HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Mike Willis started putting up lights outside with his dad when he was seven years old.
"My dad and I decorated our house in Donelson, we totally covered the house in lights, and ever since then it just stuck," he said. "I carried on the tradition."
Now, he and his wife Leslie decorate their house in Hendersonville with just as much vigor. They've been decorating at 111 Laurens Way North since 1999. On Dec. 6, they received "Best Overall" in the Hendersonville Festival of Lights.
"Every year I just seem to add to my display on and on and do different things. Some stuff is handmade and some stuff is not. It's all for the kids and the excitement and joy of Christmas," Mike said.
They have several handmade wooden cartoon characters, and they bring out different ones every year.
This year, the Grinch and all the Whoville residents make an appearance, along with Santa's sleigh and some reindeer, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny, Frosty the Snowman and the Snoopy gang. Mike said they have about 15 extra they didn't use.
The Snoopy gang has a special story. It's one of the first displays they put up, and Leslie originally found the characters on a Hardee's bag.
"I'm a school teacher, so I took it to school, put it on the overhead, I blew it up and I traced it. We brought it home, and we put it on a piece of wood, and you mash real heard with an ink pen to put the imprint in the wood, and then he would cut it out," she said.
"That's how we made all the wood pieces. They weren't just clip-art we found online. They could've been found on any kind of advertisement we thought would look good on a Christmas display," Mike added.
Both Mike and Leslie say it's all for the kids, so they can experience joy.
They shared a story from several years ago as an example of why they love what they get to do every year.
They received a letter in the mailbox that said, 'To the family at 111 Laurens Way North.' It was a mom explaining how her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and couldn't go out around people, so she couldn't see Santa or any public places with lights.
"They would come up here, she would unbuckle her from her car seat, and she would dance in the car to the lights," Leslie said. "Since then, we've gotten to be good friends. They drive up here and we see them."
"That's what we do here to give back to the kids," Mike said.
"I'm still a kid at heart," Leslie chimed in.
"Me too. Both of us are," Mike agreed.
They ask everyone to make donations to the American Cancer Society to help them give back each Christmas. If you want to help donate and see the lights, they have all their information on their Facebook page.
If you come on Dec. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m., you might even see the Grinch.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
