With far fewer holiday activities available this year, many families are looking to find a bit of Christmas cheer by means of holiday light displays.
Dubbed “The Train House” by neighborhood kids, for years, Long Beach residents Brent Spankroy and Michael Sacapanio have been entertaining locals during Halloween and Christmas with their exuberant decorations and interactive, button-operated train set.
“It’s just gotten bigger as time went on,” Spankroy said, adding that they have been decorating since 2005. “We knew that people were coming over so we set it up with hand sanitizer with signs and an LED light that tells people to please sanitize.”
Built and engineered by Spankroy, the train set features eight buttons, two that operate the trains, while the other six light up various action figures and decorations inside the display. If you listen closely, Spankroy said, you can hear sound effects as well.
“Although the kids love it, we got a lot more adults coming here that are so fascinated with it. So it is fun,” Spankroy said.
Taking on a new project each year, this year Spankroy added a spinning carousel—also button-operated—that features stuffed animals cradled in hand-made wooden chairs. The mechanical cardboard hula dancers, Spankroy said, were built as a nod to his partner Sacapanio’s Hawaiian heritage.
“Every year for the past two, three years, we’ve made a habit of coming by the house on a routine basis,” said Belmont Heights resident Jack Morse, who brought his seven-year-old daughter Harper, and five-year-old son Cayden to see the lit up home, Tuesday, Dec. 8. “They always do an incredible job.”
Yards of Christmas lights illuminate giant holiday inflatables and miniature villages. There’s glittering garlands, glowing ribbons and an animated Santa Claus that waves and talks when clapped at.
Those who prefer to stay in their cars can tune into FM radio station 100.1 and watch a lights show synchronized with all the blinking wreaths, “tomatoes trees” and a lit up reindeer face coordinated to Christmas anthems.
And now, acting as a Santa liaison, the couple have set up a “Letters for Santa” service. Children are invited to write a letter to Santa, drop it off in a mini mailbox they’ve posted outside, and in a couple days come back to find a hand-written reply from the big guy himself, pinned outside.
“To this day we’ve gone through 74 cards,” Spankroy said. “We’ve only gotten about 20 returns so far, so more to come.”
To see the holiday display and lights show for yourself, drive to 360 Loma Ave. Lights turn on after 5 p.m., although the power for the train set turns on earlier, at noon.