SALEM. Va. – For the Mills family in Salem, Christmas starts way before December 25.
“We start several months in advance,” Casey Mills said.
Meet Elizabeth and Casey, two Christmas lovers who strive to bring joy during the holidays with their Christmas lights.
“People tell us it’s become a family tradition,” Elizabeth said.
When you get to the Mills’ house, it may look like just a lights display, but when you tune the radio to 90.7, you get a whole different experience.
The lights show started ten years ago and has grown more each year.
Casey told 10 News most of the work takes place behind the scenes, on a computer.
“Anything we want to add to the show, we try to get it built and all the cables made up and the additional programming that’s gonna be needed for that kind of in the summer, late summer, and then by the time Thanksgiving gets here, that’s when we get really busy,” he said.
Once the lights are programmed to match the songs they choose, it takes about four full days to get the physical elements up and ready, which includes over 5,000 lights.
“When we create the show and add new things to it, storage is always a concern. So, everything that we put up needs to be easily stored. Pulling it out of the basement and bringing it out is a chore,” Casey said.
They said having people be able to listen from their cars adds to the experience.
“It’s really fun to hear people out here laughing and enjoying it. Sometimes you’ll look out and see people dancing by their cars and I think it just brings a lot of Christmas spirit,” Elizabeth said.
And as for how long they’ll keep the show going?
“Until we can’t move anymore,” Elizabeth said.
“As long as we’re physically able,” Casey said.
If you haven’t gotten to check out the display yet, you can still head over to Upland Drive until New Year’s. Click here for show times and more information.
