Sis family continues Christmas lighting tradition

When they were dating 36 years ago, Terry and Cori Sis loved to spend their winter evenings driving around nearby towns looking at Christmas lights.

In 1984, the couple decided to start their own light display, which consisted of three 25-light strings.

Now, their collection has grown to nearly 140,000 lights, with a variety of string lights and displays, including several new additions this year.

The process for setting up the lights begins in early October, when their son Kelan Sis begins checking the lights. Terry estimates by mid-October he typically starts putting up displays.

Terry said if one person were to assemble all the lights and displays on their own, it would take around 120 hours to put them all up. On the other end of the process, he says it probably takes about 40 hours to take all the lights down and put them in storage at the end of the season.

Thankfully, the whole Sis family helps out with putting up the spectacular Christmas display.

Terry and Cori, along with their children Kelan, Cameron and his wife, and Jyll and her husband all find a weekend in November where they can spend an entire Saturday and part of a Sunday working together to assemble the display.

Even their grandchildren come to help!

The oldest light display they own, Terry said, is their nativity scene. The decoration is around 25 years old, and Sis had to get the lights redone he estimates somewhere around 10 years ago.

Their newest additions to the light show are a dog pulling christmas lights off a tree in the front yard, sparkplug lights and an owl that’s perched in one of their trees.

Sis said he will probably find some more decorations shortly after Christmas, when he looks for lights and displays on sale, though there may not be much more room available!

“It seems like when I was putting things out, I was struggling to find a place for everything,” Cori said, laughing a bit.

Cori said the ice skating rink is a long-time favorite display of hers, and she believes many other people consider it a favorite as well. She also really enjoys their church decoration.

Terry, on the other hand, says his favorite parts of the light display are the day after all the lights are put up, and the day after they are all taken down.

It is a never ending process, starting up each October, but the Sis family loves the tradition and the joy it brings to the community, especially the kids.

“People have sent us videos and told us stories about them bringing their kids here and the kids ask them if Santa Claus lives here,” Cori said. “They’re just sure that Santa Claus lives here.”

The joy and magic it brings to local kids makes all the hours of assembly and repair worth it for Terry and Cori.

The main reason they put as much gusto as they do into the holiday, however, is what Christmas is truly about.

“How else would you celebrate the most important birthday in the history of mankind?” Terry remarked. 

“I mean, it’s a pretty important birthday that we’re celebrating so that’s just a way for us to celebrate that.”

Terry said some of his family that suggested taking a break, but because it is a part of many local people’s Christmas traditions, they are going to keep it going for as long as they are physically able to.

This year especially, he said, was not the year to take a break with the pandemic going on.

“People have to stay home more because of [the pandemic],” Terry noted. “You know, if they can get in their car with their family and come here to give them something to do and to look at... That was one of the reasons we decided this is not the year to take a break.”