SUFFOLK, Va. – If you enjoy looking at holiday displays, you might want to add Suffolk to your list!
Homeowner Keith Mitchell says he has been working with his friends for maybe 11 weeks already to turn his yard into a winter wonderland. He's been doing this for eight years, but nothing on the scale of what it is now.
It all started as a labor of love for his granddaughter.
"She asked me for 100 lights, so I gave her 1.5 million," said Mitchell, proudly.
Mitchell says he and his friends are still putting on the finishing touches and plan to be complete it the weekend before Thanksgiving. He says the display will have approximately 1.5 million lights, an increase from last year’s 1.2 million!
Handmade character signs are also part of the decorative yard, and he’s planning to install a snow machine to add a wintry touch.
Mitchell says he buys a lot of the lights on sale after the holidays. As for the electric bill, “Everybody thinks because there are so many lights, that it’s a big electric bill. They’re all LED lights. My bill might go up another $40 for that month which is okay,” explained Mitchell.
Mitchell says he will have a celebration on Thanksgiving night and he invites the public to drive by any night to check out the lights.
The home is located at 300 Baron Boulevard in Suffolk.
Mitchell has created a fundraising page for Children's Hospital of the King's Daughter. He hopes his efforts to spread joy will also raise some money for the hospital that treated his granddaughter when she was an infant. Click here to visit the page.
Related: Retired Hampton veteran continues tradition of lighting up community with Christmas display
