FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM A 12-foot snowman is just one of the decorations at Kurt Baker's home at 4510 Ukali St. in Foster Village.

Night lights

Brighter is better for those
who can't imagine Christmas
without lots of holiday glow

"To the wonderful people at 1332 Nehoa St. ..."

"It blew my mind," said Diane L.H. Chong of the letters that arrived in her mailbox after putting up her holiday home displays. After all, she doesn't set them up to collect accolades. "I do it because I like to decorate and I love holidays," she said.

Holiday Glow Visit the homes described in this article: Diane L.H. Chong, 1332 Nehoa St., Honolulu Kurt Baker, 4510 Ukali St., Honolulu Amor and Nita Ramelb, 1001 Luapele Drive, Honolulu Other brightly lit homes Suster family 91-1146 Haiano Place, Ewa Beach Frank Suster's display has more than 100 characters (he makes new ones every year). The lights are on from 6 to 10 p.m. daily until Christmas. Aki family 98-1297 Hoohuali Place, Pearl City Display features more than 4,100 lights, which are on from 6 to 10 p.m. daily through Jan. 2.

The former art teacher and now Web designer and IT specialist has made a tradition of decorating her home at Christmastime, but was able this year to display a 6- to 8-foot character on the ledge of her home to celebrate all the major holidays: Valentine's Day (teddy bear with a heart); St. Patrick's Day (leprechaun); Easter (bunny); graduation season (dog dressed in a cap and gown holding a "congratulations" sign); her favorite holiday, Halloween (spider); Thanksgiving (two turkeys dressed as pilgrims); and Christmas (Santa and three reindeer).

"My mom thinks I'm nuts," Chong said, laughing. But the mother of three wants her children to celebrate and remember each occasion.

"I hope they continue (decorating, so) when they have kids they do it, too," said Chong, who moved back into her childhood home seven years ago. Until then it had been a rental. Some of her memories of the home include her dad going out on the ledge at Christmas to display the family's Nativity scene.

"Most of the houses were decorated back then," Chong said. Now that the neighborhood residents have grown older, their adult children having moved into homes of their own, the decorations are not as grand.

"I used to decorate inside, but only the kids and I could enjoy it," Diane said. So she decided to share her holiday enthusiasm by decorating the exterior.

"I just did it for myself," she said. "I was surprised by other people's reactions. Stores decorate, too, and no one thanks stores."

She keeps all her fan mail and responds to each note. "My kids tell me, 'Mom, you're thanking them for their thank-you notes,'" Chong said, adding that her acknowledgment lets the writers know that she also appreciates their gesture.

The letters come from as far away as Kailua where the writer, a former Manoa resident, said she and her daughter enjoyed looking for the huge characters en route to her daughter's school.

They weren't the only ones who looked to Chong's Nehoa home to brighten their day, as passers-by now seem to expect a new display every month.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Nita and Amor Ramelb have decorated their Salt Lake home in lights for a decade.

Decorations went up later than usual last year due to heavy rainfall that diverted Chong's attention.

"Friends scolded me," Chong said, laughing. She now makes it a point to change the decorations quickly, so at 10:30 p.m. this Halloween and Thanksgiving, she was on her ledge switching one set of inflatables for the next.

"People notice it and I can't be late," she said.

Don't look for Chong at 10:30 Christmas night, though. "I can't find anything for New Year's, and I've searched everywhere."

Amor and Nita Ramelb and Kurt Baker might not decorate their homes for every holiday, but they do go all out at Christmas.

"It's crazy," Baker said. Like Chong, the Ramelbs and Baker get positive responses from passers-by.

Cars pull over to enjoy the Ramelbs' Christmas lights at the corner of Salt Lake Boulevard and Luapele Drive, while others get out to take pictures with Baker's 12-foot snowman on Ukali Street.

Like the Ramelbs, Baker adds something new to his lawn decor every year. This is Baker's third Christmas at his home, while the Ramelbs have been decorating their two-story rental for about 10 years and in that time have accumulated enough lights that it seems you could see their house from the moon.

"More bright better," said Amor.

The first year the Ramelbs moved in, they decorated with a few lights and icicles. Now, the couple has set reindeer, a Nativity scene, a couple of snowmen and many other ornaments aglow.

"I think our electricity bill goes up $500," Nita said.

Amor added that the couple had to put in a bigger circuit breaker about two years ago. "But the lights give a good feeling," he said.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Kanoa and Nainoa Lynch enjoy the lights put up outside their Foster Village home by their grandfather Kurt Baker. The display grows year by year, sometimes based on suggestions from the boys.

This year, many people have complained in print and on radio about the commercial rush to put up Christmas decorations. The Ramelbs have always set up their display before Thanksgiving. It is their way of giving thanks and sharing their blessings.

One Christmas, the couple went to the Philippines, returning home in mid-December. The absence of a holiday display left friends and neighbors wondering whether something happened to them. "People called my daughter," Nita said.

This year, thinking about all the work made Nita tired. "(I'm) so weak," she said, "but he says we have to."

"People ask," Amor said.

As in the holiday film "Christmas with the Kranks," Nita feels obligated to put on the community display. "We cannot leave because of the lights," said Nita, whose sister recently left for a trip to the Philippines, said.

"People stop and say they like the lights," said Amor, who plans to continue lighting up his home as long as he can, "if God permit."

Several blocks away from the Ramelbs, Baker's rooftop and lawn are home to a Santa stuck in his homemade chimney, two trains, a gingerbread house and a smaller snowman that sings.

"The first year was for the kids," Baker said. "I just got carried away. Every year, it keeps growing."

Baker lives with his girlfriend, her mother and two grandsons, ages 4 and 5. All pitch in with the decorations, and the two boys also contribute ideas.

The boys saw a picture of Santa in a chimney and asked their granddad if he could re-create this humorous spectacle.

"I never thought it would get this nuts," Baker said. "I had to make the chimney and put the Santa Claus in there."

Baker admits that he spoils the boys, but said, "In their eyes there's nothing I can't do." He still enjoys the thrill it gives them. "They'll come home from school and look around to see if there's anything new. Tuesday, they came home from school and said, 'Papa, you put the snowflakes on the roof.'"

Baker also planned on creating a Santa's workshop for families to use to take their own Christmas pictures, but ran out of time to get everything together.

There's always next year.

"People enjoying it -- that's the exciting thing about it," Baker said. "That's what it's all about."

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Amor and Nita Ramelb began decorating their home in Salt Lake with simple lights and icicles. A decade later, they've covered their yard and their home in a holiday glow.