Mr. Christmas lights the way in Temple Terrace | News

TEMPLE TERRACE — Is it really starting to look a lot like Christmas until Lucas Hutchins says so?

For nearly two decades, Hutchins has transformed River Ridge Drive in Temple Terrace into the city’s most dazzling Christmas destination, dubbed the Temple Terrace Light Show.

It is a flourish of twinkling lights, synchronized music and a towering oak tree wrapped from trunk to treetop. What started as a one-man, one-home show has grown into a neighborhood tradition that draws thousands of visitors each December to the River Run subdivision.

Mostly, it is a mission.

“I think a lot of it is I’m very sad that Christmas kind of seems to be phasing out and not as many people are decorating,” he said. “The less I see of other people’s neighborhoods, the more I want to add here.”

And add he has.

Eighteen years ago, Hutchins moved into his current home, which came with a sprawling oak. That oak became part of his festive vision when the holidays rolled around, which he turned into a winter wonderland.

With each passing year, he added new touches: more lights, elaborate garlands, glowing arches, a snow machine and a full light show choreographed to Christmas music broadcast on 95.5 for people driving the loop.

“I had smaller displays at my previous house,” he said, “but since I’ve moved into this house, I really upped my game.”

From a kid who used to decorate and put a big Christmas tree up in his bedroom, to the maestro of the now-infamous Temple Terrace Light Show, Hutchins is keeping the holiday spirit alive and well lit.

The show will run through the first week in January.

“Christmas has always been my thing,” he said.

Once Hutchins created his merry masterpiece, his neighbors soon started to follow. Some did it on their own; other paid Hutchins to decorate their homes for them, and some of those who can’t afford it, he does theirs anyway.

Today, he decorates roughly half the street himself. Hutchins also handles most of the lights stretching across the roadway and the décor on the street’s entranceway lamp posts, including a digital sign telling you how many days are left before Santa arrives.

Word has spread beyond Temple Terrace, too. Over the years, neighbors, and neighbors of neighbors, hired him to decorate homes in New Tampa, Land O’ Lakes and even Ruskin.

It’s a side hustle — by day he runs Lucas Lawn Care — but he isn’t taking any more customers.

Back in River Run, the scale of the operation is wondrous. Lights and props occupy a 1,600-sqaure-foot split-level storage unit. Trailers shuttle decorations back and forth. Hutchins rents a lift four or five times a season — first to wrap the oak tree, which alone takes three days of sunrise-to-sundown work over Labor Day weekend, and then again to hang street spanning lights, install garlands and later take everything back down.

The result is an elaborate display featuring 60,000 lights, many now smart pixels he can control from a computer. Pixels allow him to shift colors easily and choreograph sequences to songs, even though he still relies heavily on traditional LEDs for trees and rooftops.

“It’s great to still see these big displays, especially with the music on the radio” said Jay Norden, who lives in Tampa and said he and his wife has been down River Ridge Drive many times over the years. “It does seem to get better and better every year.”

Hutchins’ decorating schedule is tenacious: a few hours before landscaping, more hours afterwards — “Sometimes I’ll be outside till like midnight,” he says — and full days on weekends. The build begins in September. Homes start getting bedecked the first week of November, with the intention of having everyone lit up by Thanksgiving.

Hutchins finished up early this season, so he could have time to enjoy the holidays himself. He wants to visit the light displays at Disney, Jollyland and Gaylord Palms. There is still the occasional fire to put out. On a recent drive through, you could see Hutchins trot across the street to make a minor repair to two displays, then disappear again.

Because of the extra effort, the Temple Terrace Light Show is always a hit. A snow machine runs Thursday through Sunday. Kids lean out car windows, pointing and smiling. Others park nearby and stroll the street, stopping under archways or glowing trees for photos.

“That’s why I really like what I do, because people, they don’t have to worry about buying anything. They can just drive through and see the lights,” Hutchins said.

And the giant inflatable reindeer, the army of Frosty the Snowmen, an entire Grinch display — even the house is lit up by green lights — and the cul-de-sac on Hidden Ridge Place that looks like you’re walking into a wintery state fair.

“I say you can drive or walk, but it’s better to walk, because then you can take a good glance at everything,” Hutchins said.

And the show isn’t cheap. Last year, Hutchin’s December electric bill hit $600, nearly double previous years, and he expects this season’s to climb even higher.

But it’s all worth it.

The payoff comes late in December, on Christmas Eve. Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, elves — even the dastardly Grinch — make appearances and Hutchins hands out cookies and hot chocolate to the couple thousand visitors who walk or drive the street.

Neighbors call him Mr. Christmas. Some tip him. Fans leave appreciate comments online. Every year he hosts a block party to celebrate with his neighbors another job well done.

“It’s a lot of work. But it’s worth it,” he said. “There are not many places they go anymore to see Christmas lights. There are not many neighborhoods that do things like what we do here.”

Now that Hutchins is done, it’s official: it really is starting to look a lot like Christmas.

The Temple Terrace Light Show can be visited at 7804 River Ridge Drive in Temple Terrace each night until 11 p.m. For more information, search “Temple Terrace Light Show” on Facebook or Instagram.