Daily Herald Holiday Lights Contest Editor's Choice winner: DuPage County
Jim and Dawn Slanker of 371 Canyon Trail in Carol Stream are the Daily Herald Holiday Lights Contest Editor's Choice winners in DuPage County for 2018.
Q. How long have you been decorating your house like this?
A. We have always decorated for the holidays and it has grown incrementally over the years. If we had to give a date, it would be 2008. That is the year we added the Gingerbread House facade.
Q. What inspired you to go all out with your decorations?
A. We do it for many reasons. It is an outlet for our creativity and it is something we enjoy doing together. It also gives us a sense of community since we meet so many people in the area who stop by to visit and talk with us. We have gotten to know and become friends with so many people in Carol Stream and the surrounding towns through our decorations. We also strongly believe holidays should contain magic for children, and this is our way of creating some of that magic. The most rewarding part is being told we are part of a family's traditions. It is not often you can do something simple that connects you to thousands of people and makes you part of their families and memories. It's truly an honor.
Q. How many hours does it take to put up the display?
A. We've never really counted and it is done across a number of days, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 to 100 hours for the two of us for setup.
Q. How many strings of lights are involved?
A. We have never made any effort to count the number of lights in the display. It changes every year, especially since the lights are only a portion of our display. There are so many other elements to it.
Q. How much does your electric bill spike in December?
A. No doubt, our bill does go up in December, but nowhere near as much as people expect. Most of the lights are LED, which use far less electricity than incandescent lights. Also, the lights in the light show are actually off most of the time and are only on for a few moments as they flash with the music. Our electric bill is higher in the summer when we use the air conditioner than in December.
Q. What do your neighbors think of your display?
A. We have always gotten wonderful support from our neighbors. Some have even joked that our display makes it much easier for them as they don't have to go out into the cold and decorate, they can just look out their windows at ours!