For many people, putting out the holiday lights each year means untangling impossible knots, long hours in the cold, and plugging them in just to find out that the bulbs are burnt out.
But for the Jocketts of Toledo, it’s their favorite time of year.
Joe and Connie Jockett moved into their one-story home on Michele Drive in 1998. That year, Connie’s mother, who worked at Hills department store, bought them their first Christmas light-up yard figurine. She continued to gift figurines to the couple, and they decided to join the fun.
“We go to garage sales, and [Joe] goes online and looks at all the new figurines each year to grow our collection,” Connie, 72, said.
Their collection now includes more than 300 figurines, from nutcrackers and Mickey Mouse to the Grinch, and, of course, Santa Claus.
“We don’t get rid of any,” Joe, 73, said, noting they still have the originals from 1998 that started it all.
Their display, tucked away on the cul-de-sac off of Byrne Road, builds on other holidays too, including Easter and Halloween. The couple has 50 different light-up yard figurines for Easter and 90 for Halloween, but nothing compares to Christmas.