Contributing: Emma Brock – Intern

As fall winds down to a close and Jack Frost starts nipping at noses, the family of senior twins Petrina and Barbara Allor prepare to light up their block with holiday cheer. Their entire front yard is laced with Christmas lights and dotted with large inflatable decorations.

The Allor family blows the dust off of their Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. They purchased inflatable Christmas figures last year and buy new lights annually, but their indoor decorations are a collective.

Though the twins take pride in their embellished house, they credit their dad for the time spent transforming their home into a holiday haven.

“He loves putting up the big blow up things like the reindeer and the big Santa, and he likes putting Christmas lights everywhere and wreaths and stuff,” Barbara said.

Their dad, Richard Allor, usually spends an entire day setting up the decorations, and the twins notice the difference between their house and those of their neighbors.

“They have lights, but they don’t have (as)  much, so we have the most on the block,” Petrina said.

The house attracts outside attention as well. Senior Claire Schaden views the house as phenomenal and appreciates the Christmas cheer spread by Richard.

“Ever since we were little, the Allors have always had the best decorations and they always caused lots of attention to the house because of the huge blown up things,” Schaden said.

The big decorations hold a deeper meaning for the twins’ mother, Angela Allor.

    “It’s a tradition, we do it every year and we used to have a smaller Santa and my husband had to go get the bigger one and we just love it,” Angela said.

Near Monteith Elementary, passing students and parents love the house as well.

 “When the kids just get out of school, a lot of parents park in front of my house to pick up their kids after school, so I usually go out and plug it in right before that. Then the kids go crazy, especially over the Santa because they will see it blowing up,” Angela said. “There are kids in the neighborhood that look forward to the Santa being up every year. I love how the little kids get so excited.”

Angela believes the excitement of decorating and the love for Christmas in the family will continue even when the twins leave for college.

“We do it every single year, and it’s been about 26 years now.  We love it, and we will definitely keep doing it,” Angela said.

The Christmas cheer also runs on the paternal side of the family. The twins’ cousin, sophomore Sydnie Allor, also gets into the holiday spirit. Sydnie’s father spends a large amount of time decorating their own house as well.

“My dad does all of it. It’s really bright and festive. He tries to use figures, but they just fall down. He’s really into Christmas because he was born on Christmas, so he really loves it,” Sydnie said.

Sydnie’s house also attracts attention, but their decorations are different than that of the twins’.

“When my friends see it, they’re like, ‘Wow your house is so bright and decorated’ because you can see it from down the street,” Sydnie said. “(The twins) have a six foot Santa, so they have more figures, but we have more lights. Our house is just brighter.”

Sophomore Erin Armbruster also enjoys the Christmas wonderland Sydnie’s house is transformed into.

“It looks good with all the decorations. It looks like a Christmas store. It’s very spirited, like a scene in Elf. It gets me in the holiday spirit,” Armbruster said.

Angela Allor believes the annual holiday spirit will continue on both sides of the family mainly because of the strong foundation of tradition.

“It’s the whole tradition thing to it. It doesn’t matter how grown the kids are. They still love it,” Angela said. “Everybody is a kid at heart when it comes to Christmas.”