More than 105,000 Christmas lights bejewel the house, syncing up to a 30 minutes of music broadcast via 90.3 FM. 

Jerry and Marcy Hite have been bringing their light show to the Lexington community for 12 years, having recently taken off a couple of years. This year, the display is back at their new home at 213 Meetze Ave.

“I love Christmas lights and driving around to see them,” Jerry said. “I reached out to a guy in Utah and he gave me feedback about what he does, and so 2010 was my first year with two controllers and 5,000 lights.”

Beginning the display before he met and married his wife, each year, Jerry added more lights and more theatrics

“My goal is to be around 150,000 lights,” he said.

The show is provided to the community at no cost. But the Hites have always collected donations that go to the Make-a-Wish chapter in South Carolina. In the past, the Hites had a bucket that people could drop money into, but this year they decided to take all donations online through the state chapter’s website. Their goal is $8,000, the highest amount they’ve raised in the past. 

The couple has also been able to meet some of the Make-a-Wish kids and keep up with them via social media. 

Through the years, Jerry’s maintained a lot of the same elements — University of South Carolina lights, a cross and lights wrapped around a centerpiece tree — while continuing to add on new aspects. Jerry and Marcy sketched out a rough plan this year, taking plenty of pictures of their yard from various angles before setting up the lights. 

“When he bought his house, he was very selective about the house he bought,” Marcy said of her husband. “It had to be conducive to a light show.”

As for putting the lights on and around the home, Marcy said Jerry does it all himself, as he has the idea in his head of how he wants it to look. The setup starts Oct. 1 and is always done in time for Thanksgiving, Jerry explained.

Since he has a full time job, he works on it around his schedule, not always getting to it every day. He said if he were able to work on it for 14 or 15 hours a day, he could get it done in about a couple weeks.

Marcy said one year, Jerry got done ahead of schedule, and he kept thinking something was going to go wrong. Thankfully, it all went smoothly.

Jerry said that dealing with bulbs burning out among the multitude of lights is one of the more frustrating aspects of mounting such a large display.

“Whenever I’m wrapping one of the natural trees and the lights are on and things are working. Then I do the next color and the next color, then a section of lights go out. I either have to undo everything or rewrap everything,” he offered.

Another frustration is rabbits. 

“Rabbits love to chew on wire or lights,” Jerry said, explaining that he frequently has to replace wires that get chewed up.

Since there are an abundance of lights, the Hites connected with an electrician who has helped them tremendously.

“Mike Ray with Palmetto E&I did all the electrical work as I needed outlets. He donated his time on a Saturday,” Jerry said.

The couple said they are thankful for the connections they’ve been able to make and the stories they’ve been able to hear as a result of the lights. Marcy remembered a couple who visited the lights when they were dating and are now married and keeping up the tradition.

“It’s really neat to hear those stories. Some families put on pajamas and drink hot chocolate and stay in the car watching the show. I’ve also heard of caravans coming from Clemson to see the show,” she said.

The Gamecock fans include “Sandstorm” in their show, and to be fair to all the Clemson fans, they also include “Tiger Rag.” The Clemson nod was posted on their Facebook page and blew the Gamecock anthem post away, garnering more than 2,200 reactions compared to 1,500 for the Gamecocks.

Jerry said one story that sticks out for him is a young girl who started coming to the lights show with her parents. Now, she’s married with kids, and brings her own family.

Another story that sticks out to Jerry is a young girl who started coming to the lights show with her parents and now she’s married with kids and keeps up the tradition with her own family.

“That’s what keeps me going,” he said of his dedicated attendees.

While the lights show is done out of Hites generosity, Marcy said that her dream is to have a USC or Clemson player or coach come out to the show. The couple has already had both schools’ mascots come out.

“I want to see a coach or player see it and talk about it,” Marcy enthused.

People can come see the lights show Sunday-Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 6 to 11 p.m. The show continues through New Year’s Day. People are allowed to park in the St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church lot across the street.