Northern-area homes brighten the evenings with holiday displays

Nothing says Christmas like loading up the family and driving around the neighborhood to view the best light decorations in the city. Thanks to three couples filled with the holiday spirit, people have a chance to view bright decorations in the north.

CRAIG RANCH LIGHT PARK

Since 2003, LeAnn Gilbert and her husband Sonny have operated a holiday show at Willard Bay in Utah. This year, they opted for warmer weather and relocated their walk-through light display to North Las Vegas.

“We both have a huge Christmas spirit,” Gilbert said. “Everything displayed was created by us with the help of an artist. My husband designs each display out of steel, and I put the lights on.”

Their holiday walk-through was inspired by a trip the couple took to Branson, Mo. There, they found a drive-through Christmas light park and decided to try something similar.

Their approximately 1-mile walk-through, dubbed Christmas Magic, features Santas, elves, holiday animals and a Nativity section animated to its own music. Food and hot chocolate are also sold on site.

The Christmas Magic attraction is planned from 5 to 10 p.m. daily through Dec. 31 at Craig Ranch Regional Park, 628 W. Craig Road, near the corner of Lone Mountain Road and Camino Al Norte.

Tickets are $5 for children, $8 for seniors and $10 for adults. Children 3 or younger are admitted free.

Admission is $5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For more information, visit facebook.com/christmaslightpark.

LAMPLIGHT ESTATES

Husband and wife Pam Campbell and Ron Chamberlin have decorated their home inside Lamplight Estates gated community on Real Quiet Drive to showcase it to the neighborhood for 11 years.

“Families in our neighborhood have made it a tradition to come tour our home every December,” Campbell said. “My husband dresses up as Santa Claus to greet people at the door, and I bake cookies for everyone. The kids love it.”

This month, Campbell said 370 people came to visit their home.

The couple starts decorating the house on Nov. 2 and opens the home to the neighborhood on the first Friday of December.

It takes them 80 hours to put decorations inside their home, five hours in the backyard and 30 hours in the front yard.

“In total, it takes us three weeks to get everything done, and our electricity bill is 2 1/2 times higher during the holidays,” Campbell said. “It’s hard work, but we do it because we both grew up with a love for Christmas.”

The couple’s Christmas open house started in California when they used to decorate their garage and invite the neighbors to view it every weekend in December.

Inside their Las Vegas home, there are 12 Christmas trees 6 feet or taller decorated top to bottom, eight life-sized Santas and elves and more than 100 animated figures, some more than 20 years old.

Each room has its own theme, including the white Santas, traditional Christmas, Nativity, blue, doll, teddy bear and Disney rooms.

The front yard consists of Disney cut-outs that Chamberlain creates.

They start taking down decorations on Dec. 26 and pack and separate items by room.

“Our grandkids love it, and our neighbors are so appreciative of it,” Campbell said. “We get so many compliments, I’d hate to think I would stop. As long as I’m physically able to, I’ll continue doing this.”

LONGTIME TRADITION

For 35 years, Sandy and Steve Howard have decorated their home at 5785 W. Cheyenne Ave.

“It just grows on you,” Steve said. “You can see how happy it makes others feel.”

Many of their decorations have been collected from warehouses across the nation when the couple toured the country in a motorhome in the late ’70s.

They start the decorating process near the end of October.

Steve said he takes the time to figure out which decorations work and which need to be fixed before the couple sit down to lay out the ornaments.

With the help of their three grandsons, they are able to get large decorations on the roof and keep them up with fishing line.

They decorate the outside first and have made it a family tradition to turn on the lights after Thanksgiving dinner.

The couple said it takes them five to six weeks to decorate their half-acre property.

Before switching to LED lights, the couple would spend an extra $500 to $600 on their electricity bill. Now they said they’ve been able to cut their bill in half.

Inside their home, Sandy takes pride in her extensive Department 56 snow village collection and other unique holiday items.

“Our grandkids won’t let us quit,” Sandy said. “We even get letters in the mail from neighbors thanking us. We hope to do this forever, but every year it gets harder and harder.”

The couple turn on their decorations from 4:30 p.m. to midnight through Jan. 1.

“Sometimes we have a whole line of cars waiting outside to view our home and take pictures,” Steve said. “This is our gift to the neighborhood.”

Other nearby light displays include a house near the corner of Capitola Avenue and Miramar Drive and a house on the corner of Jones Boulevard and San Fernando Drive in Las Vegas.

Contact North View reporter Sandy Lopez at slopez@viewnews.com or 702-383-4686. Find her on Twitter: @JournalismSandy.