Author: The Hippo Press

Where to find holiday displays big and small

Season of lights

Planning, scenery and tons of twinkles make up professionally crafted displays

By Mya Blanchard

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As I stepped into the world of LaBelle Lights at LaBelle Winery in Derry, I was greeted by the voice of Eartha Kitt singing “Santa Baby.” The entrance to the lights — a new addition this year — is an illuminated present you walk through to continue up the path, under the Gateway Bridge, to the Tasting Room. Once you emerge on the other side of the building, you’re immediately immersed in a winter wonderland among classic Christmas songs and a total of 1½ million lights.

“This is our third year and we’ve been growing it steadily year over year so this is the biggest yet,” said Amy LaBelle, the founder of the winery. “[There are more than] 25 displays along the [half-mile] walk.”

The idea of LaBelle Lights first came to mind at the end of the summer in 2021 during the pandemic, LaBelle says. The idea was to find a way to serve and unite the community and create memories while staying safe.

“It just became such an awesome, successful, fun event where people are making these great family memories, taking great pictures, reminiscing, creating new family traditions, and so we just decided to keep growing it and leaning into it,” LaBelle said.

As you progress along the path, you walk through bright Christmas ornaments and travel through Candy Cane Lane and Snowflake Forest before coming across one of my personal favorite displays, a 15-foot-tall shimmery gold teddy bear. Preparing all these displays and the golf course they inhabit for LaBelle is nearly a year-long process.

“It is a project that starts for us in February,” LaBelle said. “We look at all the catalogs … we order the things we want to add, we order commercial strings of lights for things we’re going to build and we order any big pieces that we’re going to be putting on the course. … We have a 45-foot-tall Christmas tree, we have ornaments that you’re able to walk through that are 20 feet high, tunnels, it’s just quite a spectacle.”

While the displays are being custom built prior to being shipped, trees are cut down, cables are hung, items in storage are refurbished, and bridges and tunnels are prepared. Once the golf course closes at the end of October, there’s just two and a half weeks to get everything assembled.

Around the corner from the teddy bear is the bubble bridge, a sleigh and a light tunnel that brings you to the new giant Merry Mushrooms before you come across — another favorite of mine — two sparkling 20-foot-tall reindeer pulling a present-filled sleigh and a family of silver and gold squirrels.

“Every week has a different theme … to add a bit of extra fun,” LaBelle said. “There’s ugly sweater week, there’s dress like Santa week … [and] one of the weeks … we’ll be hiding elves along the course.”

Two charities, Toys for Tots and End 68 Hours of Hunger, benefit from LaBelle Lights to bring toys and food to families in need.

“I really hope people that come through LaBelle Lights will be aware of this so they can help support these charities because they’re so desperately needed in our community,” LaBelle said.

“The goal of LaBelle Lights is to create an experience for our guests that will create beautiful family memories … with [their] loved ones and to have a great time [and] to kind of be an oasis from the crazy world and just have a good old-fashioned night together.”

Now through New Year’s Eve, New Hampshire Motor Speedway brings us the Gift of Lights, a two-and-a-half-mile route featuring more than 3 million lights along the New Hampshire Motor Speedway property in Loudon.

“The community of speedways across the country likes to not only celebrate the holidays, but do different things to raise funds for local charities,” said Scott Spradling, a representative of the Speedway. “There was a group that essentially spearheaded using the different NASCAR track facilities across the country to do this kind of effort, so we were approached several years ago to join and offer this local, really neat way to celebrate the holidays, so we jumped in and this is Year 13.”

Assembling more than 520 displays and 80 scenes — including 12 Days of Christmas among others — takes the crew more than 650 work hours to complete. Other highlights include the 130-feet-long infield entrance and the exit tunnel with 25,000 lights. Once you come out, you will be able to roast marshmallows and make s’mores over open fire pits.

“It started off shorter with fewer lights,” Spradling said. ‘I … remember the first time around we were excited when we got to a million of the twinkling lights and now we’ve tripled that size, so it has grown precipitously over the years.”

The Gift of Lights is a way to celebrate the holidays while also giving back to the community. A portion of the proceeds from the Gift of Lights goes to the New Hampshire Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities and since 2011 they’ve raised more than $400,000. Goods are collected for the Loudon food pantry — anyone who brings three or more non-perishable food items will get $5 off a single vehicle’s admission on weeknights.

“One thing that’s new this year is the company that’s running the Gift of Lights for us — a company called Winterland — [is] going to give $5 coupons to local schools and then donate a dollar per car that redeems their school code,” Spradling said. “The school that rallies the most cars and families to go attend the Gift of Lights will win $1,000 for their school to be able to spend on whatever school activity they would like, so there’s a fun little competition.”

Attendees can also save $5 by participating in the different theme nights, such as Christmas sweater night on Wednesday, Dec. 6. On Sunday, Dec. 10, is Yule Light Up The Night, where you can run or walk the path.

“We’ll have thousands of families that will come and participate every single year,” Spradling said. “I think it harkens back to an innocent time … [of driving] around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights … [and] holiday traditions that many families can remember doing and so we like to think that it becomes not just a destination for seeing pretty lights but it becomes a really fun family tradition.”

Lights by the pros

LaBelle Lights at LaBelle Winery
Where: 14 Route 111, Derry
When: Tuesdays through Saturdays, 4:30 to 9:30 p.m., through Sunday, Jan. 7.
Cost: Tickets range from $4 to $18 and are free for children 3 years old and younger.
More info: Visit labelle.com/lights.

Gift of Lights at NH Motor Speedway
Where: 1122 Route 106, Loudon
When: Hours are 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1, and Saturday, Dec. 2; Thursday, Dec. 7, through Monday, Dec. 25; and Friday, Dec. 29, and Saturday, Dec. 30.; 4:30 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30; Monday, Dec. 4, through Wednesday, Dec. 6; Tuesday, Dec. 26, through Thursday, Dec. 28; and Sunday, Dec. 31.
Cost: Tickets are $35 per car load, $60 per bus, limousine or RV, and cost $2 in addition per person when there’s more than 15 guests.
More info: Visit nhms.com.

Charmingfare Farm
Where: 774 High St., Candia
What: Charmingfare illuminates the season with Santa’s Christmas, when the farm transforms into a festive wonderland with a horse-drawn sleigh ride through a trail adorned with holiday lights and 12 holiday scenes leading to the North Pole. Families can visit the Reindeer Barn, send Christmas letters and enjoy Mrs. Claus’ Bakery.
When: The event runs on Saturday, Dec. 2, and Sunday, Dec. 3; Friday, Dec. 8, through Sunday, Dec. 10; Friday, Dec. 15, through Sunday, Dec. 17; Wednesday, Dec. 20, through Saturday, Dec. 23. Pick a time when you buy tickets for either a four-person or a 10-person sleigh ride. The week post-Christmas, Charmingfare holds an Encore of the Lights event, where attendees can “climb aboard our horse-drawn ride and travel 30 minutes through our Christmas light displays and see the Reindeer at the North Pole,” according to the website. The event also includes Mrs. Claus’ Bakery, a visit to the barnyard, a campfire and more. And ring in 2024 with a New Year’s Eve Ride. This evening event features a fireside meal, music and a ride along the trail of holiday lights.
More Info: visitthefarm.com.

9th annual Hollis Luminaria Stroll & Tree lighting
Where: Monument Square, Hollis
When: Saturday, Dec. 9, at 4 p.m.

Candlelight Stroll/Vintage Christmas at Strawbery Banke
Where: 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth
When: Fridays, Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, and Saturdays, Dec. 2, Dec. 9 and Dec. 16, from 5 to 9 p.m., and Sundays, Dec. 3, Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Cost: Tickets are $32 for adults, $16 for children 5 to 17 years old and free for children under 5 years old.
More info: Visit strawberybanke.org.

LIGHTS AND ENERGY

Different lighting options can significantly impact both your energy bill and the environment. Doran Dal Pra, co-founder of The New England Holiday Light Co., a decorative lighting design and installation service based in Hooksett, shared some expert tips to help you ensure that your holiday lights shine brightly without putting extra strain on your wallet or the planet.

A critical aspect of setting up holiday lighting, according to Dal Pra, involves assessing the electrical load of the circuit used.

“[For] a homeowner, knowing where things are plugged in and how everything is run is important,” he said.

Pairing holiday lights with outdoor outlets already powering high-energy appliances such as refrigerators and dryers can risk overloading circuits.

“Those can use a ton of energy, and you can trip something if the lights are on and you start those appliances,” Dal Pra said.

The choice of lighting type can also significantly affect energy consumption.

Though “incandescent lights look nice,” Dal Pra said, The New England Holiday Light Co. uses exclusively LED lights due to their lower energy usage.

“There’s a remarkable difference in the amount of energy drawn by incandescents versus LEDs; LEDs draw a fraction of the power that incandescent lights do,” he said. “You’ll see it on your electric bill; LEDs have a dramatically reduced impact on the end consumer.”

The enhanced efficiency of LED lights not only conserves energy but also enables the use of more lights per outlet

“You can run a lot of lights off a single outlet with LEDs due to their lower power requirements — much more than incandescents,” Dal Pra said.

While LED lights were once thought to be less vibrant and colorful than incandescent lights, Dal Pra said, they have “come a long way” and include new technology that provides more decorating options.

“The range of products available now is enormous, and the level of customization and programmability is really cool,” he said. “You can get standard colors, programmable colors, and do all sorts of effects.”

Finally, consider responsible disposal of your old or unwanted holiday lights.

“Instead of throwing them away, there are places that recycle holiday lights,” Dal Pra said. “Some places will even pay you for them because of the copper in the wires.” — Angie Sykeny

Festive brilliance

Holiday lights bring joy to local neighborhoods

By Renee Merchant

The holiday season is marked by the glow of lights, and some people create bright, eye-catching displays. We talked with homeowners who do these lights to see what goes into creating an extravagant display.

Dan Jobin designs his residential light show, which he calls Jobin Christmas Lights, in Bedford. He has been doing displays since 1982.

“It just grows bigger every year,” he said. “We’re over 100,000 lights now.”

Jobin didn’t acquire his collection of holiday decorations overnight; he said he picks up new pieces and more lights each year.

The most cost-effective way to build a collection, he said, is to buy discounted lights after the holidays.

“I try to pick up a standard type of light and then watch for those to go on sale so that [it’s] consistent,” he said.

Jobin’s light show has more to it than the visual aspect. It is synchronized to music that plays through speakers in the yard, beckoning visitors to roll their windows down or step out of their cars to hear the music.

When the weather is nice, Jobin likes to stand outside to meet the visitors and pass out candy canes, and he collects monetary donations for a local chapter of Make-A-Wish.

“We have a donation bin out front,” he said. “We’ve given Make-A-Wish over $30,000 in the last seven years.”

Mark Mousseu, another holiday lights enthusiast, has been doing his light show in Hudson, called Hudson Christmas, for about 25 years.

Unlike some new types of lights that are computer-generated, like pixels and projections, Mousseu’s collection is mostly wire frames, which are shapes or figures made out of metal that have lights attached to them.

He said the process for setting up his display starts around Nov. 1, and his family helps out.

“Paul … my stepfather … sits down and goes through the pieces we have and figures out what we’re going to use that particular year,” he said.

Once the display is planned out, Mousseu makes sure the wire frames are working properly.

“We check the lights, we check the figures, make sure everything’s all set … dig through the piles of stuff we have, bring them down and set them up,” he said. The lights are turned on each night from Thanksgiving until Christmas.

Jobin puts his lights up before Thanksgiving in the afternoons while the weather is nice.

“Generally, I start with things that are off the ground until the leaves are gone. So on the house, on the roof, on the bushes, on the trees — that typically gets done first,” he said. Once the leaves are cleaned up, Jobin will start putting out the ground displays. Like Mousseu, he lights his display on Thanksgiving night.

A few days after Christmas, Mousseu takes his lights down in one day.

“It’s one day, assuming we don’t have 2 feet of snow,” Mousseu said. “If we have 2 feet of snow, it’s probably a couple of days and it’s a little more difficult.”

When Mousseu takes the figures down, he sets them into two garages to thaw out before stacking them side-by-side in an attic until next season.

When Jobin takes his decorations down, he puts away the things on the ground first, like the arches over the driveway and the decorations along the street. Then he removes the lights from the trees before taking things off the house.

“Some of the stuff on the house stays up,” he said, “But for the most part we take as much as we can down as quickly as we can.”

Mousseu and Jobin both said that they host annual light shows because it gives them an opportunity to connect with the people in their communities.

“[It’s] the joy of seeing people see it for the season,” Mousseu said.

“They were kids when their parents were bringing them,” Jobin said, “and now they’ve grown up … and they’re bringing their kids.”

More local light shows

An Otterson Christmas is at 37 Otterson Road in Londonderry. Visit facebook.com/ottersonchristmas.

Callaway Christmas Light Show is at 15 Pasture Drive in Goffstown. Visit facebook.com/goffstownchristmaslights.

Christmas in the Kings is at 3 King Edward Drive in Londonderry. Visit facebook.com/ChristmasInTheKings.

The Daly Family’s Festival of Lights is at 51 Pond Lane in Fremont. Visit facebook.com/Dalyfamilyfestivaloflights.

Holt Family Christmas is at 118 Marathon Way in Manchester. Visit facebook.com/holtchristmas.

Hudson Christmas is at 75 Pelham Road in Hudson. Visit facebook.com/hudsonnhchristmas.

Jobin Christmas Lights is at 8 Stephen Drive in Bedford. Visit facebook.com/JobinChristmasLights.

Lamprey Village Lights is at Lamprey Village Drive in Epping. See “Lamprey Village Christmas Lights” on Facebook.

Lights on Legacy Drive is at 75 Legacy Drive in Manchester. Visit facebook.com/lightsonlegacydrive.

The Southern NH Tour of Lights features addresses from 14 towns, coordinated by their Parks and Recreation Departments. Put your address on the list by Dec. 4; a master list of addresses will be released Dec. 8, according to merrimackparksandrec.org/nh-tour-of-lights. Participating towns include Amherst, Auburn, Bedford, Danville, Derry, Goffstown, Hampstead, Hudson, Litchfield, Londonderry, Merrimack, Nashua, Pelham, and Windham.

The Southwest NH Tour of Lights features the towns of Amherst, Milford, Troy, Fitzwilliam, Rindge, Greenfield, Swanzey, Antrim, Peterborough, Jaffrey and Keene. Those Parks and Recreation departments will be taking locations through Dec. 3, with a viewing starting Dec. 9

Q&A with Justine Callaway of Callaway Christmas Light Show in Goffstown

When did you start doing this and what inspired you to do so?

I’ve been doing it for about 11 years I would say. My son is almost 13 now and I saw that he enjoyed Christmas lights when he was born. It started a little small [with] a couple of Christmas lights [and] he seemed to really enjoy it and it just kept growing from there. Then I would say about nine or 10 years ago we started collecting money for charity and then it became an additional cause to keep doing it every year. … My son started it and then the charities kept it going.

How do you go about raising money for those charities?

We’ve always chosen a veterans-based charity and effectively we offer a QR code for people to be able to donate online and we also take donations through a little public service announcement in the middle of the show and people donate with cash in … a little donation bin beneath the mailbox. People have donated a lot. I would say since we started raising money we’re a little over $60,000 in charitable donations that we’ve just passed right on to three different charities over the course of the last few years.

What are the names of those charities?

We started with the Wounded Warrior Project and then we did Homes For Our Troops and now we have a local charity called the Worker Bee Fund and that’s a Goffstown-based charity that does work for local veterans.

What goes into preparing and assembling the light displays?

It’s lots of time out in the cold. … There’s a lot of time spent setting up the lights, probably seven or eight full days of time… . A lot of time … goes into writing the programs that make the music go with the lights and broadcast so people can catch it when they’re at the show.

How do you go about matching the lights with the music?

There’s a software package that I use that allows me to listen to the song and then create effects for each of the lights on the house as I go. So I have to listen to the song … in little five- to 10-second increments. I probably listen to each song that I program 200 times so … when I hear it in the show [it’s] a little less enjoyable since I’ve listened to that same song 200 times over and over again, but it basically is me sitting at a computer telling the software what to do so that it times to the lights every time I change an effect for one of the different parts of the show.

Do you have a background in doing stuff like that or did you learn specifically for this?

No, I’m very bad at it, probably in reality. It may take other people less time than me. I do have an engineering degree but it has nothing to do with this type of programming … I think I have seven networks that I have to run in my front yard and a number of other things that I had to learn as I went along, so it helped that I built it slowly because it was hard to get those things figured out easier.

When did you start incorporating the music with it?

That was probably … 10 years ago so that second year I think I added music. It was very simple, I think I just had 10 windows that would change color with the music and now there’s obviously a lot more in the yard as well.

How do you feel it has grown in popularity?

I think it’s been … pretty steady for the last three or four years. I think people loved it during Covid because they had to stay separate from others … [and] were out looking for something to do, [and] I think people were looking for that sort of display. The best part is … you can hear … the kids screaming ‘There’s Santa!’ or singing along with the songs and that sort of thing. … A lot of people tell me we’ve been doing it long enough that it’s part of their family traditions around Thanksgiving or around Christmas so it’s definitely become a high-pressure situation to get it started on time.

How many lights do you incorporate every year?

We use something called pixels, so each pixel can change the color … any time, and we have about 35,000 pixels. … I also have little blinking strobe lights, probably another 10,000.

How do you keep everything protected from the weather elements?

They’re just laying out there in the grass and … they’re low voltage, most of them, so they don’t end up shorting out when there’s water and moisture.

How will the show be different this year?

This year we’ve added a couple of new elements that I have yet to figure out so I’m reluctant to tell you, but we’re hoping to add something basically every year. This year we’re adding two little trees that will sing along with the music so they’ve got eye motions and mouth motions … just to … tie the music in a little bit better.

— Mya Blanchard

Featured photo: The Proposal Ball at the LaBelle Lights. Photo by Mya Blanchard.