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For more information about the Homan Christmas project, go online to www.springborochristmas.com.
When Springboro resident David Homan was growing up in Centerville, he remembers the best part about the Christmas season was when his parents, Donald and Marge Homan, decorated inside the front window.
“My parents had a huge display like the vintage Rikes’ displays downtown,” said Homan. “My dad set up a record player that controlled a teeter-totter, and there was an electric train set. To me, the Christmas tree was secondary.”
He carried those happy memories with him years later planning decorations for his own family: wife Amy and kids 15-year-old Sam, 13-year-old Maura, 11-year-old Max and 7-year-old Ellie. But a single window display just wouldn’t do. He channeled the Chevy Chase of the “Vacation” movies inside him and brought out bigger light displays with an added seasonal twist.
Eleven years ago he wanted to add music to his outdoor lights at 725 Springmill Drive in Springboro’s Brookside subdivision. It started out innocently enough: Disney’s “Believe” music was piped from a old plastic Sears Plug & Play unit with six outlets.
“That small unit played some cheesy old Christmas carols like ‘Deck the Halls’ and ‘Joy to the World.’ My son ended up putting that unit in his bedroom,” said Homan. “It mysteriously disappeared after that first year because it drove us crazy.”
By 2007 the itch to do more drove David to upgrade to 16 channels using simple Christmas tunes he found online. He strung extra lights on the gutters, big front tree, bushes and garage. That was the first year that the lights were timed to the music.
Last year, in honor of smallest family member Ellie, four songs from the animated movie “Frozen” were added, including of course “Let it Go.” Now the Homans have approximately 50,000 computer-programmed lights that blink off and on to 22 holiday tunes: “Jingle Bells,” “Siberian Sleigh Ride” and “Wizards of Winter” among them.
Something else happened in 2014. They received an email from the TV winter special “Light-O-Rama” holiday contest.
“But we would have to shoot it in August or September and shut down our street for a week and a half,” said Homan. “It would have been such a disruption for our neighbors. You reach a point where it’s holiday spirit vs. insanity. Our kids were real disappointed that we didn’t do it.”
For 2015, they added 10,000 more lights and covered the entire front of the house including the siding and windows. The Friday before Thanksgiving, Homan put in an 18-hour day. But he says the entire project only adds about $60 a month to the electric bill. Always mindful of the neighbors, they turn the system off at 10 p.m. during the week and 11 p.m. on the weekends.
“Every year while we’re setting it up, I say, ‘This is it. This is the last year.’ But our neighbors tell us it’s the favorite part of the season,” said Homan. “Sometimes in the morning I’ll turn on the lights for the kids on the bus.”
If you go, tune in to 106.7-FM on your radio to listen to the show, don’t block any driveways and turn off your lights.
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