Ann Arbor Christmas house features hundreds of decorations

If the North Pole was populated by glowing narwhals, giraffes, pigs and llamas, it would look a little bit like Carly Groves’ house in Ann Arbor.

Tucked in the Burns Park neighborhood of Ann Arbor at 1702 Shadford Road, the Groves’ house is covered in Christmas decorations. There are animal statues of all different kinds aglow on the front lawn, an illuminated archway and lights lining the roof, windows and sidewalk.

It’s all a part of Groves’ childhood dream to have a spectacularly decorated house like the fabled (though less carefully deployed) decor in 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Groves, a fourth-grade teacher at Allen Elementary in Ann Arbor, decorates her house with thousands of lights and decorations, making it visible from blocks away.

When Groves was young, she was inspired by another Ann Arbor house just up the road from where she lives now. The home, owned by a local doctor, would turn into a “magical fairytale home,” around the holidays, Groves said. “It looked like a real-life gingerbread house.

“It just was mesmerizing and so I always said, ‘Someday I really wanna have a Christmas house.’ I was like, ‘When I am an adult I am making this come true.'”

So she made it true.

Years ago, with some help from her stepfather, a “self-made” man who always sought to give back to the community in creative ways around the holidays, Groves began accumulating Christmas decorations. She has a special eye for those in animal form.

To Groves, many animals in the yard have special meaning. The giraffes are an homage to her mother, who loves giraffes. Others pay credit to plays and musicals she has been a part of with the Burns Park Players. The octopus is a reference to her time as Ursula in a musical adaptation of “The Little Mermaid,” and the donkey was a gift from a friend who played Donkey in “Shrek.”

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The decorating begins in October, with a lighting ceremony in November which is well attended by neighbors and members of the community.

When it’s not the holiday season, Groves said the decorations live in the attic.

“We like to think that when we close the door, they come to life “Toy Story” style, partying up there and having fun together,” Groves said.

Decorating the house is done primarily by Groves and her family, with a little bit of help from friends, especially on the more intricate details, like the lights lining the roof. It takes quite a bit of elbow grease to set it all up.

And it’s not just physical energy being spent on decorating the Groves’ house. It’s a financial commitment, too.

“The entire time we have this on, (our electric bill) goes up by like $600,” Groves said.

But it’s all worth the smiles.

“That’s the part we love, hearing from these families and their stories,” Groves said. “We love to hear kids being like ‘That gnome is my favorite!” or, ‘What’s new this year?'”

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