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Date: 12/23/2019
EAST LONGMEADOW – Houses in many towns are awash in holiday light displays at this time of year. Residents on one street in East Longmeadow, however, have taken their homes’ holiday spirit to another level.
Traveling down Somers Road after dark, drivers can’t help but notice four houses that sit across from one another that have been decked out in images of Santa, reindeer, snowmen, cartoon characters, inflatables and hundreds of lights.
The house at 277 Somers Rd. has a moderate amount of lights on the building, but in the front yard is a sea of inflatable decorations. From Santa in his sleigh, to a pair of 8–foot tall snowmen, to a dinosaur clutching a present in its mouth, there is no shortage of inflatable fun.
Next door, a lawn that is understated and manicured by day comes alive at night with light-up trees and bushes draped in white, blue and green lights. Strands wrap around the columns of the home’s entrance and a two-dimensional Christmas tree adorns the front of the home.
Across the street, live the Chapdelaine brothers. Pierre Chapdelaine’s house is outlined in white and red lights and the front yard features an array of light-up trees, deer, and characters from Star Wars and Peanuts.
Joe Chapdelaine’s house features arches, a singing Rudolph, a mailbox to the North Pole, and a realistic image of Santa that plays on a screen in the window. The lights at both houses are synced to music that plays on the radio station 107.1
Set between the brothers’ houses is a simple nativity, which Joe said is to honor his parents, who “were very religious.”
Joe said that the displays take about six hours a day for 10 days to set everything up. “I must have hundreds of plugs,” he said. Surprisingly, having LED lights keeps the extra electricity cost to around $30 per month.
Joe said that people enjoy the lights, but also give back. “People ring my doorbell, give us cookies,” he said, adding that people will often put money in Santa’s mailbox to help with the light bill. He noted that Santa will respond to any letter put in the box that has a return address.
Chris Ryan lives next door to Joe and said he enjoys the lights. While he said he gets a little annoyed that cars block his driveway while looking at the displays, he shrugs it off.
“They’re just starstruck,” by the lights, he said.
Lynn Shore lives over the border in Connecticut, but a friend told her about the lights.
“It fills my heart with joy and happiness,” Shore said.
Jessica Stacey, a longtime East Longmeadow resident, brought her husband and three kids to see the lights. She said the homeowners there have been doing it for as long as she can remember.
When asked which of the four houses was their favorite, the children voted for 278 Somers Rd. “because Rudolph sings along,” to the radio station.
“Those houses look amazing,” resident Kate Ryan commented on Facebook. “It’s like we have our own mini bright nights every night as we drive home.”