Savanna Ford and Nancy Mueller, the dynamic holiday duo next door, have teamed up to light up their homes for Grover Beach's annual Holiday of Lights Decorating Contest.
“When you're a little kid, you love coming home and seeing lights,” Mueller said.
“It helps us adults, too, because, you know, somebody is keeping the spirit alive,” Ford added.
This festive face-off has been a tradition for two decades, spreading joy in the Grover Beach community.
"It's always about how can we improve our game and how to bring it up a level," said Larry Kim, Grover Beach Community Services Supervisor. "I'm sure that there's a little bit of competitiveness there, but it's all in the name of the holiday spirit.”
Kim says anyone can nominate their home or business by sending an email to Grover Beach Parks at gbparks@groverbeach.org until December 15.
Selected winners will receive gift cards to local businesses and each home or business nominated will be spotlighted on an interactive map so people can visit in person. Kim sees it as a chance for the community to get closer, one twinkling light at a time.
“I like to just think of us as a community and any opportunity that we can provide that kind of brings us closer together," Kim said.
And if having all these lights can be a costly problem, these savvy decorators say, it’s worth it.
“Yeah, it is. It's just so magical. The kids love it. The neighbors love it,” Ford said.
During the winter, PG&E says energy bills tend to soar, so for those who'd like to save money while going all out for the holidays, the utility company suggests using LED lights.
"They're safer because they don't get as hot, so you reduce the risk of ignition or even burning your fingers and they last 25 times longer so you can keep shining bright throughout the holiday season,” said Carina Corral, PG&E Communications Representative. She adds that LEDs are 75% more efficient than regular bulbs.
PG&E also recommends using an Energy Appliance Calculator to help better understand how much the use of certain appliances can cost.
For tips on how to safely put up string lights inside and outside of your home, check out this story by Olivia González-Britt.
