A young man named Jordan Maywald has overseen his family’s Christmas decorations since he was just nine years old, Southern Living reported Thursday.
Every year since that time, the now 23-year-old has added more and more to the incredible light display that resulted in their Austin, Texas, property becoming a major holiday tradition.
“It started very small, just a few things in our front yard,” he told the magazine. “Over the years, I expanded across much of our property and now it covers about 3.5 acres.”
In 2019, the Maywald Christmas Light Display won ABC’s the Great Christmas Light Fight. “At the time, I was the youngest champion in the show’s history, and currently still am,” Jordan explained.
However, the project was not about winning a prize because, for the last seven years, the family used their display to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Central and South Texas.
The Maywald’s made the announcement about the fundraiser in a social media post last week, along with a photo of them holding the giant check:
“To date, the display has raised nearly $200,000 and granted 27 wishes. Each time a wish is granted, Jordan adds a reindeer to the mix,” the Living article read.
The Make-A-Wish Central & South Texas said it was grateful to Jordan and his family for working so hard to create the display:
“Helping these children is what Christmas is all about for us,” the young man noted. “We will continue to put up our display yearly to help grant life changing wishes!”
He prefers building many of the displays on his own and spends months prior to Christmas searching for vintage decorations online. The highlight of 2021’s display was a 17-foot tall Santa Claus.