Jeremy, Melissa and Anna Vanek.
We have been decorating this house since 2003. What started as lights on the roofline has turned into a show that takes most of November to put up and runs every night through the holidays.
The tradition is older than the display, and it comes down Jeremy's side. His grandparents were the first in the family to have electricity — before them there was nothing to plug in. They put lights up as soon as it was possible to, his parents kept it going, and it has been a Vanek habit ever since.
Every year it grows. More lights, more decorations, another element in the yard that was not there last December. None of it arrived all at once, and it is not finished.
To our neighbours, who put up with the ladders in October and the traffic in December. To everyone who has sent a message to the panel or voted for a song. It would be a much quieter yard without you.