Michael Herbst’s holiday light display, which includes thousands of colorful LED lights synchronized to Christmas music, has become a hit in Meriden and could be a significant fundraiser for the local humane society.
Mark and April Blethen, who live a few towns away in Plainville, have a wildly eclectic holiday display with lights and hundreds of large inflatables ranging from Santa Clauses and teddy bears to Scooby-Doo characters, Minions, and the Island of Misfit Toys.
By the end of the show, they hope to have collected enough donated food to give the Plainville Food Bank a significant boost.
The Herbst and Blethen families are two of about a half-dozen homeowners in central Connecticut who go above and beyond to spread holiday cheer by hosting extravagant light displays and, in the Blethens’ case, a sprawling arrangement of Christmas-themed inflatables that families are invited to walk through.
This season, Bristol, Glastonbury, Plainville, Windsor, and Meriden all have spectacular residential displays after the sun goes down. Some remain open until New Year’s or even later, while others close at Christmas.
They’re all free for anyone who drives by, but each one requests a donation to a local charity.
For many of the host families, the displays have been a part of their holiday traditions for years, if not decades. The Blethens change up their Christmas display every year, but they’ve been putting huge cutouts of the Mystery Machine, Shaggy, Velma, Fred, and the rest of the gang for so long that neighbors now refer to it as “the Scooby-Doo house.”
Unlike most of the displays, which require visitors to park briefly or cruise by slowly, the Blethens’ is open for walk-throughs. During the worst of Covid, the couple installed a long chute from their door to the lawn, allowing each child to receive a sweet treat while maintaining social distance. It became known as the Candy Cane Chute and is now a show highlight.
“We stopped doing it one year, but so many people asked about it that we restarted it the next year,” Mark Blethen said Thursday.
Every year, the Blethens ask visitors to leave nonperishable food or toiletries for the local food pantry, and their efforts have resulted in thousands of pounds in donations.
The couple announced on their Facebook page this week that they had received 977 pounds in donations this season as of last weekend.
Since 1938, previous generations of the Blethen family have decorated the house, and the couple is committed to continuing this tradition.
In addition, in honor of perhaps Connecticut’s most well-known residential Christmas show tradition, they now display some of the decorations from the late Rita Giancola’s Christmas House on Lexington Street in New Britain.
From 1978 until her death in 2016, Giancola decorated her entire property, both inside and out, and invited visitors to walk through the house every Christmas. Her survivors now thank the Blethens every year for keeping her memory alive.
“It means a lot to see Rita Giancola’s love for Christmas live on in your display for many to enjoy,” reads a Monday Facebook post by the Blethens.
Herbst is a newcomer to Meriden, having only finalized his donation plan with the Meriden Humane Society in the late fall. He is asking visitors to leave paper towels, bleach, disinfecting wipes, canned cat food, dry dog food, or other similar supplies, and there is also a donation box for checks or cash.
Herbst’s show stands out for one reason: there will be no large Eversource invoice next month.
“Thanks to #trinitysolar, I’ll be able to power my light show this year! Herbst told fans on his Facebook page, Michael’s Lightshow, that they would no longer have to worry about high electricity bills.
“I have a large quantity of led lights synchronized to Christmas music and a few other Christmas types songs mixed in,” The Courant reported that he disclosed. “I think I have over a dozen songs and the whole show plays for about 45 minutes to an hour.”
These seven displays are located in central Connecticut. Their webpages contain information about the charitable donations they seek, as well as last-minute information about possible closures due to snow or high winds.
Bristol: Lights on Rosewood , 111 Rosewood Drive, open from 5 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 25;
Glastonbury: Lights on Eastbury Pond , 39 Fisher Hill Road, open from 4:45 to 10:30 p.m. through Jan. 1. Visitors are advised not to watch from Manchester Road, but instead to park at Eastbury Pond;
Meriden: Michael’s Christmas Display , 445 Graveline Ave., open from 5 to 10 p.m. through early January;
Middletown: Sand Hill Road Holiday of Lights , 277 and 263 Sand Hill Road, open from 5 to 11 p.m. through Jan. 7;
Plainville: April and Mark’s Cartoon Christmas Display , 174 N. Washington St., open Thursdays to Saturdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 5 to 7 p.m. through the end of December;
Plainville: Joshua’s Christmas Display , 15 Hillscrest Road, open from 5 to 9 p.m., through Dec. 29;
Windsor: A December to Remember , 25 Tiffany Drive, open from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. through Christmas.
