JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — If you’re looking for a fun thing to do this holiday season to get you into the spirit, why not check out a few homes that have gone above and beyond to make it a bright Christmas. Wednesday, we checked out a couple in Jefferson Parish.
“Inside my living room, right now I have 9 Christmas trees,” said Wendy Cochran about her well-lit home on Chalfant in Metairie. “We love Christmas, and it just gives you that warm fuzzy feeling. “
Wendy and her husband Ken say they spend several months each year planning and executing the display.
“Every year we do a different theme,” said Cochran. “We do different props, and he never wants to do the same thing over because he thinks people may remember it.”
Wendy says her husband isn’t able to set up all the lights, so he designs the scenes, and she puts them all in place.
But the lights are not the only attraction.
In the backyard kids write letters to Santa and once each season he shows up in person to give their Christmas wishes.
“We get family Christmas cards from people coming here with their entire family,” said Cochran. “It just gives my husband and I the best feeling because it’s so gratifying and in a world that we know today this is just the best thing that we can do.”
Not too far away in River Ridge at the corner of Sauve and Jefferson Highway is another spectacular display.
The home has an interactive experience by tuning into 87.9FM. You can hear an hour and a half long playlist in which the lights are synced to the music.
“It takes about two weeks to set up,” said Scott Poynter. “And it takes pretty much the whole year to program the lights to do what I want it to do.”
Poynter says he’s been putting up displays like this one for a few years now and says it brings him joy to see people stop and check out the lights.
“Some people stay for the whole show and some people stay for a few minutes,” said Poynter. “I probably get several dozen maybe 30 or 40 a night.”
So of course, we asked him about that electricity bill?
“Believe it or not with all these little LED lights it’s not that bad,” he said. “My wife keeps paying it so it must not be too bad, or she would complain.”
And as long as that bill is paid Poynter says he’ll keep lighting up the night with Christmas joy.
“It’s just a warm feeling,” he said. “I love decorating, and I love giving a little bit back to the community and trying to pay it forward.”
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