my own personal competition,” Parsons said. “I want to better myself every year, and try to improve on last year.”
His reward comes when he can sit back and relax after the work is completed.
“The neat part is to see the traffic increase,” Parsons said, “and have friends text me or say something.
“That is fulfilling.”
When the lights were all turned on this year, one realization became clear to Parsons.
“We actually found areas we can expand on next year,” he said.
