Let there be lots of lights

Don Boss, owner of Razzles Kid Academy in Loganville, has decked the halls of the daycare center for more than 25 years, and it just gets bigger and bigger every year, adding new lights, inflatables, decorations and more with each new Christmas season. By Stephen Milligan | The Walton Tribune

Don Boss’s Christmas lights fervor started when he was a child.

“It started back with my father,” Boss said. “He was in the military and we traveled all over the world, so he made a point of making it as much like home as possible.”

During the yuletide season, that meant incredibly elaborate Christmas lights and decorations, Boss said.

“When we got back to the states, he just continued doing it,” Boss said. “It make Christmas special.”

It got into Boss’ blood, too, as he began decking his own halls with expansive Christmas decor until, after the family bought Razzles Kid Academy in Loganville back in 1997, he turned his attention to the business on Highway 81.

“When I started doing the daycare, I stopped doing my house to use everything here,” Boss said. “I started going up on the roof and writing Merry Christmas in my best third grade hand writing.”

It definitely draws attention, Boss added.

“People tell they’ve been coming for years,” Boss said. “They’ll honk as they pass. Every year, someone will honk when I’m on the roof and I’ll almost fall off.”

Boss has been decorating the daycare for more than 25 years now, and the light show has only gotten more elaborate with every passing year.

“I have a big Santa that’s 30 years old,” Boss said. “I only put him on the brick because the wiring is so old there. And this year I added a new one, a 6-foot rooster.”

People come by to drive through the daycare center’s parking lot at night, when the building can be seen from far down the highway, a shining beacon of holiday festivity in the darkness.

“When the parade comes by, we even hand out hot chocolate,” Boss said.

There are some drawbacks to the annual holiday showcase.

“The power bill costs as much as a summer bill,” Boss said. “And it takes about 80 hours to put up. Though it usually only takes an hour to take it all down. If you put everything end to end, it’d probably be over a mile.”

City ordinances also limit how many inflatables he can place along the roadway, meaning those end up farther back on the property, while dinosaurs, roosters, Grinches and a whole team of reindeer pulling Santa’s sled are closer to the road.

Boss has no intention of slowing down his annual holiday showcase, even as he has to start decorating elsewhere.

“The grandkids ask why I don’t decorate my own house like the daycare, so I’ll have to put some lights up at home again,” Boss said.

 But Razzles will remain decked out, too.

“The kids love it,” Boss said. “I love it. It’s been a joy for over 25 years.”