It took her about three weeks, but Cathy McGuire finally has her yard set up for Christmas.
The candy canes are lined up, the inflatable dog pound is in place and her row of inflatable favorites are by the house, giving passers-by a clear view of the chipmunk eating an acorn, a shivering polar bear who joined a swim team and Santa holding up a fish in honor of her father, an avid fisherman. There’s also a reindeer dangling off the roof, icicle lighting and decorations wrapped around a tree trunk and hanging off the very bottom branches of a tree.
McGuire has a 10-foot ladder she uses to hang some decorations, but the 63-year-old said certain parts of the lawn aren’t sturdy enough for her to feel safe climbing too high.
“Ladders don’t scare me,” she said. “It’s the sudden impact at the bottom.”
It was about six years ago when McGuire started going all out with her decorations at her house in the 500 block of Northeast 124th Avenue in Vancouver. She sets them up every year by herself, as she doesn’t get much help from her roommates: a 95-pound German shepherd-Lab mix named Dockit and a 115-pound Lab named Brandy.
“They weren’t as elaborate when I started,” McGuire said. “I keep picking things over and adding to my collection.”
Her house isn’t the only thing spreading holiday cheer throughout December, either. McGuire has a different pair of holiday-themed socks for every day of the month and seven or eight holiday shirts she rotates through. She hangs elf ears out of the windows of her car and has green battery-operated lights on its roof that she likes to turn on while driving around.
“I just want people to smile,” she said.
While some might call her crazy — like her son, who lives in Portland with his wife and their two daughters — decorating the house is fun for McGuire. She also likes to try to scare neighborhood kids with her Halloween decorations, and gets a good laugh out of the inflatable turkey and hunter she puts up for Thanksgiving.
Part of the fun is getting all the decorations organized and making sure they stay together. Some are tied to the house while others are held up using paper clips and cut-up pieces of carpet.
“I make things work,” she said.
McGuire worked for 20-plus years as a pipefitter, and is a retired member of the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters. She worked in the late 1980s and early 1990s at the Portland shipyard.
She has lived in Vancouver for the last seven years after moving to La Center in 1990. McGuire said she likes dressing up — both herself and her house — to try and make people laugh.
“Everybody is in a hurry now. You can stand outside and just watch people zip by,” she said. “Slow down, take a look and enjoy life.”
Check out more homes in Clark County decorated for the holiday:
• Those passing 809 N.W. 164th St., Ridgefield, will see some familiar faces, as decorations at this small farm include Peanuts characters and the Grinch, along with plenty of other holiday favorites.
• The residents on a part of Northwest 42nd Street in Vancouver like to think of their street as a “little Peacock Lane,” according to one resident. The “Miracle on 42nd Street” runs on 42nd between Washington and Columbia streets, and features arches over driveways, flamingos, massive stars and trees lit up to the sky.
• Decorations at 2736 N.W. 23rd Ave., Camas, include 12 kaleidoscope light effect inflatables, a Santa helicopter with a moving propeller and tail propeller, a 10-foot-tall bear that opens and closes its arms for hugs, a dragon holding a candy cane that flaps its wings and laser lights in three different sections of the house.
• Santa will be busy preparing Christmas, but he and his reindeer can be found in the lead-up to the holiday on the roof at 11001 N.E. 11th Ave., Vancouver, along with a candy cane-lined driveway, snowmen and a Nativity scene.
• The Holidays on Franklin Street has seven properties at 4616 N.W. Franklin St., Vancouver, with more than 30,000 lights. Each property has a different theme: Pooh Corner, Charlie Brown, Peace on Earth, Frozen, and Santa Claus. New this year is a 70-foot long nativity scene that features 25 figures. The lights are on nightly from 5 to 10 p.m., including music and Santa appearing in an upstairs window. Snow will fall on the property Dec. 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. and on the hour Christmas Eve between 4 p.m. and midnight, and Christmas Day between 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. More info can be found at www.facebook.com/holidaysOnFranklin.
• Tucked away in a cul-de-sac, people can find the home at 2105 N.E. 151st Court, Vancouver, complete with lights synced to classic holiday music, Christmas films being played via projector and a yard filled to the brim with decorations.
• Come and enjoy the lights and music from the comfort of your own car at this year’s display at 1719 S.E. 162nd Ave., Vancouver. There are 10,000 lights and computer-controlled animation with traditional Christmas music being transmitted on FM 88.9. The show lasts 20 minutes and runs continuously from 5 to 9:30 p.m. every night through Christmas.
• Charlie Brown and Snoopy can be seen at 4613 N.W. 135th Circle, Vancouver, along with penguins, otters and an inflatable from the movie “Elf.”
• Over at 1302 S.E. 155th Ave., Vancouver, guests can check out elves, reindeer and Santa made of lights, plus holiday music.
• Those heading to 9304 N.E. 93rd Place, Vancouver, will find thousands of lights, inflatables and a train built by hand that travels around the yard. There is also a 10-foot Santa.
• Watch out near 511 N.E. 124th Ave., Vancouver, because there is a student driver holding the reins to Santa’s sleigh, along with Darth Vader and Yoda, an inflatable chipmunk chowing down on an acorn, a polar bear on the swim team and a gingerbread man soaking in a big cup of hot cocoa.
• The home at 714 N.E. 152nd Ave., Vancouver, is drenched in lights, with different sections of the house featuring different solid colors. The roof is covered in rainbow lights, and through the front window, visitors can see a large tree bathed in white lights.
• While the focus at 11806 S.E. Riveridge Drive, Vancouver, might be on the yard, which is filled with lights and characters, those who look up can spot Santa on the roof, along with an angel playing the trumpet. Even higher up is a lit-up hot air balloon flying above the home.
• The home at 14427 N.W. 25th Court, Vancouver, sits in a cul-de-sac where most homes decorate for the holidays. Those who drive through can find lights on the houses, trees and shrubbery, along with holiday favorites, like snowmen and gingerbread men.
• Inflatable Santa can be seen hanging out with the Nutcracker and Pluto the dog at 5100 N.W. Walnut St., Vancouver, which also features 65 feet of icicle lights and shrubs covered in multicolored lighting.
• Visitors to 20306 N.E. 68th St., Vancouver, will find more then 30,000 lights draped from the roof down to the yard blinking to Christmas music, along with some large snowmen and Santa inflatables.
• You’ll want to roll down your windows at 12816 S.E. 24th St., Vancouver, so you can check out the show where more than 2,000 lights are set to music with a variety of 20 different songs.
• Over at 2020 S.E. 132nd Court, Vancouver, visitors will find lights throughout the yard and hanging off the house. There are large snowflake-shaped lights on the house, along with a reindeer, snowman and angel all made of lights.
• The holiday light display at 9605 S.E. 13th St., Vancouver, features music and dancing, and runs from about 5 to 9:30 p.m. nightly.
• The home at 6523 N.E. 52nd St., Vancouver, has been putting up lights the last 15 years, continuing to add more lights and displays each year. The decorations currently have more than 7,500 lights.
If you would like your home included in The Columbian’s list, email your address, a brief description of your decorations and photos to amy.libby@columbian.com.
