LOS ANGELES — On Nardian Way in Westchester, holiday lights in the shape of reindeer and presents will go up with the help of the entire neighborhood.
But before the big day, neighbor Katie Rampen is making her yearly repairs on the project her husband built years ago.
“So this all came from a block party when the guys were sitting around going ‘wouldn’t it be cool if Santa and his reindeer were flying all over our houses?’” Rampen said.
One of those guys was neighbor George Ronay who was across the street putting lights around his palm trees.
The roof of his home serves as the anchor for the collective neighborhood lights they put up after Thanksgiving.
“Get out on Sunday and string Santa and the reindeer out over the four houses and the presents across the street,” Ronay said.
This year, the two-decades-long magic of lighting Nardian Way begins with just two folks — Ronay and his neighbor Tom — who mount Santa and his reindeer to fly over the rooftops.
Then, all of the neighbors gather to put up the present lights that will be hung across the street, tied from a tree, finally connecting to Ronay's chimney.
It’s a race against the sun to get them up in time.
“I feel like we’re in Hollywood, we’re losing light people, we’re losing light! It’s a little stressful, usually we do this earlier in the day but people were out of town, but you make due right?" Rampen said.
This year, the neighbors manage to hoist the presents into the air in a nick of time.
And as twilight turns to night, their beauty glows bright.
After all of the hard work, the neighbors gather for their potluck tradition. It's their first year back after the event was canceled last year due to the pandemic.
“This is of course what it’s really about, the spirit of getting together and being neighbors and it’s the Nardian way," Rampan said.
And that Nardian Way spirit is here on display for everyone to see and enjoy.
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, Katie Rampen's name was misspelled. This has been corrected. (Dec. 13, 2021)