Next in a series: Dallas-Fort Worth neighborhoods celebrate the holidays with light displays like no other. We’re presenting neighborhoods individually this year, so let us know if you know of a neighborhood that needs to be showcased. Nominate a neighborhood in an email. Here’s the series so far.
Neighborhood: Grapevine Santa House, Western Oaks Estates
Where: 3373 Spruce Lane, Grapevine. Enter off Heritage Avenue and be prepared for a line to drive into a short cul-de-sac.
What makes it special: A wave of nostalgia might float over carloads of parents and grandparents driving their little darlings to the Grapevine Santa House. Nearly 1,000 blow-mold Santas — wonderfully popular in the 1950s and ‘60s — are crowded stocking cap to stocking cap on the lawn of the Murillo family. Add to the Santas sandwiched sardine-style on the suburban yard, a lot more lights, and assorted Christmas decorations, and we’ve got ourselves a big traffic stopper.
What: What started out as a simple hobby became a massive collection in need of an audience. Lori and Louie Murillo first set out the molded Santa Clauses for viewing in 2020, skipped 2021, and then brought them back again this year.
“Most of them are vintage, and I’m finding them in antique shops,” said Louie. The kitschy finds totaled so many, the Murillos’ neighbors have allowed the decorations to spill onto their lawns. One adjacent yard features a nativity scene, and listeners to station 95.7 can hear the Murillo family reading the Christmas story. Both years the Murillos’ goal was to raise funds for GRACE, a Tarrant County non-profit benefiting those experiencing financial or medical crises. Donations in 2020 hit $58,000, and this year the $70,000 goal is within sight with the help of matching grants.
“GRACE is meeting the needs of the community,” Louie said. “It’s a very trustworthy organization, specifically targeting children in the Tarrant County area. So we get to play Santa with a display of Santas.”
Anyone wanting to donate will find multiple ways at the displays, including a drop box at the display or through Gofundme.
Time is short for seeing these vintage Santas. The family will move to a home on a busy street where this number of Santas would leave shoppers, sleighs, and reindeer in a traffic tangle. This year will be these Santas’ last year in Grapevine.
When: 5:30 to 10:50 p.m. through Dec. 26.
