For much of the country, Christmas decorating has practically become a sport — so why not make it a competition?
ABC is doing just that with the new reality show “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” which begins Monday at 9 p.m. In each episode, four families from across the country compete to come up with the most over-the-top holiday decor for a prize of $50,000, judged by experts on three criteria: use of lights, overall design and Christmas spirit.
55-year-old Kevin Lynch, of Queens, who’s featured on the show, has a tight hold on all three. Lynch, a flight attendant for JetBlue after retiring from 24 years with the New York City Fire Department, competes in Monday’s premiere — showing off his extravagantly decorated Whitestone home where he lives with wife Tina, 48, and kids Tori, 16, Tara, 14 and Timothy, 10.
“I have a motto I tell everyone: I do lights, I don’t do drugs,” says Lynch, with a laugh.
This year, Lynch’s home features 300 blow-molds (those huge figurine-like characters that light up), more than 100 animatronics and at least 300,000 lights. It’s a collection Lynch has been working on for 17 years, each year spending $2,000 to $3,000 the day after Christmas when decorations are marked down.
“When I bought my first house, the guy across the street had a few lights up and it looked great, so I put a few lights up,” says Lynch. “The next year, I went out and bought some more, but he put more up.
“So the third year, I went nuts and I think I bought out one of the stores. He finally came over and introduced himself to me.”
That rivalry may be over, but the competition on the show has just begun. So what’s going to make his home stand out in a very crowded playing field? Lynch attributes his secret weapon to a love of safety, something he got from his time with the fire department.
“There are no cords. I bury all the cords underground,” he says. “It’s done very meticulously and straight so people can walk around.”
With all that attention to detail, Lynch usually begins decorating in the middle of September and takes six or seven weeks to complete his self-imposed task.
However, this year, per the show’s rules, he had to do it all in just three weeks.
“I was out decorating from eight in the morning ’til one in the morning every single day,” says Lynch. “I did get it done, but I will never do that again!”
Of all the decorations, right now Lynch says his favorite is the latest addition — a virtual Santa Claus that appears in a second-story window and who looks like a real person. He achieves the effect with a DVD player and a projector.
As of now, Lynch doesn’t know if he’s won. The producers filmed a segment telling him he had won — in order to get a “genuine reaction” — then apologized and said that it wasn’t real and they had to film his reaction to losing, too, to ensure the secret isn’t spilled.
He’ll find out Monday morning, just hours before the rest of us.
“It’s TV,” he says with a verbal shrug. Lynch estimates that around half a million people come to check out his display each year, but if he wins the competition, things may get even more intense. So what do the neighbors think of all the hoopla?
“The neighbors are actually pretty good,” says Lynch, laughing. “One guy was going to put up a sign in front of his house with an arrow that says, ‘Ditto.’ ”
“The Great Christmas Light Fight” airs Monday, Dec. 9 (9-10 p.m.), Monday, Dec. 16 (9-11 p.m.) and Monday, Dec. 23 (9-11 p.m.).