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Published Monday, December 28, 2009 in Local

Christmas gone, but lights still twinkling

By Jeff Bishop

The Newnan Times-Herald

If you didn't get a chance to drive around the county and look at the Christmas lights this season, you're still in luck -- many Christmas light displays will remain lit through New Year's Day.

"After Christmas, we still tend to get around 20 to 30 cars a night," said Harris Smith, who puts out one of the larger light displays in the county each year.

"It's still the holidays, even after Christmas," he said. "There's still a lot of Christmas atmosphere, although it's not really the same as before Christmas.

"On New Year's Eve we tend to get a lot of people," said Smith. "We get a lot of cars on New Year's Eve night."

Harris and his wife, Dot Smith, join efforts with family members Brian and Jeanna Todd, Joey and Jennifer Farlow, and Jay and Kathy Smith each year to light up the lake at 1331 and 1341 Bethlehem Church Rd. in southwest Coweta County.

"One lady has been through year every year for the past eight years," said smith. "We've gotten gradually larger and larger each year."

Smith said that this year his pastor has some families coming in for New Year's Day, and they wanted to make sure that they didn't miss the Smith light display.

This year a lot of people may have missed a chance before Christmas to see the lights because of intermittent rains.

"People have to understand that if it's raining, we can't turn the lights on, because it takes four to six hours to dry everything out," said Smith. "If it doesn't rain, we have the lights on every night. But if we leave them on, they short out. And we've had a lot of rain this year."

The Harris family began working on their light display in September so that it would be ready for action by Thanksgiving night.

"We've had a lot of people come out," in spite of the constant rains, said Smith. "A lot of people stop and take a picture of our Santa on the front porch. We have a life-like Santa Claus. And we've enlarged everything this year."

Other locations that will keep their light displays on through New Year's Eve include:

* Michael and Sheila Farr at 753 Martin Mill Rd., described as a "winter wonderland."

"It's really a big mix," she said. "We have a toy land with gingerbread men playing and jumping on the trampoline. We also have a lighted cowboy who plays guitar and taps his toe, and people really like that. I think that's something people don't expect to see. Anything Western, my husband just loves it."

The Farr display is lit from 6-10 p.m.

* Franklin and Patricia McEachern have put up a light display each year at 755 Bexton Rd. since they moved to Coweta County from Tyrone 10 years ago.

"We've done this for 50 years," said Mrs. McEachern. "We have reindeers and sleds, it just fills the house and the field and the barn and the front yard. We have a light that says, 'Jesus is the reason for the season.' And at the house we have a collection of Santa Clauses and things like that."

The lights are lit from 6-10:30 p.m. "Everyone seems to like it," she said.

* Hugh and Alice Nash's display at 50 Canterbury Drive in Grantville.

"The kids are excited about it, and that's what it's all about. It's for the kids. If we can make just one child smile, then it's worth it," said Hugh Nash.

The Nashes have a surfing Santa, another Santa with eight reindeer, and some lighted blow-ups. But "mostly we've just got lights everywhere," he said.

The children's favorites include a Santa in an airplane and Scooby-Doo, said Nash.

"Christmas is just about our favorite time of year," he said.

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