When Melissa Horton began buying Christmas lights on clearance after the holidays way back when, she never expected them to become part of a beloved and enormous family collection.
Now, over 10 years and 25,000 Christmas lights later, the Horton lawn spends the month of December covered in brightly lit forms of all shapes and sizes, from Rudolph and candy canes to Darth Vader and Yoda.
Each of these arrangements has a story behind it. When the Horton girls, Makayla, 6, Maya, 10, and Mica, 13, were younger, their father, Mike Horton, created Sesame Street characters with the lights. When the girls took an interest in ballet, he set up a “forest of light,” complete with bulbs that twinkle in time to Christmas music.
One year, the Hortons’ daughters requested a gingerbread house, so the family painted and decorated their playhouse. When some kids in the neighborhood requested Star Wars characters, Mike, a Star Wars fan himself, made Darth Vader and Yoda out of lights.
This year, to satisfy Makayla’s requests for a dog, the family added a Christmas-light pup to the collection.
Around 5 p.m. each evening at 1027 Mountain View Ave., the lights go on, and the dryer and printer go off. The Hortons say they’ve blown their fair share of fuses when they forget about the lights, but that the inconvenience and high electricity bills are well worth it when they receive letters and thanks letting them know just how much joy the lights have brought into the lives of those who see them.
