The holidays come to light
Where to see the Lehigh Valley’s best displays
The Morning Call
Back in March, Eleana Belletieri did the unthinkable — she survived five heart attacks and two cardiac arrests.
“They didn’t think I was going to live,” said Belletieri of Allentown. “I was given a second chance.”
She knew that in a year where she beat the odds so many times, it would only be fitting to do the holidays in a really big way — especially when it came to her seasonal light decorations.
Her home at 2704 Honochick Drive near Allentown’s Rose Gardens is full of cheer, with an 18-foot inflatable Frosty The Snowman there to greet you.
Cheer has been in short supply in 2020. More than any other year, this one is ideal for hopping in your car and driving to tour some holiday lights.
In nearly every community in the Valley you’ll find houses decorated to delight — from charming and sweet to unabashedly over-the-top.
We have compiled our annual list of displays you’ll want to see, based on tips from our readers.
Lights to make you say ‘wow!’
Steve and Nichol Cafone’s display is an homage to one of the most beloved comedies of all time —“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
The Plainfield Township residents at 5685 Sullivan
Trail have spent 11 years and hundreds of hours powering more than than 22,000 commercial-grade lights on their property to honor their favorite movie.
The 1989 classic stars Chevy Chase as Christmas fanatic Clark Griswold, in a story that sees family moments derailed by wacky circumstances and absurd disasters.
Nichol Cafone isn’t really sure why it all started, but she certainly remembers how. The couple lined their garage with a string of icicle lights in 2009. Then, they added lights on both tiers of their home, the front of the carport and framed the front door.
Just like that, the “Griswold House” was born.
The Cafones’ display even features two inflatables based on the movie: a 1972 Ford Condor II RV and a Wagon Queen Family Truckster station wagon.
Twolarge waterfall Christmas trees — one 21 feet tall and the other 17 feet tall — make the eye-popping display even brighter, and the couple has plans to add newobjects each year.
“Our neighbors are also totally into it,” Nichol Cafone said, pointing to a large green sign on the adjoining property painted green and propped on a metal ladder. It advertises one of the oft-quoted lines from fans of the film: “Hey Griswold! Where do you think you’re gonna put a tree that big?”
For the first time, the home has its own Instagram account, griswoldsonsullivan, which features a look at how the display comes together, along with how it’s looked in years past. The Cafones are also collecting donations for animal shelters in need.
Over in Moore Township, Lacks Lane never used to draw much traffic.
But in recent years, dueling light displays in the cul de sac have caught the attention of locals, who at times have come by the busload to check out the friendly competition for themselves.
At 159 Lacks Lane, Denise Reszek’s blinking, snow-falling, dog-filled winter wonderland; at 160 Lacks Lane, Bob Smith’s
music-timed show dazzling across electric Christmas trees, some homemade. Reszek started 19 years ago when her kids were born; Smith started a few years later.
Each year when he sees Reszek add something, Smith retrieves something from his attic, which he likens to a Home Depot.
“Back-and-forth, these two,” said Bob Smith’s wife Carolynn.
An electrician by trade, Bob Smith sometimes helps Reszek with her wiring. But the helping hand usually stops there — part of the friendly competition is to see who can get their display up sooner.
“Bob wins every time,” Reszek said.
If you’re heading back down Route 248 toward Allentown, consider stopping by 5947 Lehigh Lane, a display that blinks figures of Santa and helpers to twinkly music.
As you crest the hill on I-78 near Summit Lawn, you’ll notice a glow from behind the retaining wall, or maybe a star atop a tall tree.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of Pat and George Saunders’ oasis of a display in the woods of
Salisbury Township at 2303 Woodland Drive.
This is their 15th year commissioning their landscaping company, Pennsylvania Lawn & Landscape, to do a Christmas display. They own all the lights; the company stores them until the season rings in.
Each year they add new pieces, this year an electrical display of a family of deer near the driveway. But as always, a giant “Merry Christmas” lines the drive leading into their neighborhood, a manger scene proudly sprawls across the front yard and an elevated Santa waves at his reindeer aloft above the driveway.
Pat Saunders said she hopes to remind the world of the kind of neighborly love preached by Jesus, as an antidote to the hatred she’s seen throughout a tumultuous year.
“Everybody should start thinking positive,” she said.
Usually, they would have everything up by Thanksgiving, but the pandemic caused some delays. Loyal neighbors even took notice, she said.
By December, they had finally crowned the display with its final touch: the star atop the giant tree.
Here are some more over-thetop displays for you to check out:
Lights in Greenawalds — 2040 Greenawalds Ave., Allentown: Get free popcorn, hot chocolate, candy, magnets,
and more giveaways this season while stopping at one of the brightest Christmas attractions in the Lehigh Valley. It includes more than 100,000 lights, music, and more. The Grinch is due to visit back-to-back nights Dec. 19-20 around 6 p.m.
Sparky’s Christmas House — 1135 Sunset View Drive, Bethlehem:
”Last year was going to be our final time for the lights, but after reading all of the wonderful messages left for us in our memory book (to Eugene “Sparky” Ashner) and realizing that everyone could use some Christmas cheer, we have decided to put our display up once again,” the family said on Facebook. Lights are on 5 to 10 p.m. daily through Jan. 1.
The Wiggs in Who-ville — 1624 Arrowwood Drive, Easton: This display of holiday spirit extends from one side of the property to the other. The garland-wrapped, columned portico frames an animated Santa Claus flanked by toy soldiers. It’s a must-see if you’re in the Easton area.
Walk-through fundraiser display: 1309 WMinor St., Emmaus
Lehigh Valley’s Mount Crumpit — 1202 Sycamore Ave, Forks Twp: The display on a large corner lot where Sycamore meets Wagon Wheel Drive features dozens of inflatables, kaleidoscope projections, and more.
Reph’s Winter Wonderland — 198 Firehouse Drive, Bushkill Twp: Volunteer firefighter Jason Reph somehow makes this enormous display a little bit bigger every year.
For the first time, it features more than 60,000 lights. Donations are accepted for the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, and Santa will visit at 7 p.m. Dec 19.
Mitchell’s Christmas
Productions — 2007 12th St., Bethlehem Twp — Check out thousands of blinking lights synchronized to yuletide tunes. The spectacular display features icicles hanging from the roof, bright red candy canes planted in the ground and lights of various colors blanketing the bushes, trees, windows and more.
Santapalooza — 2030 Orchard Ave., South
Whitehall Twp. — Next door to the Lights in Greenawalds, Kandy Halulko’s display contains dozens of Santas, but only one lucky enough to have his own sleigh.
3330 Division St., Easton 201 Cherry Court, Nazareth: The last time we took in this eye-popping display, it featured more than
16 channels of Christmas songs programmed to nearly 28,000 blinking lights.
1963 Kensington Road, Bethlehem: The property is covered with thousands of multi-colored lights, which border the roof and windows and adorn bushes, two trees and a large wreath on the home’s second story, but that’s just the beginning. You’ll definitely need to see it for yourself.
3415 Oregon St, Easton:
From air-filled Snoopys and Santas to Minions and Grinches (and everything in between), David Rotondo’s collection is probably large enough to require a return visit if you want to see it all. Hand sanitizer and mask stations are at the driveway, and masks are required if you’ll be exiting your car to walk along the property. Hot cocoa, cappuccino, and popcorn are available free-of-charge for visitors.
1145 NWahneta St, Allentown:
The childhood home of the late Lee Iacocca, the automotive giant best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, is in good hands. The current owners love the holiday season, and their lights display appears to be the biggest yet. There’s a nativity scene behind glass, brightly lit snowflakes and even a candy cane walkway.
Lights to lift your spirits
Elaborate light displays, like many holiday traditions, are often a family tradition.
That’s the case for Lisa Jones, whose home at 1923 E Highland St. Allentown is more like a mini-light show than just a display. Bright lights are timed to cascade down the front of her home as the show coordinates with cheery holiday tunes.
Jones inherited her love of holiday lights displays from her dad, who was known for decorating their family home in Upper Macungie Township.
Her dad was a mining engineer who saw black, brown and gray all day long. When he wasn’t working he surrounded himself with bright colors, which mean beautiful flowers in the spring and summer and holiday lights near Christmas.
Growing up with that love of bringing joy through lights, Jones knew it was a tradition she needed to continue. She began to decorate her home, even taking part in her neighborhood’s holiday lights competition. (She won last year.)
This year, of course, is different, thanks to the pandemic.
She knew that so many of her
neighbors weren’t going to be able to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday or have family come to visit.
So her elaborate display went up in early November for maximumneighborhood enjoyment.
“There’s a large elderly population in our community,” she said. “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been keeping tabs on each other. We got word of a lot of lonely people and know that people a lot of people couldn’t go anywhere on Thanksgiving we really wanted to get the lights up early.”
Up in Lehigh Township, the yard of Paul Reznick’s home at 4049 Heather Court is full of holiday light magic, from end to end.
“What started out as a smaller display grew over the years to cover an acre corner lot,” Reznick said in an email. “With a gingerbread house vibe, no inflatables and no commercial decorating services. Just a dad and his daughter trying to bring some cheer to the neighborhood.”
Why spend more than a hundred hours laying out more than 300 blow molds and 400 extension cords in the lawn, or climbing into trees to hang 100 colorful blow mold bulbs? For the neighbor who stops by and smiles.
Especially this year.
“The way this country is right now, it’s so divided. If somebody can smile for a minute or two, it was worth every bit of the hundred hours we spent,” said Matt Lertzman, whose “Center Valley Christmas House” has dazzled his neighborhood since 2013.
Usually, the lights would come down with the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. This most unusual year, he’s keeping them on until the end of January, to keep spirits lifted.
And to pay further homage, rather than throw out his singleuse face masks, he put them on some of the soldiers out front.
The display at 4953 Aberdene St., Upper Saucon Township has some other additions this year, like a Santa sleigh pulled by reindeer suspended in the air above the driveway. Where he might usually find new items at estate sales or auctions, this year he accrued goods safely online, through Facebook Marketplace and Costco, to name a few.
“He’ll never stop!” said his wife, Jessica Lertzman.
“We love it,” Matt Lertzman said.
If your kids could use a little boost of hope that, in spite of a year where everything changed, Santa and his elves have stayed the same, visit 6887 Lincoln Drive, Macungie.
It’s homeowner Glen Paisley’s 18th year putting out a display, with a new manger and snowman section this year. A scene inside Santa’s workshop is projected onto a screen at the corner of the yard, visible from down the road.
His display began all those years ago with just an inflatable snowman and some incandescent light bulbs. Now it’s a tasteful, somewhat walk-through display featuring holographic images of Santa and Mrs. Claus.
“We just keep trying to do something different,” Paisley said.
More great light displays to bring you holiday cheer
36 Franklin St., Whitehall: For years, Joe and Carol Polenchar have collected non-perishable food for Second Harvest Food Bank. This year, their light display coordinated to music on a radio station has grown to 38,000 lights and 37 songs.
2039 CarolAnn Way, Bethlehem: This is a family affair of over 20 years. Though John and Pam Ferrani’s children have grown and moved away, they return during the holidays with their spouses and their own children to help put up this display.
8098 Creamery Road, Alburtis: This house gets big points for creativity. Elsa from Disney’s “Frozen” froze Matt Wiswesser’s home for his girls, ages 4 and 6, as evidenced by icicles dripping from the trees and frozen sparkles simmering in the lawn. “We’ve made it a tradition to add something new each year, put up the lights the day before Thanksgiving, and all go outside and flip the switch after Thanksgiving dinner,” Wiswesser said. “The girls help where they can and are always excited to see the new feature we picked out.”
1625 W. Linden St., Allentown
4211 Jeanette Drive, Bethlehem
1240 Newport Ave., Northampton: “I’ve been decorating for as long as I can remember,” said homeowner Chad Michael. “It was something my dad and I did when I was a kid. Its just something I’ve always done. When my wife and I first moved out together, long before kids, I use to put up a big display. I do it in hopes of putting a smile on one person’s face for the holidays.”
1053 8th St., Whitehall
1075 Kressler Road, Allentown: Homeowner Ken Garavaglia says: “It takes a little bit of time to make a lot of people happy!”
2550 W. Elm St., Allentown