Christmas house will be open through Dec. 31

Montgomery's Christmas House has been a fixture at 193 Cambridge Road, Gap, since 1984. Each October, Norm Montgomery Jr. begins setting up the display, which includes nearly 45,000 lights and more than 300 Christmas characters. Each year on Thanksgiving night, Norm Jr. flips the switch and the Christmas House comes to life ready to delight visitors. This year the display will be open each evening from 5 to 9 p.m. until Sunday, Dec. 31, when hours run from 5 to 10 p.m.

For 2023, however, the annual labor of love was almost derailed. Following Jan. 1 each year, Norm Jr. dismantles the display and stores the decorations on the third floor of the garage behind the house. Last February, when he had put away all but the last load, a fire broke out in two sheds adjacent to the garage. The flames ran up the corner of the garage to where the decorations were kept. "We lost about 90 Christmas ornaments," said Norm Jr., noting that with most items the damage was apparent right away. "We had to clear the garage out, and we could see what was melted." However, a surprise was in store when Norm Jr. began unpacking the display to start putting it up in October. "Once I started getting the (decorations) out, I could see there was damage I hadn't realized (had occurred)," he reported. A call went out for donations of Christmas items to replace the lost ones. Area residents came forward to help, and with some extra effort Norm Jr. was able to complete the display and open on time this year. He added food trucks on the two weekends prior to Christmas, and Santa visited once again to round out the attraction.

Not only did Norm Jr. have the display ready for Thanksgiving, but he also improved upon it. The walk-through begins with a nearly life-size Nativity scene on the front porch of the house. On the roof is an outline of Santa arriving in a helicopter. "I completely redid the helicopter," said Norm Jr., who explained that previously the helicopter was outlined in smaller lights. "There were more of them, but this year, it is brighter and only half the bulbs are needed." Icicles on the house were also replaced. "We added a lot of things," said Norm Jr. "The North Pole (sign) and this Santa Claus are both new," he shared, noting that there are lots of new deer, some of which are tiny reindeer. A new trio of dogs includes two dachshunds and a Welsh Corgi. A replica of Olaf, the snowman from "Frozen," is part of the display as is an outline of a large stocking with elves. New holiday bears and Christmas trees are also included. The walk-through concludes with a second Nativity scene. This year, Norm Jr. has added a few benches to the lighted walk so families may stop to take photos.

Norm Jr. does most of the actual setup of the display, with Norm Sr. helping with the strings of lights along the road. Norm Jr. noted that replacing items is not inexpensive, even with shopping after-Christmas sales and yard sales. He pointed out that wiring and bulbs for a few large items, including the helicopter, angels, candles, and wreaths ran into thousands of dollars. "We still appreciate donations," Norm Jr. stated.

For more information, call 717-768-8726, email normanmont2168@gmail.com, or search for "Montgomery's Christmas House" on Facebook.