KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
December 21, 2019
By Katrina Katsarelis and Natalie Cook Clark
The neighbors of the festive and friendly Pin Oak subdivision in Katy seem to have taken their Christmas decorating to new levels. The neighborhood's reputation as a Christmas lights destination has been around for 13 years, but this year seems to have newer and even better displays than before.
Apparently, the Griswolds are alive and well and living on Stoughton Court in Pin Oak Village. With thousands of colorful lights coordinated to music, lighted arches, trees, giant stars, life-sized nutcrackers, this home truly is a Christmas lights extravaganza to behold.
According to the homeowner, it takes 22 days to prepare their dazzling display. The home started with 48 channels and now uses 6866. "We have 8 Cosmic Ribbons which really accent the show, and these have been augmented by additional RGB smart ribbon, RGB strings, and RGB modules which run off additional controllers on separate networks." Each LED light must be programmed to turn on and off, and what color to display. Don't forget to turn your radio to FM 89.9 to get the full experience with music.
The display runs nightly at 5:30 pm until 9:00 pm Sunday to Thursday, and goes to 10 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Christmas, and Christmas Eve. More info can be found on their website.
Santa Claus and Snow
As you're heading to the Griswold's on Stoughton, you'll come across another home that has gone above and beyond to spread joy this Christmas. "I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I noticed Santa waving and snow falling," said a spectator. "But there he was waving to all the cars while a snow machine was blowing snow all over the yard!"
Snow in Katy
Speaking of snow, the beautiful Pin Oak Village neighborhood got a real life white Christmas when Katy actually had snow the Christmas after Harvey hit in 2017. Erica Stietenroth is a Katy realtor who lives in Pin Oak and sells a lot of homes in the Pin Oak area. She says that 7 homes out of 435 were flooded during Harvey. Despite the flooding, It didn't seem to dampen the Christmas magic and the show went on as always.
A New Home with a Festive History
“We moved in December and had no idea this was one of those neighborhoods,” says Stacy Schochler. “People kept asking us about ‘the video.’ After at least 20-30 people mentioned it, we called the previous homeowner,” says Schochler. The previous owner had a tradition of displaying a video of Santa in his window. Kids from all over Katy loved to see the video to see what Santa was doing. The Schochler's figured out how to get the video but had concerns over the window panes obstructing the view. “We’ve been asked so many times about this video and we didn’t want to disappoint,” says Schochler. So they bought a large projection screen and framed it with PVC pipe and garland. The new video series offers more variety for spectators. “We started out with Santa and the elves decorating and have changed the video each Sunday. “The last video is of Santa loading his sleigh and taking off.” This home is located on Plympton Drive.
This is the Schochlers first year joining Pin Oak’s rich tradition of Christmas lights. “It’s the same but a little different,” says Schochler. “This is something we can build on each year.”
MORE PIN OAK VILLAGE PHOTOS
SPECTATOR ETIQUETTE
By Vehicle:
Heads up: Lines can be long and it can get crowded so please be courteous to the homeowners and other spectators.
Recommended 5:30 pm- 9:00 pm weekdays (10 pm weekends)
Don't block driveways or fire hydrants
Don't make noise or be disruptive
Don't hog the fun. Move along and let other families see the lights.
Be respectful. Don't forget that these are people's homes.
Watch for families and children on foot. The streets can be dark.
Some people like to tour the Pin Oak lights on foot, but watch children carefully because there are no sidewalks.
On Foot:
When parking follow the law- do not block fire hydrants, mailboxes, or driveways.
Park on the correct side of th street
Be respectful- don't make noise or be disruptive.
Do not leave trash.
Do not touch the decorations. Taking pictures is fine but don't touch or damage the decor.
Enjoy Katy homes that are decked out feeling the holiday cheer. Is your neighborhood feeling the spirit of the season? Is your house worthy of a holiday light tour? Let us know in the comments.