Heath has his eye
on first-place in
Chamber’s holiday
decorating contest
By Angela H. Hill
While many 12-year-olds are dreaming of the newest Nintendo DS game for Christmas, Wyatt Heath has a different type of entertainment on his wish list. This year, he’s hoping for a computer program that will sync his outdoor Christmas lights with music.
It takes about five hours to program the lights and music, Heath said, but his handiwork on display in the front yard shows he’s up to the challenge.
Since he was seven, this young man has been steadily building a Christmas wonderland at his parents’ home on Cox Ridge Road in Claudville. The front and both side yards will be decked out in lights, large plastic figures, moving reindeer, nutcrackers, inflatable figures, a nativity scene and all sorts of hand-made decor.
Last year, Heath received an honorable mention in the Chamber of Commerce’s Holiday Home Decorating Contest. First place is $100, second is $75 and third is $50 in this year’s third annual competition. Judging takes place Friday, Dec. 9, and the winner will be featured on the Chamber website and on social media.
Grown-up contestants had better bring their A games. This sixth-grader has been watching DIY videos on decorating trees and making figures. He checks out other area’s Tacky Lights Tours. Throughout the year, his parents Marcus and Chastidy help him find supplies and decorations at yard sales, auctions, stores and websites.
Decorating at the Heath home begins November 1, after the Heaths put away the also-impressive Halloween layout. There are lights to string from trees, the roofline and the flagpole; garland to hang; and figures to arrange. This year, Wyatt replaced a motor in one of his moving reindeer.
Chastidy and Wyatt also make a lot of the décor, such as the 4-foot-tall snowman on the front porch. It’s a creative combo of spray foam, flexible water-sealant, and a trash can from the Dollar Tree sure to make crafters everywhere envious.
Wyatt makes all the streets and the background for his indoor Christmas village of Kohl’s, Dept. 56 and Lemax homes and figures. He made the wreath on the family’s front door, and sold some of his wreaths last year. The Heaths made stands for the plastic figures on the lawn (called blow molds) and will cover the bases in “snow.”
This year Wyatt is hoping to put up a second mega tree, which is a tree made entirely of light strands. His current mega tree is hung from the family’s flagpole – which he also requested one year for Christmas.
And what keeps Wyatt motivated to make the Heath home a touch more festive with each passing year?
He says simply, “Because I enjoy it.”
