86,550 holiday lights and counting
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Pam Brannon/Gulf Breeze News Keith, left, and Peggy Elwood stand in front of their fully decorated Navarre home.

This year the count was 86,550 lights!

When Peggy and Keith Elwood entered their first ever house decorating contest at Christmas time in 1999, little did they know that their effort would turn into a year long project for years to come. Since that year, they have added more lights and decorations each year to their home in Holley by the Sea, and this year they got up to 86,550 lights, which is almost 1,000 more than last year. They also added more moving, waving lighted lawn decorations and repained their famous gingerbread house to make it look all new.

Their house of christmas lights has become a welcomed yearly tradition for many area families to visit -- sometimes more than once over the season.

The Elwoods decided the first year, with the encouragement of Keith's son, to enter the Christmas home decorating contest held by Holley by the Sea. They moved into their home on Bayou Street in 1998, and thought it would be fun to be part of the community project, Keith said. They had never done anything like that before. That year they had 10,000 lights, 22 mechanical deer, and won first place.

"We really thought we had done something," Peggy said excitedly.

Each year after 1999 they kept adding to their display.

"We won first place the second year, too. In fact, Holley by the Sea held the contest every year through 2002, and we won first place each year. They stopped having the contest - probably because they thought we would just win anyway," Peggy said. "The second year we had 17,000 lights, the third we had 30,000- plus lights, and the fourth year we had 50,000 lights. And it just keeps growing."

Now it is a year long project.

"When we shop all year we look for things to add to the display that kids will like," Peggy said.

About seven years ago Keith spent all summer long digging up the front yard - to bury the wires so people don't trip when they visit the display. The Elwoods start looking for more additions to their display the day after New Year's each year, and start decorating Oct. 1 each year.

In the past, they always turned the lights on Dec. 1, but this year they didn't turn them on until Dec. 16.

"We have to be here when the lights are on," Peggy explained. "So this year we decided to wait and have some Christmas fun of our own during the first of the month. We were able to help with Christmas in the Park for the Navarre Chamber, we went to some Christmas parties, and did some social things the first couple weeks of the month. Then we left the lights on whenever it wasn't raining right through Jan. 2. We always pull the plug Jan. 2."

The lights go on at dusk each day, and stay on until 10 p.m. People have tried to give them money toward the electric bill, because they have such a great display for the community, but they have always refused to take it.

"This is our gift to the community," Keith explains. "We love to see the kids' eyes and their excitement when they walk through."

They always invite people to get out of their cars and walk through the front and back yards, and take photos.

Kids can bring their Santa letters, too, before Christmas, because there is always a mail box for Santa letters in the front yard.

Visitors will find the 22 mechanical lighted moving deer, some dancing snowmen that sing when anyone comes near, some brand new waving lighted penguins, a more than life sized angel lighted under a lighted palm tree and six stars in the top of six palms among lots of other decorations. People can walk the yard more than once and see things they missed tucked here and there, in flower beds or under trees.

Peggy said her favorite part of the entire display is their large hand-painted nativity scene, nestled this year under a large palm tree on one side of the front yard.

Those looking to take the family to a free light display next Christmas season and take a walk through, can find the house off Highway. 98 in Navarre. Go to Coral Street, at the most eastward entrance of Holley by the Sea, next to Tom Thumb, and go to the end of the street, then turn left onto Manatee, and drive two streets to Bayou Street. It is the third house on the left.