Vandals Destroy Christmas Decorations At Land Park Home

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- A family who lives in the Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento has a message for the people vandalized their Christmas decorations, and it's written right on their front lawn.

"You can steal our decorations, but not our holiday spirit."

It was a cold dose of reality for Kenneth Cook-McKnight's 4-year-old son after a real-life Grinch destroyed their Christmas display.

"He said to me that 'robbers came and took our Santa," Cook-McKnight said. "That's a tough lesson to learn at 4 years old."

After a Saturday morning walk, Cook-McKnight came home to find an inflatable Santa was slashed, Rudolph's head ripped off and an oversized Grinch was stolen.

"Why? Make me understand why? I guess that's the biggest question," Cook-McKnight said.

Sacramento police told CBS13 there has been very little holiday vandalism reported this season. But the damage was a big deal to to Cook-McKnight. In all, he says it'll cost him more than $1,000 to replace the decorations.

"It's not going to ruin our Christmas," he said. "We're going to soldier on and keep it our own way."

Cook-McKnight says he's been putting up the decorations for six years now, and it's become a staple in the neighborhood.

Russ Hanson is new to the area, and when he sees his neighbor's bright lights, he knows he's almost home.

"We always recognize that's when we'd be ready to pull in, even if it's dark," he said.

Cook-McKnight says despite the Christmas crooks, Santa will still be coming down his chimney. And he's thankful that the vandals were not able to destroy his family's Christmas spirit.

"There's a lot worse things going on in he world than this," he said.