Yule lights this story

Traditions are often woven into the fabric of Christmas celebrations, and two Eunice families are marking the third generation of one of their holiday habits with some friendly competition.
“It started two years ago, when we moved into this house,” said David Crader as he replaced a fuse on one of the many, many Christmas lights adorning his yard and home on the southeast corner of Eighth and Vine streets. “We wanted to see who could get their picture in the paper for having the most lights and decorations.”
This is the second year of the merry matchup between Crader and his in-laws, Patrick and Pam Guillory, who own and decorate a home at the southeast corner of Vine and Tenth streets. Last year, Crader “won” the competition as his photo was printed in The Eunice News.
Traffic on Crader’s street increases at the this time of the year as motorists slow to view several inflated items, homemade wooden Christmas characters like the Grinch, candy canes, cup balls and more than 3,200 lights.
“We’re actually missing some stuff,” said Crader’s wife Chasidy, laughing. “We haven’t taken it all out of the attic yet. We still have a 12-foot tree that will go next to the the Santa. We also have inflatables for other holidays including Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving. And an Easter bunny suit.”
“He (her husband) loves the holidays, and he loves to decorate.”
Crader’s affection for adornment has even resulted in the refurbishing of old ornaments from local businesses.
“I fixed up the singing Santa that used to be on display at John R. Young,” Crader said as he pointed to the decoration in a bay window at the front of his home where his family’s Christmas tree could also be seen. “The ones I make are my favorite because they are unique stuff, like the cup balls. They took me a couple of hours to make.”
Crader estimated that he has several thousand dollars invested in his holiday decor, and this year’s display, which took three days to set up, is powered by about 1,100 feet of extension cords. The arrangement will change each year, and Crader sketches out his plan for where he will place pieces before the holiday season.
“I’ll be getting an extra breaker box next year,” he said. “My wife also got me one of those music machines that makes the lights blink to the beat of the music.”
“We went to look, just look, at new decorations a while back, and we ended up spending $600 on decorations. I can’t wait ‘til after Christmas to hit the sales on lights. I’m slowly switching over to the LED bulbs.”
“It’s all really pretty, but I don’t just don’t like having to take it all down,” said daughter Lexi Guillory, laughing.
Down the road, the Guillory’s yard is decorated with an inflatable snowman, Christmas tree, Santa Claus and penguin and another impressive light display powered by about 20 extension cords.
“I call him Mr. Griswald,” said Pam in reference to her husband’s zealous holiday decorating and the lead character played by Chevy Chase in the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie. “Chasidy and I both work at (local) schools, and students there are always asking when we are going to put the lights up. They are just so excited. They tell us the next day after they passed by the houses.”
The Guillory’s have decorated their homes for the past 20 years, a tradition that started with Patrick’s father.
“When I was a kid, my dad decorated our house,” he said. “I love decorating. I decorate for my kids, my grandkids and for those kids who just don’t have a lot.”
“I love that feeling, and I want people to remember these lights for years to come.”
Like Crader, Guillory also sketches out his design plan, switching it up each holiday season, and both men are huge fans of extreme Christmas light television shows.
“I like the inflatables, but I also have some of the the old-school plastic ones, like the manger scene characters,” he said. “I’m already shopping for next year.”
Next year’s display will no doubt bring a smile the face of many more children and any local National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation fan.
And no Aunt Bethany, the house is not on fire. Those are the Christmas lights.