By Julia Train
Driving around to look at Christmas displays is a classic activity during this time of year. While some opt to keep it simple, others, like the Yard family, go all out.
Their decor encompasses their house on all sides. In addition to lights, signs and blowups, there’s a 13-foot Jack Skellington figure, a 30-foot Yeti, activities, free treats and character meet-and-greets.
As extravagant as the scene is, it wasn’t always this way.
It began when Anthony Yard was about to graduate high school in 2007. He and his aunt were going through a shed on his grandmother’s property that was filled with Christmas decor.
Even though she lost her mother at a young age on the holiday, Christmas was important to his grandmother. Each year, her husband would buy her a new decoration for the outside of the house.
They couldn’t part with any of it, so they decided to use all of them that year. The family didn’t know it then, but that was the beginning of something special.
The elaborate display made people stop when driving by and get out of their cars. Some even took pictures of inside the family’s home, which led Yard to create a path for people to walk on throughout the decorations instead.
Each year, it gets bigger and better. What started solely using old decorations has blossomed into a full-blown scene.
There are several sheds on the property. There’s a “cafe” with free hot chocolate, popcorn and water, a “salon” for getting hair tinsel, movies playing on a 72-inch TV and one that is dedicated to writing letters to Santa. Sometimes horses even make an appearance for petting.
Children can even meet their favorite characters like Anna and Elsa (Dec. 1 and 2), Mickey Mouse (Dec. 8 and 9) and Mr. and Mrs. Clause (Dec 15 and 16) from 6 p.m. to 9p.m.
The entire experience is free to everyone because the Yard family wants anyone and everyone to be able to participate in the experience. However, the family does accept donations, which are given to a family in need and a portion goes to maintenance.
Since the family doesn’t get money from their work, the Yards are thrifty with the decor and upgrades. They use all LED lights instead of incandescent and purchase everything secondhand, like a Nativity scene that’s usually priced at $10,000 for only $1200.
Although his grandmother passed three years ago, the Yards have kept the display going to honor her and feel her presence because she inspired the family.
“She just loved everyone. Even people who maybe weren’t so lovable or didn’t love her back. She was the kindest and nicest soul that I’ve ever met, and I just learned from her that if you can do something for somebody else, just do it,” Yard said. “Don’t ask questions. Don’t worry about ‘How much is this going to cost me?’ or ‘What am I going to get out of it?’ It’s not about that.”
This Christmas season, stop by the Yard Family Christmas Display at 4 E. Curran Drive, Absecon. Open 5-11 p.m., it goes until Jan. 1.
Photos by Lauren Gayeski
Julia is a student at Rider University, majoring in multiplatform journalism with a minor in social media strategies. At school, she writes and copy edits for The Rider News and is the News Director for the radio station, producing news updates. She’ll be graduating in the spring. Connect with her on Instagram @juliatrain
