Since moving into their Bixby Knolls house four years ago, Joe Hayden and Chris Payne’s spectacle of Christmas lights has not stopped growing.
What started with around 5,000 lights at their roughly 1,400 square-foot home on Falcon Avenue has expanded to over 100,000 lights synced up to dozens of songs from Christmas classics to pop hits.
Shows run each hour after dark with music playing through outdoor speakers or through car radios on 88.7 FM. If a show isn’t playing when guests walk up, they can push a button to begin one.
The couple’s roof features 228 vertical strands laid out in a grid that essentially acts as a digital display.
Setup takes about three months, but “it’s always a work in progress,” Hayden said.
Hayden, a self-described “tech nerd,” programs all of the shows himself and built the FM transmitter that broadcasts the tunes for free with a half-block radius. Hayden estimated that it takes him roughly five or six hours to program each song.
This year’s decorations feature a Letters to Santa mailbox complete with a virtual message from the big man himself via “SantaLink.”
When a child drops off a letter or pushes the button on the box, Santa checks whether they have been naughty or nice. So far this holiday season the box has received 38 letters. Each letter will get a response from Santa as long as there’s an address.
Hayden said he does not have a lot of fond memories from his childhood, but Christmas lights were always a welcome reprieve.
“I think the holidays were always kind of tough for me, so there’s something sort of magical about Christmas lights and taking a step away for a second to enjoy something in the moment and forget everything else that was happening,” Hayden said.
Last year, Hayden and Payne added light-up wristbands and lightsticks that also sync up to the music. The couple kindly refuses donations for the costs associated with the show, but guests can purchase a wristband and/or lightstick for $5 each.
Through a website, guests can queue up songs starting at 5 p.m. each night.
Hayden admitted he’s a little behind this year, with only 20 songs currently synced up compared to the 45 offered at the house last year.
“I could probably make it easier on myself by doing the same thing every year, but I like variety,” Hayden said.
Last year’s most requested song was “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Thurl Ravenscroft, followed by “Cha Cha Slide” by DJ Casper.
Hayden said the song about the mean green creature likely took the top spot last year because of the poop emoji that displays on the roof during the show, soliciting giggles nearly every time from watching children.
Neighbors joined in on the decorating this year, adding about 140 lighted archways in front of 25 houses.
Hayden and Payne supplied the materials, but each neighbor decorated their own archway.
“It’s really cool to see how our creativity sparked more creativity down the block and for people who didn’t even decorate before,” Hayden said.
The couple moved to Long Beach four years ago when a job opportunity popped up for Payne, who works in aerospace.
Hayden, who works in marketing for Amazon, said the couple did Christmas light displays at their past homes in Seattle and Philadelphia, but their Long Beach house allowed them the proper canvas.
It’s also provided them a chance to meet neighbors, part of what fuels them to keep the show going.
“Year after year, it’s been the neighbors, the people that stop by, how much they appreciate it,” Hayden said. “If I can help them have a bit of peace and just a moment of solace and happiness, I love that.”
Lights on Falcon, 4128 Falcon Ave., can be seen Sunday through Thursday from dusk until 11 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from dusk until midnight. Access the music by pushing the button outside the home or by tuning into 88.7 FM.