| Monday, December 27, 2004 |
For five weeks every year, from Thanksgiving to New Year's, the magical glow of Christmas shines ever so brightly on Arthur Street in Clifton. That's when Mark Carfora transforms his parents' house into a North Jersey version of Santa's Village. The Clifton Christmas House has become a must-see seasonal attraction with more than 100,000 lights and 50 animated figures.
Driving down tiny little Arthur Street, located in the old Botany Village section, with its narrow streets and ethnic shops, has become a Christmas tradition. New York has Rockefeller Center; Clifton has the Christmas House. "Who needs Radio City?" jokes Carfora. Locals say the house draws hundreds on the weekends. Carfora dresses as Santa and sits in the driveway on a red chair listening to children ask for Xboxes, Barbie, and SpongeBob SquarePants. Santa waves to the passing cars, hands out candy canes, and spreads the holiday cheer with great gusto. "You must remember the carrots," he tells the children. "My reindeer love carrots."
Carfora is a 25-year-old online salesman and part-time clown. He's been creating the Christmas House with his dad, Jim, for 12 years. "The first year, [we had] a wreath and two strings of lights," he says. "It grew to this. My parents used to take me around to see Christmas lights. I was always fascinated with decorations. It just wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't do it."
Neighbor Carmen Ramos brought her two sons, Angel and Max Beauchamp, to meet Santa. "I come every year," she says. "It's getting better every year. It's good for the town. Just seeing this gets us in the holiday spirit. It's better than going to the mall."
The Christmas House is lit every day from 5 to 10:30 p.m. That's a lot of light coming from a small two-story clapboard house. And how's that electric bill? "Came to $800 last year," says Mark Carfora. Remarkably, the display is artful and well done. Carfora says he changes it every year. The father and son are already planning next year, possibly adding a snow-making machine, or stringing lights across the street to the other side.
"It's like the Griswolds," says Jim Carfora, referring to the Chevy Chase Christmas classic. "It happens every year and it gets bigger every year. Santa takes over and the North Pole comes to Clifton."
"We start setting up in October," adds Mark Carfora. "We even have kids drop letters [for Santa] in the mailbox. A lad down the block made some cookies. They really fall for it. Kids walking by say, 'Mommy, isn't that where Santa lives?' In the middle of summer."
Fourteen-year-old Jessica Garretson lives next door, and says the Carfora lights shine so brightly through her kitchen window there's no need to turn the lights on. "I like it. It makes me happy about Christmas," she says. "I live next to the Christmas House."