This article was discovered on Yahoo! As Relay for Life supporters, the Felix Family not only puts on a beautiful light display that brings in over 1000 people every year, but they also accept donations for Relay for Life. What a great chance to see a great show and help a great cause, all so close to home!

Felix Family Lights Display in Paulding County, Ga.

Joey Felix took a moment from his busy light preparation to talk about his family’s well-known light display. How long does it take to install your holiday light display? It takes us about 4-5 weeks to set up. We work a couple hours in the evenings and pretty much all day on weekends and the week of Thanksgiving. We start decorating about the last of October or no later than Nov. 1. How much does it cost to maintain? I really couldn’t tell you but it is not much. The controllers are very reliable and require very little to maintain them. From year to year you may need to replace light strings but I have combated that by buying something called a buzz box. It allows me to fix strings very quickly and easily. There are always little things like repainting things or welding this or that. Then of course we always add more stuff each year. It is probably best I don’t put a number on it I might scare myself and my wife. Why is it important to you to set up the display each year? I believe Christmas is the greatest time of year. Somehow people seem different during the Christmas season. They are nicer, friendlier, and people seem to care more. Another reason is the memories we create. My children love seeing the lights move to music. It is funny because about 2 years ago we took my kids out to see some lights and they were waiting for them to “dance” to the music. We had to explain that our lights are special and not everyone’s do that. We not only make memories for our family but for many other local families who view the display. People have come to expect to see the Felix Family Lights and we wouldn’t want to disappoint them now would we. I love doing the lights and even though it is a major undertaking I couldn’t imagine stopping. Your light display stands out from most others because of your FM transmitter that allows visitors to listen to music while they pass by your display. How did you come up with that idea? Well I cannot claim the idea myself. I belong to several Christmas websites. The two main ones are www.planetchristmas.com and www.lightorama.com. They have forums where people like me talk Christmas and our displays 365 days a year. The idea for the FM transmitter came from there and friends I have made from the website. It is great that people can sit in the comfort of their car, keep warm, and enjoy some good Christmas music and watch the lights. It also helps keep the neighbors happy as no music has to be played in the yard, although we still play music softly outside. How many people would you estimate cruise past your light display each year? We put out candy canes each year for visitors at our donation box. Although I do not have an exact number I would say it is well over a 1000 people per year. Weekends are usually busiest and once the kids are out of school on break we are busy almost every night. Back in 2006 when we first started animating we had what we thought was a lot of people come see the lights. But each year we have had more and more. Some nights myself and a neighbor have to go out and direct traffic. To learn more about the Felix family and their light display, visit their website Felix Family Lights. You will also find a map and directions to the light display.