By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
Doug Campbell estimates he has between 1,500 and 2,000 Christmas lights in his yard.
“It takes me, spread out, three or four days to put up,” he said.
Each year, Campbell and a friend drag the lights and yard decorations out of his attic and the Salisbury resident begins the nearly 20-hour process of setting up his annual display.
Campbell, who lives at 412 E. Horah St., has been decorating his brick home in red and white holiday decorations since 1995.
But the tradition of putting up Christmas lights and decorations goes back longer than those 13 years. When he was a boy, Campbell’s family always had yard decorations and lights. He just never stopped decorating.
“I always wanted to do red and white,” he said.
His goal is uniformity. All of the decorations are in neat little rows and each has a place. Everything is in place, from the Santas that rock to music on the porch to the wooden snowman trimmed in lights propped against a tree.
“It’s going to all look pretty,” he said.
Campbell gets excited when people drive by his yard, take pictures and bring their children.
“I don’t care if people stop,” he said.
In years past, Campbell has even helped direct traffic on the narrow street.
He waves to those who pass by and thanks those who shout out kudos for his hard work.
Campbell said people have made Christmas cards from photos taken of his yard.
An angel display was one of his first purchases, and two pop-up Santas coming out of a chimney were his most recent buys.
He keeps many of his decorations from year to year and adds each year. He also gives a few away to friends and family.
Campbell has so many decorations, they’ve spilled into a neighbor’s yard.
He said he asked his neighbor if he could use a corner and the neighbor didn’t mind.
Although Campbell has a lot of decorations, he said it’s not the quantity that matters.
What matters is that people like them, he said.
When his sons ó Douglas Jr., now 19, and Darrius, now 16 ó were small, they loved the lights.
“They still do,” Campbell said.
The elder Campbell’s favorite decoration has to be a moveable reindeer, which he places front and center.
All together, he has about 10 reindeer.
Campbell doesn’t just put up his own lights, he helps others in the community with theirs as well.
One of his neighbors, Addie Belton, has for years put up multi-colored lights, and Campbell helps her connect them.
One of the most frequent questions he hears is how much his annual display adds to his electric bill. It costs about $5-$10 a month, Campbell said.
He will leave the lights and decorations up through the new year.
When it’s time to put away the decorations, the same friend who helped set them out helps Campbell pack it all away.