Plano neighbors' Christmas display dazzles, benefits a good cause in the process
PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – On the corner of Biscayne Drive and Independence Parkway in Plano, there's a row of houses that draw a crowd every Christmas.
"We were actually just driving by," said Karen Gomaa, who discovered the display one year and keeps coming back.
This year, she brought her daughter and granddaughter.
"She is absolutely in awe," said Taylor Sedace.
Robert Goodman was the first to start decorating his house.
Then, 12 years ago, he got a new neighbor.
"She says, 'I like to decorate my house for Christmas.' And I said, 'Good, we do too!'" he recalls. "So we started stepping up our game."
"Everyone kinda kept building it up, building it up," said Chasidy Bright, who considers the Christmas decorations a labor of love.
"Really just a love of Christmas," she said.
Over the years, the magic has grown.
Goodman found a train on sale and now runs it in rain, sleet, or snow.
"I just love to see the look on a the kids' faces," he said.
Bright makes sure it snows every year.
"We put out the snow machine for the kids," she said.
There's also been regular visits from characters like Santa, his elves, and the Grinch, who sit with visiting families for pictures.
"I saw how many people were coming out," said Bright.
She decided to put all the attention they were getting to good use.
So, a while back, she and the others started collecting canned foods and cash donations for Minnie's Food Pantry in Plano.
"Last year, we fed over 8,000 families between our two homes," she said.
This year, she added a Minnie Mouse themed play house to house the collections.
"The kids love putting the food in there," she said.
She's also added a special mailbox for letters to Santa and she leaves out a stack of forms children can use to fill in blanks.
"I love reading them," Bright says of the letters.
It's a window into the world of children.
"One said they wanted something for their mom, nothing for them," said Bright. "There are some that tug on the heart strings."
Bright says, it brings her and her neighbors joy to keep the spirit of Christmas alive. As long as they can, they'll keep their corner of the world merry and bright.
"The biggest Scrooge in the world could not help but smile if they came on this street. They'd just have to," said Bright.