A North Huntingdon family is once again spreading holiday joy by going to extraordinary lengths to decorate the outside of their house and yard with thousands of lights that shine on displays of snowmen, Santa Claus, candy canes, a Nutcracker, horses, swans, a village and a star — all for a good cause.
The Harff Christmas Light Show, now in its 16th year, is on full display through the holiday season at 1907 Bernice Drive, in the Markvue Manor neighborhood.
It is a labor of love for Al and Cindy Harff and their son, Tim, who is a nurse. They start setting up the extensive display after Halloween, and it takes about two weeks to complete, Cindy Harff said.
Mother Nature also plays a role in how quickly the display, which spans the yard and driveway, is completed.
In addition to the lights, Tim Harff programmed 22 songs to the light display so visitors can hear the music either with their vehicle windows rolled down or by tuning their radio to 88.7 FM. The music also is timed to pyrotechnics on the weekends, Harff said.
To give visitors something different every year, “we try to add a new figure or two, along with a couple of new songs,” Cindy Harff said.
Those who make the drive to see the light display more than once are likely to see something different the second time they drive by.
“We also tweak the show during the season,” Cindy Harff said.
Santa Claus will visit the Harff Christmas Light Show from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, weather permitting. . Also weather permitting, a model train will be running on tracks set up in the yard, she said.
The show gets a lot of visitors on weekends. Tour buses have gone down their street, as well as a bus from the nearby Redstone Highlands senior living community, she said.
Covid-related restrictions likely contributed to so many people coming to the light show last year, Al Harff said.
“Every night, we had people lined up,” he said. “People wanted to get out of the house.”
Illuminating about 12,000 lights every night for close to a month adds about $60 to their electrical bill, Cindy Harff said. She noted the cost is kept down because the lights are LED.
Once again, the family is accepting donations in a collection box along the road that will go toward Jamie’s Dream Team, a White Oak-based nonprofit that fulfills dreams for ill children. Donations go toward providing assistance and making distributions to or on behalf of people who are handicapped, disabled, terminally ill, severely injured or suffering from a serious medical condition, disease or trauma.
Over the years, they have been able to donate thousands of dollars to Jamie’s Dream Team, Harff said.
