Local Christmas lights display raises funds for Wounded Warrior Project

PARK RIDGE, Ill. (FOX 32 News) - It is beginning to look at lot like Christmas in Chicago. And while thousands of homes are decked out for the holidays, there is one that stands out.

Usually around this time of year, you start seeing the viral videos of houses with amazing Christmas lights that sparkle to the beat of holiday music. Well, there is a house in Park Ridge that blows all those other houses away in more ways than one!

It took the owners of the home 11 months to plan the dazzling display. It's their second year entertaining
the masses in Park Ridge.

There are 126,000 lights that dance to six Christmas tunes. It's the big kahuna of light shows, featuring Kris Kringle himself.

"This is our second night here. My children love it so it's part of our Christmas tradition now," Cathy Root told FOX 32 News.

"It's just castle in the middle of the Christmas village it's really beautiful," Sylwya Wajda said.

The king and queen of that glowing castle are Christina and Thomas Grusecki. They came up with the idea to entertain the holiday masses last year.

"They had such wonderful Christmas light displays when I was a child and it was just such a great memory that I had, and I thought it would be so fun to do something like this," they say.

Last year, the house of lights raised more than $7,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. And by the time corporate sponsors got involved, that number, well the bar was raised, $20,000, there's our contribution."

"Last year, a bunch of men and women from Hines rang the doorbell and all these veterans were standing there just to say thank you. It's such a worthy cause of what's going on in the world today, and to be able to honor those people that serve is the best way to give back," Thomas said.