San Benito County is peppered with cute neighborhoods all year
round, but when Christmas comes many local streets pull out all the
stops to make the season extra special.
San Benito County is peppered with cute neighborhoods all year round, but when Christmas comes many local streets pull out all the stops to make the season extra special.
“This is for the kids,” said Cassandra Rule of Carey Way. Her yard is home to more than half a dozen giant inflatable Santas and snow men.
“My son is 3 now, so he’s getting old enough to really enjoy this,” she added.
Arguably the local neighborhood most famous for its Christmas cheer is Severinsen Street, where residents have been treating the rest of the community to seasonal shows of light and color for more than 10 years. The block is adorned with life-size Mr. and Mrs. Clauses, reindeer, Nativity scenes, and even a landing strip for St. Nick.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun, too, and it brings the neighborhood together,” resident Lisa Lincoln said. “If you don’t decorate, you kind of stand out.”
Each year the neighbors hold a party and award prizes in categories like Most Traditional or Most Creative.
“This has always been a close neighborhood,” Rick Cooklin said. “We have our big Fourth of July block party; we go all out at Halloween and have our Christmas gathering, too. It’s a great way to just get to know your neighbors, even the ones down the street that you don’t see too often.”
The competition can get pretty fierce, but manages to stay friendly.
“I’m pretty sure everyone has won the contest at one point or another, because everyone does a good job,” said Doug Young, who has won first place in the past and took second this year. Young’s life-size Nativity scene in the front yard has prompted people to pray in front of it and one passer-by was so impressed she brought him a box of See’s candy.
Several residents reported scaling down their displays this year due to rising PG&E bills, but taking a casual drive down the street you wouldn’t think so. Most reported spending several hundred dollars on new decorations and electric bills alone this year, and estimated they had spent several thousand since they became part of the tradition.
But not everyone is so zealous about decking the halls.
“Personally, I don’t like all the competition and I think there’s too many lights,” Jesus Valejo said. “We’ll decorate a little if we don’t go on vacation, but I’m kind of glad when the holiday is over.”
The vast majority of Severinsen Street residents, however, are proud of their local tradition, even if it means dealing with crowds of onlookers from 6-9pm every night.
“We do this for ourselves, but we’re also doing it for the rest of the community,” Young said. “It’s a little something that everyone can enjoy.”
On Carey Way, a new tradition is underway. Though Rule and her next door neighbors used to be the only ones pulling out all the stops comes Christmas, she says over the past few years she’s noticed her block getting more and more festive.
“It’s not a competition or anything,” she said. “It’s just fun. … You’ll definitely see a lot more people driving the street looking at houses than you used to.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or ds****@fr***********.com.
