By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
What began as one family’s attempt to make the holidays a little brighter has turned into a decade-long, multi-house Christmas light show that draws steady lines of spectators to Raymond Hall Drive each December.
In 2015, Dawn Regan and her family set up a synchronized light display at their home for fun – an experiment involving a tech-savvy friend, a transmitter, and a holiday playlist, with no idea it would turn into a neighborhood tradition that’s grown to five houses this year.
“At first it was just for fun, something to do with the kids. But people come every year now. They tell us it’s part of their holiday season – that means a lot.”
-Dawn Regan
“Our kids, at the time, were around 7 to 10 years old, and my siblings live around town and have children, so as these families grew it was, ‘What can we do to make the holidays a little more fun?’” Regan said.
The first year was the hardest, she said, when coordinating lights to music required hours of wiring, programming and organizing which display plugged into which outlet. Now, thanks to a process refined over the years, setup begins on Thanksgiving night and is usually finished by that weekend.
“Everyone works hard to get the lights up and we’re really close with the neighbors,” said Regan. “It’s still a lot of work, but it’s easier now that a system is in place.”
The show begins each night at 4:30 p.m. from Thanksgiving through New Year’s, cycling through 25 to 30 songs. Each year, the neighbors add something new – a popular tune, a decoration or updated props such as the “mega trees” they introduced a few years back.
“The songs shuffle, so you never know what you’re going to hear,” said Regan. “This year we added the ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ song ‘Golden.’ When ‘Frozen’ came out, ‘Let It Go’ was the big one.”
Regan said they’ve received thank-you letters in the mail and kind words from visitors who make the display a part of their annual tradition.
“We’re not doing it for any reason other than to have fun and let people enjoy the season,” said Regan. “I don’t see a day when we stop doing it.”
Ashley Makie and her family moved to Raymond Hall Drive in October 2021 and learned about the light display before they even bought her house.
“Our realtor told us the street had a lot of traditions and neighbor involvement,” Makie said. “We didn’t know about it beforehand, but we loved the idea.”
With two young children, the Makies were immediately drawn to the festive spirit and joined the display in 2022. Neighbors came over with pizza and walked them through everything – from the special power box to the exact configuration needed to synchronize the lights.
“The whole neighborhood helped with showing us how to set it up,” said Makie. “Now, my husband can do it all in one to two hours. You just have to be organized when you put everything away and keep it labeled.”
Makie said her 4-year-old son, who helped with the setup for the first time this year, especially loves the changing music. Watching the cars stop and line up on the street to enjoy the show has quickly become a favorite activity for both of her children.
What has surprised Makie the most over these three years is how far the tradition reaches beyond their quiet North Attleborough neighborhood.
“We mentioned the lights at my son’s preschool in Easton, and families there wanted to come see them,” she said. “Then you see Facebook groups from other towns talking about it. It’s fun to see how far it extends.”
For Regan, the display has now become a part of her family’s history – a tradition that started when her children were young and now continues into their adulthood.
“At first it was just for fun, something to do with the kids,” Regan said. “But people come every year now. They tell us it’s part of their holiday season – that means a lot.”