Sea Pines man ‘ridiculously decorates’ yard with donated Christmas lights. Take a look
Michael Clarke of Hilton Head was looking for a way to end 2020 on a positive note when he had an idea to decorate his house for the holiday.
“I just had a thought, after this really stinky year that we’ve gone through, it would good to celebrate Christmas in the best way we could,” Clarke said.
He envisioned a display worthy of Clark Griswold’s in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” but his neighborhood along Otter Road in Sea Pines, a part of the community with smaller homes, working families and lots of kids, was mostly dark.
“We had stuff for inside, but nobody in the neighborhood had put anything up,” said Clarke, father of three kids ages 17, 13 and 5 and general manager of the South Carolina Yacht Club.
Right after Thanksgiving, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to post on the social networking site Nextdoor and on Facebook to see if anyone had decorations he could use.
“We would like to ridiculously decorate our house for Christmas so neighborhood families can drive by and enjoy the Christmas lights,” his post on a local Facebook group read. “The problem is we don’t have a lot of yard decor. … We are looking for Christmas decoration donations and power cords and power strips. Anything that you let us use you are welcome to have back.”
It didn’t take long for donations to start rolling in, and they’ve been pretty steady ever since. (And no one has asked for their items to be returned after the holiday.)
Some people dropped by the Clarke family’s home to leave extension cords and lights. Others, elderly people who had decorations from Christmases past stored in their attics and garages, offered items for pickup.
One woman contributed a large and valuable collection of nutcrackers that are now on display in a window. Another person donated a train set that has delighted the youngest member of the family.
Clarke said he was a little nervous about his community’s reaction.
“Most people decorate with white lights and bows,” he said.
The Clarkes’ display includes inflatable animals and a Santa, swaths of multi-colored lights in various sizes, a red twinkling helicopter making a landing on an LED landing pad, a row of bright red candy canes, and a nativity scene under a cascade of bright white stars. More is being added each day.
Clarke’s wife, Heather, even had an idea to keep the display authentic to the beachy location. They mounted an inflatable Santa on their eldest son’s surfboard and surrounded it with a puddle of blue lights to look like water.
The first night the display started going up, the compliments starting coming in.
“Ten cars stopped and told us, ‘Thanks for putting up this display. It’s really brightened up our spirits,’ ” Clarke said.
Neighborhood reaction
Neighbor Ruth Ryan called the decorations on the corner lot “gorgeous.”
“Everybody loves it,” she said. “They took a lot of time and care laying this out.”
Katie Hopkins, who owns Nick’s Steak and Seafood on Hilton Head with her husband, Josh, also decorated their yard across the street from the Clarkes’ home. That scene features large Santa, reindeer and Christmas tree inflatables, plus two Grinches. The Grinch is her 5-year-old son’s favorite, she said.
Hopkins said she loves decorating for each holiday and thinks her neighbor has done a fantastic job decking out his yard.
“It’s not what you expect,” she said, “but it’s definitely what we need this year.”
Donations for Deep Well
The positive response has inspired the Clarkes to want to do more for the Hilton Head community. They approached Deep Well and got a list of items the nonprofit aid agency needs most.
On Sunday, they are asking neighbors and visitors to Sea Pines to drive or walk by their home at 1 Beaver Lane from 6 to 9 p.m. and donate one or more of these items:
- Canned beans
- Tomato products
- Manwich/sloppy joe sauce
- Taco shells and kits
- Refried beans
- Oatmeal
- Breakfast bars
- Individual-size hand sanitizer
- Deodorant
- Quart-size food storage bags
Clarke said he hopes, ultimately, that the display makes those who see it feel the love that comes with the true meaning of the Christmas season and full of hope for the year ahead.
“The most important decoration we have in our display is the nativity,” Michael Clarke said. “With all the craziness that’s going in the world, my wife and I know that the only hope we have for mankind is Jesus.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 2:57 PM.
