The universe has a strange way of delivering new pieces to Paul and Jenny Sparks’ growing collection of holiday decorations.

Sometimes, admirers of their ambitious display just off Four Mile Road near U.S. 31 make a donation to the cause. The Sparks work nights and rarely get to meet these strangers, but they’ve provided a large chunk of their hundreds of pieces over the years.

“When we wake up in the afternoon, there might be something under our canopy, sitting on the table. Sometimes (there’s a note) that says it doesn’t work, but if you can fix it, it’s yours,” Paul tells The Ticker. “All summer long we have stuff dropped off there.”

Other times the Sparks – who both deliver papers for the Record-Eagle and have a side business fixing and reselling old video game systems – will turn someone else’s trash into treasure. Jenny pointed to a like-new snowman that was broken and faded in someone's garbage at the curb before they got their hands on it. A little paint and some careful rewiring go a long way.

“We have found a lot of stuff like candles and lanterns, snowmen, things like that, just because they don’t work or are faded,” Paul says. “We take it home and fix it up.”

But plenty of items also come from the store, where Paul just can’t help himself sometimes. He as an affinity for those old-timey plastic models that were much more common before inflatables became all the rage.

“If we go in a store and there’s a blown mold, I’m in trouble,” Paul says. “I’ve just got to get it, because those are my favorite.”

Their home at 1953 Oak Drive (a stone's throw from Four Mile) was built by Paul’s grandfather back when that location felt hundreds of miles from Traverse City. Now, their display is visible from the very busy U.S. 31 thoroughfare and attracts scores of visitors each year. Unlike many other displays that are just good for looking at, the Sparks invite people to walk around and have some free hot chocolate and popcorn as they’re doing so.

The Sparks never had kids of their own, so while they enjoy folks of all ages who come to poke around, it’s the little ones that give them the most joy.

“The kids will come up and give me a hug. They'll call me by my first name. We get to see them grow up,” Jenny said. “Kids have come here since they were babies, and every year they keep coming. It makes me feel happy and it warms my heart.”

Paul has been building the display for decades, a tradition that began when he was a child. His grandmother lived a street over, and he convinced her to decorate the outside of her house. This tradition later spilled over to his own house, and he and Jenny (acquaintances since 7th grade, married in their twenties) have been growing the display ever since. Two angels at the front and center of their house came from Paul's grandmother.

“She’s still here. She still sees. And her pieces are still here,” he says. “She’d be so happy.”

The decorations take up all of the Sparks’ front, back and side yards, some of the neighbors’ yard (with permission) and much of the house. It takes them about a month to set up because with their work schedules they can only spend a few hours a day on it. The goal each year is to be all set up and lit by the first of December.

The electric bill is about $900 for the month of December alone, Paul says. He collects donations to help defray the cost, although he never intended to.

“One year a man came by and said, ‘Why don't you have a donation box? And I said, ‘Because it's not really what we're about. ‘We're trying to spread joy and stuff.’ And he said, ‘Well, you need a donation box.’”

Paul brushed it off. And then…

“A couple days later, the guy comes back with two donation boxes he made and says ‘Here, put these up.’ I said I didn’t have time. He says, ‘You got a drill and screw? Tell me where you want them. I'll do it.’”

Not everyone is enthusiastic about the display. The Sparks have had major battles with two neighbors who really seem to hate it.

“They turned us in to the fire marshal, saying we were going to burn down the neighborhood and because of extension cords. They turned us in to Consumers Energy because we used their parking lot (next door). They told our insurance company they needed to drop us because we were going to burn down the neighborhood,” Paul says. “Then they turned us in to East Bay Township for selling hot chocolate and for violating the junk ordinance.”

The Sparks received a $500 junk ordinance citation from the township, Paul says, though the township later dropped it after coming to look at the display.

But they don’t let a few neighbors kill the mood. After all, it's about spreading good vibes in a world that desperately needs them. 

“I'm hoping that this (causes people to see) that there's better things out there than just the bad that happens in the world. There's things to look forward to,” Paul says. “There's so much negativity, and it seems like every year it gets a little bit more. So, really our goal is to just bring some joy.”