In suburban St. Louis, homeowner takes holiday seriously
People travel from hours away to see what Chris has added each year. The regulars follow his progress on a Facebook page.
“They expect me to do it,” he said.
Donaubauer takes pride in the chaotic, sprawling, eye-catching scenes he builds.
Many people want to know how much the family electric bill is. Becasue the Donaubauers use the year-round budgeting option, they aren't sure how much the displays add to their bill. They keep security cameras on 24/7, and, when the display is lighted up at night, a family member is always outside to keep an eye on things.
The front lawn is hard to walk through, Sara said, making it tough to take even just a few paces without stepping on something.
“There's still some room,” Chris said with a laugh.
Chris gets a kick out of watching other people’s amazement — and his efforts at Halloween aren't even his most extensive.
The family Christmas display is the largest.
Last year, a mother took her young blind son to visit the display. He perceived light for the first time, Chris said she told him, because of the overwhelming amount of light.
“Oh, gosh, you could honestly cry hearing that,” he said.
In December, the couple's small lot features 750,000 to a million lights, with the displays running on their own circuit breaker box as well as electricity from the house.
“You could run two whole houses off of how much electric we got here,” Chris said.
Two years ago, Donaubauer stopped entering the town’s best holiday lights and decoration contest, after he'd won annually for more than a decade.
“I quit entering to give someone else a chance.” he said.
But then other people would enter his house for him, leaving notes in the mailbox to let him know.
Instead, the city started giving him a special “Over the Top” award.