Homes sparkle as holiday season begins

With thousands of holiday lights, animatronic Santas and yard ornaments, residents use this time of year to erect elaborate displays.

From family bonding to holiday spirit, each has his or her own reason for contributing to the Christmas season.

Ken Moorhead’s displays can be seen dancing at the end of his cul-de-sac in Henderson.

About 10,000 lights dance on command, choreographed to songs such as “Amazing Grace” and “Wizards of Winter.”

Moorhead has been presenting a display since 2013.

“We used to put outdoor lights on, but then we stopped,” he says.

But with a 4-year-old grandson who comes around for the holidays, his wife told him they should look at doing a more elaborate display for him.

“I didn’t realize how much time or money I would spend on this,” he says.

Moorhead says he started building in January 2013 and would work on and off throughout the year.

The final results included not just hanging lights, but an animated light show that is synchronized to various songs.

“(My grandson) loves it,” he says. “He got to push the button on the computer to start the show the first year.”

Since most of the work building the display was done in 2013, he says preparing for this year has been simpler.

Along with his grandson, neighbors and passers-by have also been enchanted by the light displays.

“I am part of the bike club so they told people about it who came by to see,” he adds.

He says the inside of the house isn’t as elaborate.

“I mean, we have a Christmas tree and some decorations,” he says.

Moorhead wants to continue putting the lights up for as long as he can.

“I’m retired and getting up there in years,” he says. “But as long as I can safely go up a ladder, I will do it.”

For some who decorated for the season, this is a long tradition.

It won’t be too long till Jan DeSimone starts carefully unwrapping the ornaments she has collected for most of her life.

Days after Thanksgiving is over, the family gathers — about six or seven people altogether — to start the process.

“It usually takes a few days,” she says. “But we try to make it a fun event.”

Her collection includes anything from handmade crocheted ornaments to a collection of animated Disney characters.

Each one comes with a memory or story.

“(When putting them out) we remember how I got those Disney ones,” she says. “It took several years to build.”

The running joke is how traveling back from Disneyland she would have to figure out how to bring these larger items onto an airplane.

“That was years ago when traveling was easier,” she says.

DeSimone says the tradition started with her mother.

“We would always have these beautiful Christmas trees when growing up,” she says.

The family would always have parties with 40 to 50-plus people and would decorate accordingly.

“I remember decorating always brought the whole family together and we would create the best memories,” she says.

But when DeSimone started a family, it was then her turn to continue the tradition.

She took the ideas her mother gave her and decided to create the display that she has today.

Usually, the family works together to get all the hard tasks completed, then DeSimone will finish up.

After the holidays, it’s also a process for putting things back.

“We hand-wrap everything,” she says. “It’s like moving.”

She adds the process is about 50 percent unwrapping everything and 50 percent traveling down memory lane.

“Every decoration has a story behind it,” she says.

The only thing DeSimone says is really new are her light-emitting-diode lights.

In 2013, DeSimone entered the city of Henderson’s Holiday Decorating Contest and won first place.

“We don’t do it for that reason,” she says. “But it was still exciting to win.”

DeSimone says the display is always popular.

“Our neighbors have already asked about this year’s display,” she says.

Even though they live in a gated community, they try to make the house more accessible.

“We’ve had people stop and take holiday photos in front of our house,” she says. “We get a kick out of it.”

Though her house is visited because of the decorations, it doesn’t stop DeSimone and her family from visiting other displays around town.

“It’s a fun family event,” she says.

But it’s not just the outside that is bathed in decorations.

Nine Christmas trees, each with a different theme and meaning, are inside the family home.

While she has a more traditional Hallmark tree she also has a tree dedicated to her nanny.

“It isn’t me just going out and buying ornaments,” she says. “There are things I have gotten over 15 years.”

For her, what makes everything on the tree special is the fact the ornaments aren’t just typical store-bought items.

“A lot of these are handcrafted,” she says. “They can’t be duplicated or purchased. They each have tremendous meaning.”

Even though the majority of the items are from previous years, each year she does try to add something new.

“Like something the grandchildren made,” she says. “Or something special I might have picked up.”

Even with the displays at her house, she says her son also sets up Christmas displays, too.

“We have already joked about who gets what when I die,” she says. “I know my kids will definitely carry along this tradition. They are hooked and want to carry it on.”

Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.