Our first Christmas together as Man and Wife was in a very small row home in the Fishtowne section of Philadelphia. As the holidays were approaching, we realized that none of the neighbors on our street were decorating for the season. We decided to go all out and completely decorate our little home from the sidewalk to the peak of the roof.
It turned out to be very enjoyable experience for both of us. My wife, Missy, decorated the interior while I decorated the exterior. We received many compliments not only from our neighbors, but from people passing by that had heard about the little decorated house. The following Christmas many neighbors decorated their houses too. The third Christmas we decorated, people came from all over to see the little street of lights. Our Family blossomed with the addition of Melissa in 1994, so our little house on the lighted street had become just too small.
We moved into our new house in the small town of Merchantville, New Jersey. After decorating our little house in the city, the prospect of decorating this larger house was overwhelming at first. This house had a nice open front yard and plenty of room to be creative. Our first Christmas in it we managed to decorate all the windows and trim the exterior with lights. But after Christmas, Missy went on a shopping spree and bought every decoration that was left at 75% off, she brought home a lot of decorations! Christmas of 2001 was another very special Christmas as this was the first with our newest daughter Madison. Before long, our house was the talk of the town and had been featured on the local TV news and in the newspapers. As the girls grew, we decided that we wanted them to grow up in a less city like environment and began to look around for
greener pastures.
We moved into this house in Pittsgrove, New Jersey in early 2004. When we began to decorate for Christmas, the lights and displays left a lot of vacant spaces that needed to be filled. That year we broke from tradition and went shopping before Christmas so that our first year in our new house would feel like home! Don’t get me wrong, we hit the sales after Christmas too. Still to this day, our family and friends from Philadelphia drive an hour or so to visit our house during the holidays to see how much our Christmas display has expanded.In 2008 we decided to help others by becoming a Toys for Tots and Food Bank of Southern New Jersey drop-off spot. What started on a little house in the city has become a Lawlor Family tradition
In 2007, after a trip to Disney World, we decided that we would not be out done by a mouse ! The research was conducted and our first computer animated holiday display was created. It continues to grow each year so please make a visit to our house during the Christmas Season and make our Tradition a part of your Family’s Tradition. Enjoy The Show !!
