Vashon Couple Trips the Light Fantastic
Published 1:30 am Thursday, December 17, 2020
By Phil Clapham
For the Beachcomber
If you’ve driven east on Cemetery Road at night lately, you cannot possibly have missed the Christmas light display at number 8801.
Santas, reindeer, nutcrackers, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, carousels, gnomes, houses, sleighs (not to mention various other forms of transportation), and a large chewing chipmunk… you name it, it’s there on the lawn, lit up and glowing. The chipmunk is a particular favorite with kids.
Frank and Alexis Daniels didn’t start out intending to create a big Christmas landscape in their front yard.
It began with a couple of items around 12 years ago, Frank said, but gradually expanded until, five years ago, when “it kind of got out of control.” Although they both contribute equally to the work involved, it’s primarily Alexis’ inspiration, or, as her husband put it with a laugh, “She’s to blame.”
The couple has lived on Vashon for 30 years. He’s a sixth-grade math teacher, while she is retired after 38 years of driving metro buses. They start to put up the Christmas display after Thanksgiving, and it takes around three weeks to get it all into place.
“There’s a lot of extension cords involved”, Frank said, with another laugh. They use conventional bulbs rather than LED’s, Alexis says, because they prefer “the warmer, old-fashioned look.”
Asked what the display does to their electricity costs, the Daniels raised their collective eyebrows.
“It’s expensive,” Frank said. “It adds around $300 to our monthly bill. But it’s only up for a few weeks, and it’s worth it.”
That speaks to the couple’s motivation, especially in this memorably horrible year of pandemic and partisanship.
“We wanted to do something to cheer people up,” Alexis said.
Apparently, it’s working.
“We’re seeing a lot more people driving by slowly or stopping,” she said. “Far more than in previous years. We usually take it down in early January, but we might leave it up longer this year.”
The Daniels put up other seasonal displays at Easter, Thanksgiving and Halloween. And where do they store all this stuff when it’s not on their lawn?
“Everywhere!” Frank answered “The basement, the attic, car port… and at our neighbor’s.”
The display is at 8801 Cemetery Road, right before the turn onto 87th Avenue. Visitors are welcome to come by. There is limited parking on the verge on either side of the street.
