By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

MINNEAPOLIS -- It's a natural for an electrical guru to put together a high-tech Christmas light display, said Darin Laws, especially when it's a family endeavor.

The electrical controls engineer at Philips Lighting, Salina, Laws got the idea in 2007 from a YouTube video, and figured he could pull off a display that syncs to music.

"It's kind of my background," said Laws, 37. "I thought, 'I can do that.' "

And so he did.

The Laws Family Christmas Light Show -- electronically choreographed to holiday music -- was launched in 2008 with more than 8,000 lights blinking to the beat of three Christmas songs.

The revamped show opened Nov. 21 at their Minneapolis home, 816 Woodland, with 25,000 lights and five songs in the show that lasts more than 13 minutes.

The show runs continuously from 6 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 6 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays until Jan. 5.

The show's Web site www.holidaylightsdonebright.com, courtesy of his wife, Anita Laws, was launched in November. On the Web site, you can link to YouTube videos of the show.

Passersby tune their car radios to FM 88.1 and watch sections of lights and figurines, many of them homemade, flash on and off to the music.

"We've got a lot of traffic in front of our house," Darin Laws said. "There are times I have to go around the block a few times just to get into my garage."

It has become a local attraction, and word has gotten to other towns and states, among them Salina, Goodland and Omaha, Neb.

"We don't go to the grocery store or doctor's office without somebody making a comment, which is wonderful," said Anita Laws, 38, a district manager for Dollar General stores.

A year-round process

The reaction at Minneapolis schools has been more than positive, said Adylen Laws, age 11, who is in the fifth grade

" 'They're awesome.' That's what they say," she said.

"My friends say, 'Holy cow. How do you put that up?' " said Luke Vogel, 8, a third-grader.

It is a year-round process, Darin Laws said, requiring a lot of planning and sitting at the computer, adding to and tweaking the light show. Putting the lights to three or four songs can take months, he said.

Actual installation started in October.

"It took us two solid weekends to put it up," Anita said. "It's a two-person job."

At this point, the couple, and five kids between them, have every intention of growing their holiday gift to everyone who drives by their north Minneapolis neighborhood.

"This is all just to give back to the community. It's a family tradition," Darin said.

Strings of multicolored lights are draped in rows over the top of their ranch-style house and around the trunks of trees.

The front yard is adorned with lighted archways, and yard art is formed in the shape of Santa Claus, stars, a cross and candy canes. Lighted trees line each side of the driveway, and it's all wired together in an intricate fashion.

150 extension cords

The display has 150 extension cords snaking from the garage to the various strings of lights.

The entire display, or smaller parts of it, is capable of switching to red, white and green, requiring a string of lights for each color and a corresponding extension cord, Darin Laws said.

He conceived of the light show two years ago and started the project the day after Christmas in 2007.

"I was one of those crazy guys at Walmart at 5 a.m. I bought a lot of lights," Darin said. He shops for bargains and buys some of the gear at Dollar General.

Lights are cheap, he said, but there is big money in extension cords -- more than $1,500 so far. Darin Laws estimated the total investment exceeds $10,000, with all of the computer and electronic control panels and switches required.

Their Web site chronicles the evolution of the show and includes a section for comments from the mobile audience.

There is some maintenance involved, Darin said, such as when a string of lights goes out or the system becomes overloaded.

"We put tons of hours into it. If we didn't like it, we wouldn't be doing it," he said. "It's a nice hobby that keeps us busy, something we can do together."

'Neighbors love it'

But what about those close by, who see the show nightly?

"Neighbors love it," Darin said.

Christina Hupfer echoes that. She and her husband, A.J. Hupfer, and their two children, live across Woodland, directly west of the Laws home.

"I love it. It puts you in the holiday spirit," Christina said. "Every so often, a couple cars will block my alley, but it's quiet, and the lights don't bother us."

The family will occasionally tune their radio to 88.1 and enjoy the show.

The Hupfers are proud of their own Christmas light display, but Christina admits it pales in comparison.

"I told 'em I was going to put up a sign that says, 'Ditto,' and an arrow that points that way," she quipped.

The Laws family took a drive to Salina on Saturday night to check out Christmas light displays and steal a few ideas for next year.

There is plenty of room to grow, Darin said.

"We've got a pretty decent size backyard, and we may do a walk-through display there," he said. "There's also a good chance that we may build a house in the country. That way we'll have plenty of room to grow the display."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:

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MinnyMom says....
We are frequent visitors at this home. Our children love it! Great Job & Merry Christmas
12/13/2009

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says....
We are frequent visitors at this house. Our children love it! Great Job & Merry Christmas!
12/13/2009

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