Holiday Light Contest Editor's Choice Winner: Northwest Suburbs
Don and Dori Wenzel of 2612 Rohlwing Road in Rolling Meadows are the Daily Herald Holiday Lights Contest Editor's Choice winner in the Northwest suburban area for 2019.
We checked in with them to learn more about how and why they do it.
Q. How long have you been decorating your house like this?
A. I've decorated our house every year, but not to the extent as this year. I always try to have a theme and create a display that is whimsical but includes the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus.
Q. What inspired you to go all out with your decorations?
A. My family, especially our grandchildren. My kids have always said that there are not enough lights if you can't see it from Route 53.
Q. How many hours does it take to put up the display?
A. Between building and setting up the display, close to 100 hours were spent on our display this year.
Q. How many strings of lights are involved?
A. Not sure how many strings, but our display has close to 15,000 lights and close to 40 elves.
Q. How much does your electric bill spike in December?
A. During the holiday season we usually see about a 25 percent increase, but hope it's less this year with the use of LEDs.
Q. What do your neighbors think of your display?
A. Most seem to enjoy it, and I think some have been inspired to add to their displays.