Holiday spirit burns bright for Mitchell family

WASILLA — If a person can be addicted to decorating his home for Christmas, Jeff Mitchell said he has no intention of ever kicking the habit.

Devotees of YouTube may have seen his work. For the past three years, he’s decked out in lights synced up to Christmas music his home on Tennyson Court, in the neighborhood across from Settler’s Bay off of Knik-Goose Bay Road.

“Growing up you always had that one house that you wanted to go see at Christmas,” Mitchell said.

He wants his to be that home in the Valley. Before he started the dancing light show he would decorate the house with thousands of bulbs.

“When the computer light craze kind of started I jumped in with both feet,” Mitchell said.

He said he heard of a guy in Anchorage who had done a computer light show. That person is now one of his best friends and both are addicted to computerized Christmas light shows. It’s probably good that Mitchell has caught the bug; without that kind of compulsive motivation it might be hard to find the time to sync up lights to a full three-minute song.

“Each minute of music will take me roughly eight hours to program,” Mitchell said.

The way it works is visitors pull up to the house and tune their car radios to 91.5 FM. Mitchell has a small FM transmitter that can get a signal to the end of the block. The song he has synced the lights to plays on repeat.

Folks don’t even have to leave their cars, but if they want to, Mitchell has set out a donation box for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Judging by the crowds it draws, Mitchell’s efforts are exceedingly popular. But not everyone has greeted his efforts with Christmas cheer. When he first began building the displays, Mitchell said, he had a few neighbors who complained about how much traffic he attracted to what is, at least at every other time of the year, a sleepy residential neighborhood.

He didn’t want to get into those old gripes, but the neighbors who didn’t like his displays have either moved on or been won over. And the lights have become something of a community fixture.

“The house on the corner that used to be a problem neighbor; when the house sold it’s a disclosure in the house that there’s plenty of traffic during Christmas season,” Mitchell said.

As far as he knows, the neighborhood is completely supportive of what he does. Which is due, he said, mostly to how well-behaved the rest of the Valley is.

“The reason why my neighbors are so supportive is because the community is so awesome,” Mitchell said. They don’t spin donuts in the cul-de-sac, he said of the people who drive by to look. They keep their car radios at a reasonable volume. If they block driveways they are very polite about moving out of the way.

In summary, Mitchell said, “they’re not out there being a wild bunch of idiots.”

For his day job, Mitchell has a Mad Science franchise, which brings hands-on science displays to schools, summer camps, birthday parties and community events.

Though most nights he’s not out there with his lights, Mitchell said he plans to make an exception tonight.

“We’re going to bundle up and bring out a couple of heaters and get all my candy canes out there and we’re going to hand out candy canes until we run out,” Mitchell said. “My goal is to be out there all night.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.

IF YOU GO

What: Mitchell Family Holiday Lights display of Christmas lights synced to music.

Where: 5270 Tennyson Ct.

When: Lights will be up and blinking 5-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday until Jan. 3. Tonight, the Mitchell family will be handing out candy canes.

Online: christmasinak.com.