Light Up the Night

Timothy and Grace Gay first decorated their New York home with holiday lights in 1995, after their first child, Emily, was born. Over time, the family grew to include two sons, Dan and John. Their light display expanded too. Today, it spans about 2 acres and uses more than 600,000 lights!

In 2014, the Gay family was awarded the Guinness World Record for the most lights on a residential property. During the holiday months, the family invites the public to drive through the display. The Gays collect donations from visitors for local charities. Hundreds of people visit the show each night! 

Timothy and Grace Gay live in New York. They decorate their home with holiday lights each year. They started in 1995 after their first child, Emily, was born. 

Over time, the family added two sons, Dan and John. Their light display grew too. Today, it spans about 2 acres. It uses more than 600,000 lights!

In 2014, the Gay family set a Guinness World Record. It was for the most lights on a home. The public can drive through the display. The Gays collect donations from visitors. They money goes to local charities. Hundreds of people visit each night!

The Gay family begins working on their display in late September. They use wire fencing and wooden planks to build reindeers, rainbows, and other fun shapes to decorate with lights.

In their earliest displays, the family used strings of incandescent lights. Each of these bulbs contains a piece of wire called a filament that glows when it’s heated by electricity (see Comparing Lights, below). Wires connect the bulbs to an electricity source like an outlet, creating an electric circuit.

But incandescent lights waste a lot of energy as heat. The bulbs can reach temperatures of 168˚C (334˚F)! That’s why in 2006, the Gay family began using light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. These bulbs light up when electricity flows through devices called diodes. Diodes don’t need to heat up to create light, so they use less electricity.

It’s important to control the amount of electricity flowing through the display. If there’s too much, the wires can overheat and catch fire. That’s why the Gays use two circuit breakers. If these devices detect too much electricity, they break the circuit, turning off the lights.

The Gay family starts setting up their display in late September. They build fun shapes from wire fencing and wooden planks. They decorate them with lights.

The family used incandescent lights in their early displays. Each bulb contains a filament. It’s a piece of wire. It glows when heated by electricity (see Comparing Lights, below). Wires connect the bulbs to an outlet. That creates an electric circuit. 

Incandescent lights waste a lot of energy. That’s because they give off so much heat. The bulbs can reach 168˚C (334˚F)! That’s why the Gay family made a switch. They now use light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. They light up when electricity flows through them. But they don’t need to heat up to create light. So they use less electricity.

It’s important to control the electricity flowing through the display. Otherwise, the wires can overheat and catch fire. That’s why the Gays use two circuit breakers. These devices break the circuit if there is too much electricity. That cuts the power and turns off the lights.