Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – December 21, 2024 – 150,000 bulbs sounds like a lot of bulbs for a residential Christmas light display. But that’s the estimated bulb total for the display Doug Falls and Eve Reed are sharing from their home at 2604 Nix Lake in Jonesboro.
As a kid, Falls says he has vivid memories of visiting homes with many Christmas lights. Last year he got the idea to bring that Christmas cheer and lights to his home.
“Doug had a clear vision: he wanted something magical that would spark joy in kids and the kid in all of us.,” said Adam Sartin, owner of Ground Crew, LLC who collaborated with Falls and Reed and installed the display. “Working with him felt like being two kids on a playground—excited and full of ideas. Eve, on the other hand, played a vital role in the design and layout. She was enthusiastic throughout, but (I believe) the moment she truly fell in love with the project was when we introduced “the shoe”—it brought out her inner child.”
“We wanted to include lights that catered to different age ranges and groups of people,” Reed said. “For instance, we have a dress and a high heel, and also a train and reindeer.” Reed said her favorite piece is the high heel, and Falls says his favorite pieces are the different colored wrapped trees.
The light display began the weekend before Thanksgiving. Santa joined in the month of December for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings from 5:30-7:30, and will appear through the 24th from 5:30-7:30. The display will be up until the first of the year. There is no charge to drive by and see the lights.
Sartin said he and Falls worked and planned the project for several weeks. “The real challenge turned out to be power logistics,” Sartin said. “While the display uses LED product, the scale required over 200 amps of power. This meant installing two new panels, a meter base, and mobile power boxes to meet the demand.”
Some readers might remember the Jennings Osborne Christmas light controversy in Little Rock. In the early 1990s, some of Jennings’ neighbors complained about the swarms of visitors and traffic congestion caused by the display. In 1993, six disgruntled neighbors filed a lawsuit to halt the twinkling extravaganza. Rather than complying, Osborne defiantly added another 1,000 lights in response.
Falls says he hasn’t had any problems like that in Nix Lake. “Our neighbors have been nothing but supportive of the display,” Falls said. “The neighbors love the lights as much as we do.”
Why in the world would you invest so much in Christmas lights? “Both of us love and enjoy the holiday/Christmas season,” Reed said. “Growing up in Jonesboro, Doug really wanted to bring an exhibit to the area to give back to the community, which he does in many ways.”
The 2024 display has additional lights and pieces compared to the 2023 display. Sartin was asked if he thought the display would be bigger in 2025? “Knowing Doug, absolutely!” Sartin said.