It's lights out for popular Christmas display in Lincoln, but maybe not forever
Since 2007, Catherine and Dany Falle's house just outside of Fredericton has been a destination every December to see thousands of flashing lights dancing to Christmas music.
But not this year.
The husband and wife behind an annual light spectacle in Lincoln is adjusting to a quieter Christmas.
The Falles called it quits by selling and donating most of their Christmas lights and decorations.
"To see the yard empty, when everybody else has their Christmas lights, is like, 'Oh my gosh, we look so cheap now,'" said Dany.
Last Christmas, the couple had 67,000 lights beaming from their property. It's a much different scene this year with about 100 lights hanging around their front door step.
Their quiet rural street would normally be busy with bumper-to-bumper traffic for people to get a glimpse of the spectacle.
"We would peek out the window and be screaming, 'Oh there's 10 cars looking and, holy cow, they're all the way to the stop sign,'" Dany said.
The couple announced over the summer that the light show was over. What started out as fun became too much for the family.
"The passion became a burden," Dany said.
The Falles estimate that they spent $32,000 on the lights over 12 years. On top of that, Dany's health isn't great.
He said the time commitment became too much.
"We were stuck to the money box," said Dany, referring to a charity donation box at the end of their driveway.
"We couldn't go anywhere. We could not plan anything. Go to parties? Forget about it."
But the Falles don't regret what they accomplished with the light show.
Since 2011, they raised over $88,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The Falles said they haven't noticed any cars driving by this year looking for the lights, but they've had messages on Facebook asking if the show was still happening.
Catherine said everyone's been understanding about their decision and she said the family still enjoys the season.
But don't rule out something special for next year.
Dany won't say what he's working on, but he said he has an idea. The Falles said it won't be over the top, but still worth seeing.
