All language subtitles for The.Great.Christmas.Light.Fight.S12E04.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH[EZTVx.to]

All: 3...2...1!

Narrator: It’s a sweet,
wintery treat...

That is a real
gingerbread house!

...as four families face off...

These are professional
penguin hockey
players right here.

...in a Christmas competition
that will "blow" you away.

The largest blow-mold
train station in the U.S.

Way too cool!

And Judge Carter Oosterhouse...

This is like something you
would see in an amusement park.

...hands out the next
$50,000 prize.

This is
the best night ever!

So "camel" ye faithful...

Chris: That’s Kevin,
the Christmas Camel.
Carter: Come on!

...and get your ducks
in a row for the holidays.

This is like a zoo.

Because "The Great
Christmas Light Fight"...

This is incredible!

...is on.

What do
the neighbors think?

They think we’re crazy.
Yeah.

That’s all right.

-- Captions by VITAC --

♪♪

We are the Richards family
from Columbia, Missouri.

You call this
a gingerbread house?

All: This is
a gingerbread house!

Christmas, to me, means putting
a smile on everybody’s face

and making it
a magical place for children.

Whatever candy that’s
on a gingerbread house,

we’re gonna try to do it.

The theme for
the Richards family display

is the gingerbread house,

and we create that
by putting amber lights

on all four sides of the house
and covering it in candy.

Need a pink,
a yellow, and a blue.

Red and white swirls stay
over here on the red tree.

Usually takes us
about two months

to put up over 350,000 lights.

It’s looking good!

This gingerbread display has

all kinds of activities
for kids.

Sarah: We have a trampoline,
we have a beach scene,

we have an igloo,
we have the Quack Shack.

This is a big night.
[ Ducks quack ]

Let’s do this.

Carter is gonna be floored.

He’s seen a lot of displays,

but not one quite like
the Richards' gingerbread house.

♪♪

Whoo!

♪♪

Sarah: We're so excited!

Guys, guys!
Here comes Carter!

[ All cheer ]
Carter: What's up?

Merry Christmas!

How y'all doing?

Hey, what's going on?
Wow!

I love the outfits.
Oh, my gosh.

Tell me a little bit
about yourselves.

I’m Sarah, I’m the mom.
This is my daughter, Anniston.

Hello.
This is Parker.

How you doing?
This is Bryan.

-Hi.
-Nice to meet you.

And we are
crazy Christmas people.

Crazy Christmas people?
All right.
Yes.

You’re gonna see
our ordinary home

transformed into a real-life
gingerbread house.
I like that.

We have it covered in lights
and candy everywhere,

right on
into the backyard.

Do you guys love
being a part of this?

Of course.
I love it,
and I just love Christmas.

-Yeah?
-All right, Carter.

Are you ready
to turn these lights on?

Absolutely.

We’re gonna start here
with this gumdrop

that you’re going to press --
lights on.

I love it.
You guys ready?

All: Yeah!
All right!

Let's count it down.
Here we go, in...

All: 3...2...1!

♪♪

[ All cheer ]
♪ We live in
a gingerbread house ♪

♪ We live in
a gingerbread house ♪

♪ With window frames
made from candy canes ♪

♪ And the lollipop on top ♪

Oh, my gosh.
That's so great.

That is a real
gingerbread house!

And I love the soft-colored
lights on the house.
Sarah: Thank you!

♪ We don’t care
what the neighbors say ♪

♪ We'd have it no other way ♪

♪ Yes, we live
in a gingerbread house ♪

[ All cheer ]

You guys wanna get in there
and check it out?

-Let’s go!
-Let's go!

Come on!
Sarah: Let's go!

Come on!

♪ Ba, ba-ba-ba ♪

♪ Ba-ba-ba-ba ♪

♪ Ba, ba, ba ♪

♪ Ba ♪
Your home looks like
a gingerbread house,

and all these sort of
soft white lights

you have on here,
that looks so good.

The roofline looks fantastic.
It looks like it’s fake.

How many lights
do you have?

Sarah:
350,000 at least.

That is so many lights!

We lost count,
so it could be a lot more.

Oh, look at this!

We got an arrow over here.
There is more to see.

It goes right on
into the backyard.
Wow!

[ Chuckles ] Oh, my God.
This is the candy cane tunnel.

What?!
We have candy cane lights.

We have candy canes
over here.

We have our gingerbread men with
their little gingerbread house.

Oh, my gosh.
This is gorgeous.

It’s a great entrance, and
just seeing all the pathways.

And then you have all these
great little lanes in here.

Yeah.
This is the gumdrop path

that led us here
to the beach.

This is my daughter’s
personal touch.

What? This is
the best beach ever.

You have real sand,
and you have palm trees,

the umbrella.

What is going on here?

I love the beach, and it just
gives me beach vibes, so...

Nice.
I love beach vibes.

[ Giggles ]
It’s like I’m
in Hawaii right now.

The beach vibes are here
in Missouri, big time.

Well done.

♪♪

Candy Cane Lane! And you
lead up to a trampoline?
Parker: Yeah.

I don’t think I’ve ever
seen a trampoline

being used
in a display before.

Kids love it.
Sarah: They love
to get in there.

It just adds
to the excitement.

How many people
come through your display?

Thousands,
from all over.

Kansas City.
Really?

Sometimes Springfield.
Yeah.

Just to bounce
on the old trampoline

in the back
over here, right?

[ Train whistle blows ]

You have an igloo.
And this is a big igloo, too.

Another feature
we have here for kids.

This igloo was a jungle gym
once upon a time.

You add some cable ties
and some net lights,

blue and white, to make it
look like snow and ice.

Bryan made the PVC arch
to make it appear as an igloo,

and it’s melting
into the little river.

You don’t want
the igloo to melt,

but yet it’s cool because
you have that little feature.

What I love about
your display --

it is so interactive
for kids.

Kids will jump right in.

They dance.
They absolutely love it.

The other night, someone said,
"This is the best night ever!"

And that’s what
it's all about.

♪♪

Oh, you got, like,
a miniature gingerbread house.

What is going on
in here?

Just hanging out
at the Quack Shack.

[ Chuckles ]
The Quack Shack?

Why is it called
the Quack Shack?

Well, we got a couple friends
in here.

[ Ducks quack ]

There's ducks.
Oh, my God!

You guys have
so many things

that are just blowing
my mind right now

and I was not
expecting to see.

Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Ducks, come here.

Come here,
come here.

-They’re fine.
-Hey, guys.

They just walk the trails.
They just have fun.

Carter:
What are their names?

Sarah:
This is Peep and Lightning.

The children always want to see
Peep and Lightning,

and say,
"Can we let them loose?"

And they walk around,
and they follow them.

And sometimes the ducks
follow the kids.

That is so much fun.

They’re just part
of the display.

I don’t know why,
but you just, like,

made my day
with these two.

Just another surprise.

Hey, guys, you wanna
keep going with us?

[ Ducks quack ]
Wanna keep
walking with us?

[ Chuckles ]
You gonna stay there?

♪♪

What area is this?

Our candy trees.

So many cool things you guys
have in your display.

Do people actually
just take the candy?

-Absolutely.
-Yeah.

Can I have
one of these?

-Absolutely.
-Yes, absolutely.

You guys provide so many
fun little moments here.

The display
is not over yet.

We have one big surprise
left for you.

I love surprises.

♪♪

All right, Carter.
This is the big surprise.

If you want to push
this door open.

Carter:
What is going on here?

Yeah -- What?!

This is amazing!
A secret forest.

Oh, my gosh,
this is so cool.

This is the coolest spot
for a kid hangout.

And I did not think
this was coming at all.

Welcome to the fort.
What do you mean,
the fort?

The kids come out here
and enjoy the scenery.

You created the coolest
little hangout,

like, sneaky space.

We made it
about two years ago.

Parker and I came out here
and built the fort.

And you just used pallets
for the walls, too.

It gives a nice partition, but
you can still see through them.

Right. It’s really cool.
Got the floor joists
under there.

Can I go up in it?
Absolutely.

This is awesome.

Oh, my gosh!

This is amazing up here!

This is so cool,
you guys.

I’m so impressed
by what you’ve created.

Wow! This is
really impressive.

I love when people
take a different,

unique approach
to their Christmas display.

At every stop,
there was something new

that I’ve never seen before.

I feel like my 12-year-old self

would love this display
even more.

Did you have fun?

-So much fun.
-So much.

There were so many cool things
to see within your display.

You said you had a gingerbread
house, which you do,

but then you have
all these different things

that are not usually
associated with Christmas,

and it’s so fun
for kids.

You just made it
so kid friendly.

That’s what makes it awesome.
Bryan: Absolutely.

Thank you so much
for coming.

Of course.
Are you kidding me?

And Carter, thank you for making
my girls' dream come true.

Absolutely.
It was awesome.

I do have a few more places
I have to go check out.

-Okay.
-Okay.

So I’m gonna
give you a big hug.

Say "Merry Christmas,"
guys.

All: Merry Christmas!

-Take care, all right?
-All right. See you later.

-You too.
-Yes!

Anniston: We nailed it.
That was awesome!

♪♪

♪♪

We're the Kraklow family!

All: And we’re here
to light things up

with a lot of girl power!

What do we need to do?

We still have
to flock underneath.

Okay.
And after that, we have
to finish the bushes.

I have a hybrid display,
a traditional display,

and a light-show display.

To the left.

Morris is
my partner-in-crime

in my Christmas-light
display...

To the left.
...for 10 years.

Uh, usually,
I have to do things twice.

No, 50 times.

He’s gonna have to go
all the way over

because he’s blocking
the present.
Okay. Right there?

In my mind, I know where
everything needs to go,

how it’s supposed to look.

Just like that.

Once we finish it,
it really comes out great.

She’s the boss.

David: Where Michelle is really
important in all of this,

it’s the songs
with the choreography,

and everything
coming together.

I’m one of a few
female programmers

in the Christmas-light
community.

It’s a fashion statement,
I’m telling you.

Because of that,
it forces me

to push myself
a lot harder.

Carter’s coming.
I know.

We got this.
We got it.

All right,
let’s go.

Her winning
"The Christmas Light Fight"

would make her
the ultimate Christmas diva.

♪♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Wow! Let’s go.
Look at you.

I love that outfit.

Girl power. Girl power.
Girl power. I like it.

Tell me a little bit
about yourself.

I am Michelle.

This is my husband, David.
How you doing?

And then my helper,
Morris.
Hello.

What makes you do this
year after year?

My husband is
retired military.

Many moons ago,
right after 9/11,

we were in base housing,
living there at the time.

I had already put up
all the Christmas lights,

and I walked out,
and I was like, "Wait a minute.

Why is our house
the only house?"

It dawned on me that all
the guys had been deployed out.

So, for me, I was like,
"Well, that’s kind of sad."

And so, that year, I added
some more and some more.

One day, my husband
had pulled up,

and he was like, "You need
to stop or you’re gonna

make the house
look like Las Vegas."

[ Laughter ]
And I was like,
"Challenge accepted."

Yeah.
I was like,
"I can show you."

I’m so excited.
How do we get this started?

With the kitchen sink.
I love it.

I always tell people
I have a little of everything

in my display,
now including the kitchen sink.

Now the kitchen
sink's here. Okay.

So, all you’re gonna do
is turn the knobs...
Yep.

...and it will actually
start the show.

All right.
Are you guys ready?

All: Yeah!

Here we go.
Let's count it down, guys, in...

All: 3...2...1!

♪♪

Oh. Look at that.
Look at that.

[ Crowd "ohh"s ]

And then lights.

♪♪

[ All cheer ]

What?!

Yeah!

Oh, yeah.
♪ Deck the halls
with boughs of holly ♪

♪ Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la ♪

Wow. All right.

Got like a little club
going on here right now.

Holy smokes.

That screen is so trippy.

-Ohhh!
-Whoo-hoo-hoo!

What is going on
at the top of your roof?

♪♪

Wow!
[ All cheer ]

Come on, now.

♪♪

Man: It’s the most wonderful
time of year.

Yeah!

All: Whoo!

Good job!
Oh, my gosh.

You guys wanna get
in there and check it out?

All: Yeah!
Let’s go.
Come on, guys.

♪ In Heaven,
the bells are ringing ♪

♪ Ding-dong, verily the sky
is riven with angels singing ♪

Woman: Who’s that up top?
Mickey.

Is that Mickey?

Michelle: This is
the tree of trees.

This is so cool!

We just recently upgraded it
to seed pixels,

which are smart,
but they’re super light,

and they’re just as bright
as a regular pixel.

And you can make them
any color you want.

And these little trees?
They’re old crab pots.

That’s what they’re called --
crab pots?

Yeah. Well, that’s what
people used to go crabbing with.

They used Christmas trees?
They could.

[ Both laugh ]

♪♪

I call this
the ring trees.

[ Chuckles ] Okay.
The ring trees.

So, this was
before pixels.

And at the time, people'd
normally do L.E.D. one color,

and I was like, "No, I want mine
to be different colors."

So these are RGBs. I can do
different patterns on them.

I’m super --
Like, I love these things.

That’s something
I’ve never seen before.

These?
Yeah.

Have you seen my pillars?

I noticed these
right away.

It’s a great effect.

I wanted my house to be
able to go up and down.

Went ahead and
measured out the house,

did it in four sections...
Nice.

...drilled out all the holes
and punched all these lights in.

Oh, my God. How long does
it take to make one of these?

The pushing of the lights
took the longest.

I was taking these panels
to work

and pushing them in
at work too.

So cool. You make
all of these things.

Well, both of you guys do,
right?

Yeah.
She comes up
with the ideas.

And sometimes
she brings them to me.

We work on it together
and we make it happen.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

But something you have...
The big matrix.

It’s a bit more traditional,
but it’s massive.

Michelle:
Yeah, it’s 4,800 pixels
that we push through strips.

Yeah.
How many strips?

96 strips.

Ooh-whee!
4,800 lights.

And then you gotta
figure out how to wire it.
Speaking of wiring...

Go in the back.

[ Laughs ]
Oh, my gosh!

This is like
a plait of snakes.

Yes.
You have to be so precise
to make something like this.

Yes, everything needs
to line up perfectly,

or your picture
is gonna be distorted.

And then you gotta
connect them

onto the larger cables
down here.
Yes.

And then they all have to
run to -- What are these?

The 680-4s?

I thought they were
the 780-5s.

No.
Wouldn’t want
to use those

in weather like this.

No, not at all.
[ Laughs ]

How did you ever
get into the tech?

'Cause this is not easy,
one, just to put it together,

two, just to program it.

That’s a lot of work.
It is.

Got into our first house,
and I joined the forums,

I did all the other stuff.

And I was so proud.

That first year,
I was like, "Yes!"

And then,
now it’s like this.

This is crazy.
This is next level.

But it’s so much fun.

♪♪

Carter: Your house looks
stunning from here

with just
the static display,

but then
when it starts dancing,

it’s totally different
and unique.

You have like Hollywood
lights up there, right?

Yes. They’re built on
little, small platforms

to the pitch
of the roof.

They fit
pretty tight up there.

They’re in
inflatable domes,

so it keeps them protected
from the weather.

Michelle: I wanted atmosphere
and to give that,

you know,
bold beam look,

so we actually pipe the fog
through 75 feet of drain hose

to the top,
all across the moving heads.

No, you don’t.
Do you really?

Yeah, we vent-force
the fog up there.
Yeah.

Wow. You guys
went the extra step

just to create that
whole ambiance up there.

Yes.
And it really works.

♪♪

So pretty.

♪♪

What does Santa say?

Ho, ho, ho.

One of the things
that I noticed right away

were those bulbs
that were singing.

Morris: An even better
element is

the little flower boxes
that Michelle came up with.

Michelle: I wanted all my
windows to have a flower box,

and so that is
garden fencing.

When she brought
the idea to me,

I thought she was crazy.
[ Laughs ] Okay.

But once we got it completed,
we were like, "Wow."

♪♪

♪ Hey ♪

And then the mega tree.

Yeah.
The pixel tree.

We actually made all of
the pixel lines ourselves.

We use paracord.

Very, very strong rope.
Yeah.

I went and bought some
C7 lights, took the covers off,

drilled the covers, and put
them over top of the pixels

because I wanted a traditional
Christmas-light look.

Yeah.
That went into
my living room

for like three,
four months.

Her husband was still overseas,
and he came home

and found that
in his living room.
Yeah.

Michelle is out here
crushing it.

She’s making
all these things DIY,

and she’s bringing new,
inventive stuff to the game.

Man, I love it.

Oh, my gosh,
that was so much fun.

I’m glad you came.

There’s moments in here
that really feel like

that rave,
sort of club style,

but you blended it so well
with the traditional pieces,

and then
the artistry involved.

I love all the kids out here
and their reactions,

'cause that’s
what it’s about.

Yeah.
And that’s why
I enjoy doing it.

How cool is it
to see your wife

just create something like this
and doing what she loves?

It’s remarkable.
What she sees in her mind

coming out to reality is
just -- it’s amazing to see.

It’s all about
having fun.

Well, you have
definitely made this

a fun-filled experience
for me.

Unfortunately, I have a few more
places I gotta go check out,

so I’m gonna give you guys
a big hug.
Oh!

Say, "Merry Christmas."
Merry Christmas!

Thank you guys so much.
Thank you.

That was a lot of fun.
Morris: That was a lot of fun.

David: A high five
on that one, or what?

Yeah. Did great.
Sweet! We got this.

♪♪

♪ Christmas ♪

♪ The best time of the year ♪

♪ Christmas ♪

If you think we need
more lights,

you’re preaching to the choir.

Welcome to Clark's
crazy Christmas display.

Agh! All right,
we're there. Perfect.

So, I got my first house at 21.

Went all out,
put around 90,000 lights up,

crazy display.

Button test.
Plug it in real quick for me.

My youngest memories of
my dad’s Christmas displays --

We'd come home from school,
and he’d be out in the yard

putting lights up at the house
all by himself.

The North Pole Express.

Seven kids later,
life took over.

Hadn't done it
for 25 years.

2019, got diagnosed
with some stuff.

I figured, on the way out, I’m
gonna bring other people joy,

and I’m sticking to it.

Penguin land done?
Kids: Yep.

Moon up?
Yeah.

Choir's done?
Yep.

Does that mean we’re
finally finished?

Not even close. I think
we need more blow molds.

[ Kids groan ]
Young Man: I think that’s it.

Where’s everybody going?

Chris: I’m gonna say I have
the second- or the third-largest

blow-mold collection
in the U.S.

I do have the largest
choir collection in the U.S.,

I have the largest
train collection in the U.S.,

and it might be the largest
penguin collection, too.

Dude, you gotta
get your lines together.

You’re making me
look bad!

♪♪

Looks good.
I do all of this

to make sure
that other people

will have
a smile on their face

and a memory
with their family

for the rest of their life
when they come here to see this.

I think we’re ready
for Carter.

What do you guys think?
All: Yeah!

Win or lose, the fact that I
can bring people joy is awesome.

[ All vocalizing ]

♪♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Hey! Hey!
-Merry Christmas!

What's up?!

Wow, you have
a fantastic suit on right now.

These are some nice duds.
What’s your name?

Chris Clark.
How you doing, sir?

Nice to meet you.
Who’s with you?

Just family and friends.

Wow. You got
a whole crew here.

Seven kids,
so it adds up quick.

So you got a little swag
about you right now.

Is that reflective
in your display?

I’m gonna say yes, but I’ll let
you be the judge of that.

Ooh! Look at this.

You ready to see this?
Absolutely.

All right, let’s power this
thing up and make it happen.

Ooh! What is this?
[ Electricity crackles ]

All right, so, this is
a fiberglass elf bakery.

That is amazing!

What is this -- like a
switchboard, a circuit breaker?

Yeah, we had to make
a custom board to be able
to handle the power,

'cause everything else
we tried kept blowing.

And you’re gonna flip
some switches,

and we’re gonna make
some things happen.

I’ve been electrocuted
a lot, so...
[ Laughter ]

Are you guys
ready for this?

All: Yeah!

Okay, here we go.
Let’s count it down, in...

3...2...1!

[ All cheering ]

[ Electricity crackles ]

♪♪

♪ Joy to the world ♪
Whoa!

Oh, my gosh!
This is amazing!

♪ Let Earth receive her King ♪

You completely lit up
your house.

I love your garage.

There’s how many
blow molds?

Over 1,000.
What?

Oh, my gosh. I love
the ice rink over here.

And then all the stuff
on the roof.

And the moon up there.

That's 65 feet, baby.
What?

I gotta see this.

You guys wanna
come check it out?

All: Yeah!
All right, let’s go.
Come on.

♪ It's Christmas ♪

♪ Christmas ♪

Wow, you have a lot of
blow molds here, don’t you?

How long does it take
to set up this entire area?

-Three months.
-Yeah.

Three months?
What do the neighbors think?

-They think we’re crazy.
-Yeah.

That's all right.

Are you saying hi
to Santa Claus?

Okay, let’s talk
about this guy right here,

'cause I want to start getting
some interactive moments.

Where is it?
Up here.

Oh, this guy
right here?!

[ Laughs ]
That’s awesome.

A lot of these are not sold
actually as light-up blow molds.

We ended up drilling,
ran a wire, and then this way,

we’ll be able to hit the buttons
and make them come on

so the kids can have something
to interact with.

This is great!

Oh, my gosh!
This is so fun.

♪♪

How do you get
so many penguins?

A lot of just, you know,
hunting them down.

And I see some buttons
right here.

Yes. Yeah. You can make him
play with you.

That is awesome!

These are professional penguin
hockey players right here.

Do you buy this ice rink
or do you rent it?

No, we hand-built all this.
Come on!

Oh, yeah.
It’s 8 foot by 24 foot,

but it’s all built
with 2x6s.

Gotcha. And then what
do you use for the rink?

This is actually
a two-inch foam.

That was smart.
Man: It’s actually
pretty sturdy.

Is it?
I mean, we brought this
thing over with his loader.

Good thing
he had a loader.
Yeah.

What do you do
in real life?

I got a hardware store.

Dude. We should be
best friends.

So it makes it a little easier
to get some parts.

♪♪

So, this is the post office,
the North Pole Express.

Lot of work going on in there.
Of course, we’ve got

the envelopes in the back
going through the mail chute.

Carter: How did you make that?
So, it’s fishing line.

There’s actually
a fan motor up in the top.

Just tried to
make it look like

there’s as much movement
as possible.
Yeah. Right.

So, the conveyor's
probably

the greatest outcome
out of everything,

to where the kids can
have that interaction,

make the packages move.

Something interactive
is always great to have.

I mean, it’s crazy
because this is a garage,

and the fact that you did
a post office, too.

How else do kids get
the letters to Santa?

♪♪

More blow molds here.
There’s so much to see.

Oh, there is. Just wait,
you haven’t seen nothing yet.

[ Chuckles ]
Oh, my gosh!

This is incredible!

I am so blown away
right now.

Carter:
There’s so much to see.

Just wait, you haven’t
seen nothing yet.

[ Chuckles ]
Oh, my gosh!

This is incredible!

Look at the bears!

Oh, my gosh.
And the choir.

The camels?!
Yes.

You have camels!

That’s Kevin,
the Christmas Camel.

Come on.
Yep.

So people just walk
right through here?

Chris:
Absolutely. Yep.

This is just
way too cool.

[ Camel grunts ]
This is like a zoo.

It feels like almost
a manger or a barn,

which is still in the Christmas
theme, which really works, too.

Obviously, the camels play into,
obviously, the manger scene.

Yeah.
The other items
ended up just --

you know,
like a circus theme almost,

kind of like a mixture

of a bunch of things
added together.

Wait, and this is
your deck, right?

Believe it or not,
this is the deck.

Okay.
Sounds crazy.

We have to lower the grade
of the yard by 12 1/2 inches

because I’m 6'3",

so I had to make sure
I can clear this

just so people can come
in here and experience this.

And I love
all the lighting.

Yeah, we tucked it all,
hid it all, put strips in.

That’s so good.
How many camels do you have?

Six camels.

This guy here
just kind of

couldn’t stand up
anymore, and...

Ohh! Poor camel.

[ Camel grunts ]

♪♪

Let him in there.
He loves touching buttons.

[ Dogs bark ]

This is probably the largest
blow-mold train station

in the U.S.
Carter: What?

140 feet of track,
13 trains.

This is incredible,
just the detail on these,

with the presents,
with the wrapping, with the bow.

That blue one you just touched,
there’s only 30 ever made.

Really?
And a lot of these,

we did some repurposing,
they were kind of broken down.

This is
really impressive.

You obviously made
all the track with PVC,

and you have 2x4s
down there.

Yep. That was
one of the things.

We tried to
make it look like

they’re all coming in
and going back out.

I feel like the kid
inside of you

is coming out
a little bit.
Just a little.

♪♪

Now, what do
you think of this?

It’s so big.

This is like something you would
see in an amusement park.

I do have the largest
choir collection in the U.S.

Wow!
109 choir people,

over 20 trumpeters,
20 drummers.

I hand-wired and made up
my own kits for the interiors.

So this'll be the only choir
you’ll ever see

where it’s uniformed on lighting
and the heads light up.

This is such
a special piece.

♪♪

You got the Navy
in the cove.
Okay.

The Army.
[ Chuckles ] Right.

The Air Force,
and Space Force.

Ah! Space Force!
I love this.

What we wanted to do is
just honor our soldiers.

So, this here is kind of
part of the fallen soldiers.

So they’re carrying them
off the battlefield,

and then you got the chopper
that’s coming in

onto the landing pad
so it looks like it’s flying.

We hand-built
that helicopter.

That’s priceless.
That is a beautiful piece.

Chris, where does your brain
come up with all this stuff?

If I could find a way
to shut this thing off,

this thing will get smaller,
I promise.
[ Chuckles ] Right.

This area here
is the observation deck.

And then this --
the VIP area.

Just has more vintage.
Wow!

One of the hardest pieces
in the world to find

is this 1969 snowman.
I love it.

And then
you have the antenna

sticking on the top
with the moon.

How do you get that
up there?

So, we get everything
kind of prepped,

and then, from there,
it lays all the way across.

We put ropes down on the ground,
so they just start pushing 2x4s,

everything else,
and eventually, we get it up,

and it’s an amazing piece.

And it looks great.
It’s so magical.

So, can we see
the observation deck?

Chris: Absolutely.
Let’s head on down.

So this became like
the selfie station.
Carter: Oh!

Being able to do this
for the community.

the laughter, the joy,
it lights my heart up.

So, basically, I’ll just
tell you the story.

Yeah, tell me.
So, 2019,

found out that I have
a rare form of MS,

which I was told that,
within two to three years,

I'll need a caregiver.

Like, that’s how aggressive
of a form I have.

What?
Yeah.

I mean, you look great.
You seem healthy.

And that’s the problem.
Even I fought this.
Yeah.

One day, I might wake up
and my legs don’t wanna work.

Oh, my gosh.
Or my hands. I’m dropping
stuff everywhere.

But yet, the next day,
let’s go build something.
Right.

You wake up every day like,
"What am I gonna get?"

And then, "What can I accomplish
on the day that's good?"

It’s the way it is
until it gets really bad.

Then, when it gets really
bad, I guess we’ll talk
from my bedside.

I don’t know, but,
right now, it's like --

But, right now, it’s good.
Oh, man.
That’s the kicker, yep.

You take those good days
and rock on with them.

I’m so impressed
with you.

Good or bad,
I hope you enjoyed it.

Hope it brought you
some joy.

[ Scoffs ] "Good or bad"?
This is incredible.

There's nothing bad
about this place.

It’s so impressive.
It’s beautiful.

You’ve done an amazing,
incredible job.
Awesome.

I definitely appreciate it.
Thank you.

You are an impressive man.
Thank you for doing this.

The fact that Chris has
multiple sclerosis,

which is a degenerative disease,

and he still puts
this display on

in such a massive way,

it’s really very inspiring.

Oh, my gosh!

I am so impressed
with all of this.

You know,
right when I walked up,

I just saw
so many blow molds --

all the different styles,
the different looks,

the different stories,
the different themes.

So much interactive moments,
and all the creativity.

Every square inch, you used,
even under the deck.

I mean, how proud are you
of your dad?

I’m pretty
proud of it.

I think just having something
at the end of the day

to look forward to for him

is really helpful with
what he’s going through.

[ Voice breaking ]
And I’m just glad that he...

I’m a crier.

I’m just really glad
that he has something

that he can be
really proud of

and other people can be
proud of him for, too.

Thank you.
Yeah, it’s pretty special.
It really is.

Inspiration
to so many people.

I just want
to give you a hug.

Hey, thank you so much.
Thank you so much.

It was a pleasure
to meet all of you guys.

You’re a wonderful family.
Have a Merry Christmas.

I gotta get out of here.
Take care, okay?

-Thanks, Carter.
-All right. See you guys.

-Bye!
-Bye!

Good job, guys.

-Good job, Dad.
-Love you.

♪♪

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells ♪

♪ Jingle all the way ♪

All: We're the Bell family.

And we’re gonna jingle
our way into your heart.

[ Bells jingle ]

[ Grunts ]

Howard: When we first
started dating,

I noticed that
she had nutcrackers.

Amanda: I started collecting
nutcrackers when I was 11.

Our first Christmas came up,
and I was like,

"I'm gonna buy her
some nutcrackers."

He couldn’t ever
just buy me one.

He would buy multiple,
and it just kept multiplying

and multiplying.

We have over 150 now.

They’ve overflowed from
the house into the yard.

A little loose.

2009,
when Reese was born,

now I can go crazy
with Christmas.

My artiste skills are not
what they once were.

We have many scenes.
We have scenes within a scene.

You have to put on the glitter
when it’s still wet.

All right, now Elsa's ready
to let it go.

It’s grown every year.

Is that about right?

That sounds
about right, yes.
[ Chuckles ]

♪♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

What's up, contestants?
Merry Christmas!

-Merry Christmas.
-Merry Christmas.

How y’all doing?

All: We're great!

Oh, I was so waiting
to say that

for a long time.
[ Laughter ]

Hey, Carter. I'm Howard Bell.
We are the Bell family.

Nice to meet you.

Okay, tell me a little bit
about your display.

Well, there's something
for everybody.

We have got different scenes.

There's gonna be cut-outs.
There's gonna be blow-ups.

We got snowmen.
And we have snowmen.

That's good, that's good.
You're [indistinct]
for doing that.

Yeah, we got a special
presenter here

to get this bad boy started.

Oh! Thanks, Santa.
Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas
to you.
Yeah. So, Carter,

you know, I was
a former teacher and a coach.
Uh-huh.

We thought, what better way
than to have a school bell

turn these lights on? And plus,
we're the Bell family, right?

So we gotta have a bell.
So you might as well,
right? Absolutely.

There's gonna be
a little switch in there,

and you're gonna
turn these lights on.

Well, let's do it.
Should we do it, guys?

What do y'all think?

[ Cheering ]
Okay, here we go.

Oh, it is a little switch.
Look at that. That's so cool!

All right, you guys want
to count it down?

[ Cheering ]

In...
All: 3...2...1!

[ School bell rings ]

Whoa!

[ Laughing ]
Oh, my God!

Wow!

Stretches all the way
across your yard!

Oh, my gosh,
I love these mega trees.

So many inflatables here.

Your house is gorgeous.

You got, like,
the Disney theme over here.

How many acres?
Howard: Two acres,

but definitely
an acre that is lit.

This is
a massive display.

You want to get
a little closer look?

Absolutely.
Come on, guys, let's go.

♪♪

[ Babbles ]

We gotta smile.

Carter: Everything sort of
flows into something else.

Howard: Yes.
Another theme.

Right? 'Cause that's
not easy to do,

especially on a display
this size.

We make sure there's
a theme for everyone.

There's a theme for everyone.
I love it.

Good job.
Good job.

One of the first things
that I notice are

all the Disney princesses.

Amanda: Carter, these are
all made out of plywood,

and what we do
is I sketch them out,

and then Howard --
he cuts them.

You did a great job.

I like to look
at all of the pictures

that I can find
of the characters

and just try to get them as
authentic as they should be.

We kind of make sure
there's, like,

a little space for, like,
everyone.

That's really good.

You know,
you get to add your design

and your style,
which is really fun.

This gingerbread house
is actually an old playhouse

that someone got rid of.

It was very muddy
and beat up.

But now it looks
spectacular.

This was just, like,
that spray foam

that fans, you know?
Ah, that's so genius, yes.

And then we painted it.
And then these are just

regular old cups
that we painted.
Are they really?

-They're plastic cups...
-Plastic cups.

...that we painted.
That's so cool.

I love all the repurposing
of items.

And you made it
really special.

The amount of inflatables
is massive.

One of the things that I do
with all the old inflatables

that go down that have
these big motors...
Uh-huh.

...I never get rid of them.
So I cut those motors out

and then my mother-in-law --
she'll sew it on right here.

So great.
And it looks just like
it belongs, you know?

That's so amazing.
It's just more sturdy.

Yeah, it's more rigid.

I mean, that is
impressive, man.

And you do that
to a lot of them?

Yes. Lucky to have
a mother-in-law

that knows how to do that.
That's right, man.

That's right.
Smart man.

As you can see, this is
our winter wonderland.

This is such a great area.
There's so much depth to it.

Amanda: Something is
always looking at you,

and there's always something
for you to look at.

This whole reindeer
and Santa's sleigh set

was pulled out
of the trash.

Really?
It was rusted out.

Oh, my gosh.
None of the lights
worked on any of it.

And you put all-new lights
on this?
Howard: I did.

Howard stripped it
all down...
Wow!

...sanded it, repainted it,
and re-lit it.

You have it down
to a science, my friend.

You really do.

You have just these rows
of various things --

you know, candy canes
and just different lights.

We have the little runway
right here.

Yeah. So, this is
a little airport.

And all the nutcrackers, too.
What's up with that?

Well, that the nutcrackers
are kind of my fault.

What do you mean,
they're your fault?

Well, when I was
a young girl,

I was in a production
of the ballet,

and my grandmother
gave me a nutcracker,

and I have collected them
ever since.

Wow.
And then
I met Howard and...

I took it up a notch.
Yeah!
You guys were like, "Oh!"

...he kinda thought
it was cool.

But that's great.
I mean, that's so

near and dear
to your heart, right?

It is. I love them.
There's --

I haven't come across two
that are the same.

The Bell family
has a massive yard.

There's so many different themes
around this display.

I just was so lost
in all the amazingness

that surrounded me.

How fun was that?

That was awesome,
Carter.
Awesome.

It's really impressive.
When it's done

and you look at it,
you go, "Wow."

You just can't beat
when you see a little kid

or even an 80-year-old kid
out here

and they're thanking you
for putting this on.

Nothing better.
This has been a blessing.

It's not about winning.
It's about the joy.

Oh, that's so great.
I love hearing that.

Carter: The Bell family did
a wonderful job,

but I've seen four
amazing displays,

and it's not gonna be easy
to make a choice,

but somebody's gonna be
the champions

of "The Great Christmas
Light Fight"

and win that $50,000.

Merry Christmas,
all right?
Merry Christmas, Carter.

See you guys.
Thank you.

Howard: Thank you. Bye-bye.
Well, that was fun.

That was amazing.

So, how do we beat this
next year?

Whew! It's gonna
be a challenge.

Narrator: Crazy for Christmas
and have the display to match?

Apply now at ABC.com/casting.

♪♪

♪♪

Hey, what's up, big guy?

[ Engine starts ]

These holiday lights
absolutely lit up the night.

All: 3...2...1!

Carter: The Richards family
from Columbia, Missouri,

built a gingerbread house that
looked good enough to eat.

What?!
This is amazing!

Every square inch
of their property

was deliciously decorated.

You just, like,
made my day

with these two.
[ Ducks quack ]

Oh, look at that.
Look at that.

Oh, I love that.

The Kraklow family
from Temecula, California,

put on a full-on
Christmas concert

with their synchronized show.

Come on, now.

Their unique mix
of high-tech

and traditional elements
absolutely shine.

All: 3...2...1!

Carter: The Clark family
from Batavia, Ohio,

blew me away with
a massive collection

of vintage blow molds.

Oh, my gosh!
This is so fun.

Their stunning
interactive display

would even have Santa himself
singing their praises.

And I'm not just preaching
to the choir.

All: 3...2...1!

Carter: The Bell family
from Canton, Texas,

rang in the Christmas season
with all the holiday classics.

We make sure there's
a theme for everyone.

There were princesses,
gingerbread houses,

and, of course,
their beloved nutcrackers.

They're gonna be
so surprised.

And now it's time to make
some Christmas memories

one family will never forget.

♪♪

All right, hit it,
Santa!

[ "Jingle Bells" plays ]

Thanks, Santa.

♪♪

Hey, Chris.
What's up, buddy?

Hey, man.
What's up?

Why don't you go get
the rest of your fam?

Sweet.

What's going on, guys?
Carter's here!

Hey! [ Laughs ]

How you all doing?

-Hey!
-Hi.

Good to see you all.
How you doing, sir?

You guys look great.
'Tis the season,
that's for sure.

'Tis the season, right?
Yeah.

You know, I've seen
a lot of great displays,

and I just wanted
to come here and say,

you know, your blow molds --
they blew me away.

And that's why you guys
are the champions

of "The Great Christmas
Light Fight!"

And you just won $50,000!
Whoo-hoo!

Awesome.
Congratulations!

[ Laughter ]

-Whoo!
-Good job, Dad.

Love you.

It's been a phenomenal year,
man, it really has.

Friday, we had
over 600 people here,

did 270 cups
of hot chocolate.

You're gonna have a lot more
than that.
Never in my life...

[ Laughter ]
I hope you know this now.

I can't ask for anything
more than that.

That in itself
is just awesome.
Yeah.

So I love it.
Yeah.

So, just bringing
people joy.

Yeah. You beat out a bunch
of other beautiful homes,

and that is
just a little nod

to what you have been able
to accomplish here.

And all of these
blow molds, man!

And the way that they're
set up and orchestrated,

and you had all these
other little themed areas

and their interactivity you had,
and then what you're

going through
on a regular daily basis --

it's even more impressive,
it really is.

Well, thank you.
That means a lot.

It really does.

Well, I do know that

there is something that is
pretty important to you

that you may
have a spot for.

This might be
the most valuable thing

that you're gonna give me
at this moment.

Well, hold on,
on that beat.

I think you actually got,
like, the butterflies --

Young Woman:
He's gonna cry over this.

No, I'm not gonna do it.
I'm gonna keep it together.

All right, guys,
this is the moment of truth.

[ Laughter ]
I'm happy, man.

Guys, raise this up,
'cause you deserve it.

[ Cheering ]
Look at that.

Congratulations.

That's amazing.
That's awesome.

Outside of kids' smiles
and giggles,

this is it, right here.

But I feel like
we should share that

with the rest of the crew.
You know who that is?

I think we're going to
the choir.

Let's go to the choir.
Let's do it.

Come on, guys!
[ Cheering ]

This is like the pinnacle of
Christmas decorating right here.

It's like playing
peewee football,

making it to the NFL,
which is awesome,

but then you win the Super Bowl.
That's what this is.

This is like the Super Bowl of
Christmas decorating right here.

I got a perfect place
for this.

♪ Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la ♪
There you go.

Whoo!
That is perfect.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Okay, let's go!
-Whoo!

Okay, so,
who's singing?

Come on, now.
♪ Fa-la-la ♪

3, 2...

All:
♪ Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la ♪

Chris: Good thing we're not
judged on our singing ability.
[ Laughter ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪