Jacqueline Santos loves holidays. Not just "the holidays," but all holidays.
"I love seeing the children’s eyes light up when they see my displays; I enjoy watching their reaction to the lights and the music," confessed the feisty 76-year-old Moanalua Valley grandmother.
"They get scared at the sound of the scarecrow during Halloween, and they’re fascinated with the lights in my miniature village at Christmas."
Santos, who has one daughter, four sons and seven grandchildren, has been decorating her two-story house for more than 40 years and shows no signs of letting up.
"It started when my children were young. I used to put up Halloween and Christmas displays for them, and then I began to put up decorations for all the other holidays: Valentine’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.
"It just kept going and getting bigger till it is what it is today!" she said with a chuckle.
Her Christmas presentation in the carport of her home at 1540 Ala Aoloa Loop always includes a miniature village with lights on in the windows, a ceramic manger scene — "People forget that this is why we celebrate Christmas," she says — and a large, jolly plush snowman. ("He’s the one who started it all.") After that, Santos adds decorations as the mood and opportunity strike her. She changes them out every year so that no one display is the same.
Most of the ornaments are store-bought, but some have been assembled or made by herself, such as the ceramic figurines. Santos doesn’t know how many decorations she’s accumulated over the years, but they likely number in the hundreds.
And her fans from all over Moanalua Valley come to see what she creates every year.
"Some people just drive by to look; others walk up to see the ornaments up close. I’ve seen some people come by when they were kids themselves, and now they’re bringing their own children to see it. My neighbors have brought their children and then their grandchildren to view my decorations."
Her neighbor for most of those 40 decorating years, Nancy Nagata, 86, says she appreciates all that Santos has done for their street because she knows it’s time-consuming.
"Like everything she does, her displays are very artistic. The lights are very prominent at night, and the whole feeling is very Christmasy.
"I tell Jaci, ‘I don’t have to do anything myself for Christmas; I’ll just come over and look at your decorations!’"
