Homeowners turn to pros to deck out homes with dazzling holiday light displays

Every year for Christmas, Christine and Tyler Roloff take their kids to walk through the interactive holiday light installation at the Kohl Children’s Museum. They were so inspired by the display that they wanted to re-create the scene for their holiday installation this year at their Glenview home.

Like the museum, their trees are wrapped in an array of colors and with matching ornaments that flash on and off like starbursts hanging from the branches.

The couple gave the display their own special touches by adding a blow-up Grinch and a scene displaying Snoopy and Woodstock playing hockey to represent their two kids who are ice hockey players.

While they weren’t short on ambition, they lacked the time because of their kids’ busy schedules, so they hired Ben Orr of Northern Holiday Lighting, who had done work in their neighborhood, to install the lights.

"When I found out Ben also did the museum lights I told him to take inspiration from that," said Christine Roloff, 46. "They made a mini version of that in our house and it's beautiful. It looks like a rainbow."

The Roloffs spent $4,000 on their display this year — which includes lit-up garlands on the pillars of their home, lit-up wreaths on the windows and rainbow lights to highlight the evergreen trees in their yard. And they’re not alone. Though pricing depends on the quantity and size of the home, wealthier households will dish out between $2,000 and $4,000 for their outdoor decorations. One year, Orr had a customer who spent upwards of $18,000 to deck out their home.

Local companies that light up people’s homes for the holidays said the interest in elaborate light displays has soared in the past few years.

Orr, 40, said he saw the biggest boom in business in 2020 during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, he said there wasn’t a shortage of customers, but every year since the number of requests has increased.

"During COVID everyone was locked in their home and couldn’t go anywhere," Orr said. "They were looking for stuff to do and the easiest way to do that was to decorate their houses to bring some cheer."

Now Orr has eight full-time employees and hires about five more people during the busy season between October and December.

Rene Garcia, owner of The Rite Lites in Brookfield, thought the pandemic would affect his small business and he would lose clients, but it turned out to be his busiest year.

"I think people were sick of being indoors so they wanted to do something that would bring cheer to their home and doing the lights did that," said Garcia, 37. "That year it was a big thing to walk around neighborhoods and see all the houses lit up."

Garcia started his company in 2017, and although he only works seasonally he said he's never short of business.

"Since COVID, it’s just gotten busier," Garcia said. "We’ve been maxed out every year since, and I've had to turn people down because I can't get to them in time. I don't even advertise; it's just all word of mouth.”

Garcia used to do all the installations on his own. These days, he hires at least five seasonal employees to get through the holiday season.

Between October and December, Orr installed holiday lights in over 160 homes in the north and northwest suburbs of Chicago, and Garcia tackled over 90 in the western suburbs.

"This all started by just lending a hand to someone who needed help and it's just snowballed," Garcia said. "I'm glad I'm able to help others get their homes ready for the holiday season."

After purchasing his River Forest house this year, Jorge Neri, 38, knew he would be calling Garcia to help decorate it for his family’s first Christmas in their new home.

Neri, a father of three and a business owner, said he looks forward to the holiday season but because of his busy schedule he isn’t able to decorate his home himself.

“I would rather spend my time with my family than spend it leaning over a ladder on the side of my house,” Neri said.

Neri budgeted $2,000 for the display in his new home. He said it was “worth it.”

“I like to support Latino-owned businesses, and Rene and his team have done a great job,” said Neri. “They’ve helped us get in the holiday spirit, and my kids love it. It’s a worthy investment.”

Neri first hired Garcia in 2021. In past years he’s enjoyed a colorful look. This year he decided to go more traditional, with garlands and warm white lights along the roof and wrapped around trees.

“We kept it simple, but my wife and I are already talking about what more we can add next year,” he said. “It just looks so beautiful, and it makes us feel happy when we drive in.”

Orr has been professionally installing lighting for homes and commercial businesses since starting his Glenview-based company in 2002.

"This was something that I just did on the side," said Orr, who developed an eye for theatrics while setting stage lights for plays in high school.

He never thought his after-school hobby would later flourish into a booming business that he said has grown “exponentially,” with requests coming in for Christmas, Halloween, Diwali and Ramadan.

Decorating people's homes also gives him the opportunity to express his creativity, he said.

"I love the challenge of figuring out how we can use lights to make something look unique," Orr said. "Lighting, especially during COVID, was an expression of happiness and peace. I love being able to do this and bring that into people’s homes."

Orr’s longtime client Brandie Fagin tends to lean toward a more "classic" Christmas look of white, red and green for her holiday display at her Glenview home.

Fagin has had her lights professionally installed since 2017 and said that although her style hasn't changed, she adds more every year.

"So much of what you do inside your home is so beautiful and lovely for the holidays, but no one ever really gets to see it," said Fagin, 48. "Bringing it outside so that others can enjoy when they walk by is why we decided to do light installations. Now every year I add a wreath to another window or lights to another bush."

Fagin’s Georgian-style home is decorated with wreaths with red bows on every window, mini Christmas trees on her front porch and bushes and trees flashed in warm white lights on the roof.

"We tried to do it ourselves for years, but it just didn’t look that good," Fagin said. "The work is just so professionally done. There’s no loose cables. The finishing touch is just so beautiful."