Every winter, spectators from across Michigan travel to 6250 Germania Road in Cass City to see one of the best Christmas light shows in the state. Thumb Electric members Joel and Jaime Nicol have helped keep this tradition for over 40 years!
Joel’s parents, John and Gayle Nicol, began their Christmas Light Extravaganza in 1981 at their home on Robinson Road. Gayle, originally from Essexville, Michigan, remembers, as a little girl, loading up in the car with her parents and four siblings and driving around to see all the Christmas light displays in the area. When she and John got married, they decided they wanted to hang up some lights of their own. The Nicols and their three children, Jason, Joel, and Jessica, would put up Christmas lights every winter, and their display grew each year.
As the children grew up and moved out of the house, John and Gayle stopped doing their light show, which became too large of a task for them to maintain. After Joel and Jaime got married, they realized that they wanted to start doing their own Christmas light show, and it was soon that the props began heading to their house.
The show has grown tremendously throughout the years. The lights are now programmed to “dance” to the Christmas music that is playing through the speakers. However, Joel and Jaime still proudly display some of the original props from over 40 years ago, including the lighthouse, Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, Santa in a hot air balloon, the castle, shooting stars, and more! Some new additions include the Big Five Trees, the fireworks tree, snowflakes on the lawn, the train (built from scratch with instructions from Popular Mechanics Magazine), the giant snowman, and the new surprise item. Jaime said, “What people do not know is that most of our props are built from scratch. We do not build the lawn ornaments and wireframes, but the big stuff we do. We start building in June and July and have to wire and program it into the computer. We work on Christmas lights basically all year round.” This year’s show will contain 300,000 Christmas lights, and it is all set up by Joel and Jaime, their two kids, Justin (12) and Jenna (10), and Joel’s parents, John and Gayle.
A show this big is bound to have some challenges. The biggest is the technology used to synchronize the lights with the music. Jaime said, “The ability to add special pixel lights helps to do fun things in our display, like making the lights “dance” to the music. This can get complicated and time-consuming. A good song can take eight–12 hours of programming. The show runs on a computer, so Cat 5 cables must be run through the yard…and then they have to get enough electricity to support the data for the show to run smoothly.”
They also want the light show to focus on the traditional feel of the Christmas lights. They carefully select songs to help keep the original show’s spirit. Jaime also mentioned that sometimes the weather can affect the show, but that is something they cannot control.
The show may have challenges, but it is also a very rewarding experience for the Nicol family. Joel loves making his ideas come to fruition. He has spent countless hours crafting, painting, wiring, and programming the special new item for this year’s show. However, this item will remain a secret until the big reveal! They also love how they have become a part of the community and a new tradition for many friends and family members. Jaime mentioned, “So many people have told us that they used to visit the display on Robinson Road, where my in-laws had it, and now they come to our place. I go out in the driveway often, talk to people, and hand out candy canes. I love talking to people—making new friends and running into old friends!”
The Nicols start putting the lights up in early October. The show begins in early December and runs through Dec. 31. Starting Jan. 1, all of the lights start coming down. This process takes about a week, and not one single strand stays up for the rest of the year.
In addition to being TEC members, the Nicols also have TEC Fiber service. Not only do they have our internet, but they happened to be the 2,000th customer we installed. Regarding the internet service, they said, “We cannot believe how fast it is. We are super happy with our customer service and support and have a strong and consistent signal throughout our home.”
Whether you are a regular at the Nicols’ Christmas Light Extravaganza or have never seen them, the show is worth adding to your holiday traditions!
