While Haidi Arias and her wife, Hannah, usually decorate their Randolph home for the holidays, this year is different.
“For us, it’s just lighting up the house more,” Arias said. “We added the garage and more lights on the trees. We added a Menorah that we’ll light each night.”
Arias, the recreation director for Randolph, is also upping the town’s decorating efforts. There are 88 light poles decorated with lights and wreaths. The 30-foot Christmas tree at the town gazebo has around 2,500 lights on it. The recreation department is putting together a map of the decorated businesses, buildings and residences throughout Randolph.
“Just walking around town, tons more people are decorating, which is great,” Arias said.
With traditional visits out due to social distancing, Santa may drive through Randolph and the surrounding communities to visit children.
While the Upper Valley has always shown holiday cheer through lights — think La Salette Shrine, Joseph Smith Memorial Birthplace and numerous downtowns — this season the decorations take on added significance. With many holiday celebrations canceled or scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people are turning to lights to connect with their communities and with one another.
Towns including Fairlee, Enfield and Hartford have started decorating contests. Even Vermont Gov. Phil Scott is rallying residents to decorate, then post photographs to social media with the hashtag #VTLightsTheWay, so people throughout the state can see their displays.
Other efforts are more organic.
“My goal is just to have a house that when people drive by, it gives them a little bit of Christmas joy,” said Jeff Hafner, of Wilder.
Hafner started putting up his family’s light display before Thanksgiving. In years past, they’d wait until after the turkey day.
“We weren’t the first in the neighborhood, but we were early adapters, I guess,” he said.
They also expanded their repertoire this year, reaching an important milestone: extension cords across the driveway to widen the display.
“We said we crossed the Rubicon,” Hafner said. “I was a little worried that if we went across the driveway how big it would get, but so far it’s a small expansion.”
His wife and two children help decorate the inside of their home, “but I’m definitely the Christmas elf around here,” Hafner said with a laugh. “My wife loves it and loves that she gets to make fun of it in equal measure.”
In Lyme, the Utility Club’s Tree Festival has seen an uptick in interest and participants, said Pat Pippin, the chairman for the annual event that was scheduled for Saturday and features Christmas trees decorated by residents and businesses on the town common. The club modified the event. Gone are the sleigh rides, and Santa was to stay on the firetruck instead of greeting children in person.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to drum up enough business” because of the pandemic, said Pippin, who has been staying home from the Lyme Country Store, which her family owns.
Pippin usually encourages customers to participate in the festival, relying on word of mouth for people to get involved. This year, she was pleasantly surprised when people reached out to her about sponsoring a tree. That interest led to the inclusion of 82 trees, which Pippin believes is the most they’ve had in their six-year history.
“It’s very special for people who work nights to come home from the hospital and see the trees all lit up,” Pippin said. “It’s a tough time for people this year, and I think it’s going to have more meaning than usual.”
In Sharon, the Baxter Memorial Library Board of Trustees started “Light Up Sharon!,” an initiative to encourage community members and businesses to decorate for the holidays. The group was originally going to focus on decorating the library, but they decided to expand their vision.
“Then we thought, ‘No, no let’s do the whole town. Let’s see if we can get everyone to light up to brighten up the year,’ ” library director Shana Hickman said. “Everybody seems to be getting really into it.”
Some people are going all out, while others are opting for a more subdued look. Hickman has also heard of residents who are decorating the homes of neighbors who are unable to do so themselves. The excitement is palpable throughout the community, as evidenced by the displays popping up in yards around town.
“Even if they can’t necessarily be seen from the street, the glow comes through the trees and it makes everything happy and brighter,” Hickman said.
That’s the case for Larissa Pyer, of Lebanon. She and her husband have put up an 11-foot Christmas tree on their deck, which can be seen from Mechanic Street; the couple did a test drive to make sure.
It’s the third Christmas tree they have at their home: Inside, there’s another natural tree in addition to an artificial evergreen.
“I’ve always been a stickler for having a real tree,” Pyer said, adding that her husband has always pushed for an artificial one. “That was the compromise: We could get a fake tree, but we still have a real one.”
Each year, Pyer and her husband have a tradition of going out and looking at Christmas lights. They make some hot chocolate, play Christmas music and hit the major spots, including La Salette Shrine in Enfield. This year, Pyer noticed an increased interest from people on social media asking about light displays, and she’s put together a Google map that she continues to add to at bit.ly/LightUpUV.
“This year has been so hard for so many people,” Pyer said. “This is a way we can spread some good cheer at the end of the season and close out the year on a bright note.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
