ALVIN, Texas — For the past 15 years, Vicki and Kevin Duke have decorated the outside of their home, each year adding more until it turned into an impressive "Duke Family Christmas Light Show."
"We started off with a little plastic reindeer,” Kevin Duke said. "Four candy canes, a Santa Claus. It was just something to decorate the yard."
"We have 65,000 lights all synchronized to music," Vicki Duke said.
"Our neighbors think we are crazy with the lights!" Kevin Duke joked. “The power bill is not as bad as you think it is!”
It takes the Dukes two weeks to put the decorations up, but they start planning and programming the lights in June or July every year.
Ten years ago, they added a donation box.
“We started doing donations with the Christmas lights because I am a cancer survivor,” Vicki Duke said. “We’ve raised $5,000 for MD Anderson.”
This year the family had decided to give the donations to another organization close to their hearts.
“I’ve chosen this year to do St. Jude’s because St. Jude’s does not send anybody a bill. All the family needs to worry about is making sure their child lives," Vicki Duke said.
The donation box is under camera surveillance at all times. So far, about $200 has been donated.
“We’ve had neighborhood kids that collect their pocket change all your long… they come and dump their entire piggy bank into the donation box to help kids. It’s very special. It’s very, very special. It’s heartwarming," Vicki Duke said.
On weekends, the Dukes pass out candy canes and even have Santa visiting on Dec. 21.
“You hear all kinds of bad things in the news, well, this is something good that they can reflect on. That’s what it’s all about," Kevin Duke said.
The Duke Family Christmas Light Show is located at 2984 County Road 855C, Alvin, TX 77511.
Next year, the Dukes are moving but will continue the tradition for as long as they are able to.
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