SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Christmas lights are a family tradition on Christmas Eve and for an East County community, it’s been a growing for more than three decades.
For one mother, she dreamed of living in one of Santee’s popular Christmas display neighborhoods.
The bright sparkly lights are lighting up east and west Glendone Circle near North Magnolia Avenue in Santee.
“Growing up as a kid it was all about the Christmas spirit and the lights really bring us in as a family so we do this on Christmas eve,” said Jocelyn Lonzo.
The Albrandt’s have been taking in the lights displays for eight to ten years.
“We have our kettle corn and hot cocoa and we have a really good time, it's a really great place,” said Meagan Albrandt.
Starlight Circle has over 75 homes and one of them is the Fords where they’ve been popping fresh kettle corn for 20 years from their Toy Story themed home.
“We hide this [kettle corn machine] in the garage for 11 months, we recuperate for 11 months and bust it back out on December first,” said Dyan Ford.
“I moved here because I came to Starlight Circle as a child and I walked these streets and I looked at the lights and I said I would love to live here.”
Throughout the years down the street at the Nutcracker home, Guy DeLoura still has the original wood cut outs on the front lawn on Precious Moments on the roof.
Starlight Circle started in the late 1980’s and has grown. Traffic on the weekends has stretched over a mile to reach the neighborhood.
"Some people will ask me don't you get annoyed with, we really don't,” said DeLoura.
Some families turn their lights after Christmas others keep theirs on until December 31st.