McHenry County's drive-by festive light displays remain contact-free holiday tradition

For just a few weeks each year, a stretch of road on a residential Fox River Grove street transforms into a winter wonderland.

As visitors approach Laura and Dave Mack's drive-thru Christmas display, the shoulder along Algonquin Road begins to sprout decorative candy canes and light-up Noel candles. The Macks spend more than a month preparing their annual, free-admission Christmas attraction, complete with towering blowup decorations and a canopy of more than 72,000 miniature LED lights strung throughout the property.

"The joy that people bring at Christmas time – it’s winter, they're stressed out from shopping and then they come here and they can relax," Laura Mack said.

Mack Manor is one of several households throughout McHenry County that create elaborate holiday lights displays à la Clark Griswold of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." For those who are curious – yes, the inside of the Macks' home is just as decked out, Laura Mack said.

"It looks like Christmas blew up in our house," she said.

Visitors seem to appreciate the effort that goes into creating the spirited and contact-free attractions, especially during a time when group activities are limited by the pandemic.

Last week, Crystal Lake resident Jacci Click checked her mail and discovered a $20 bill and a handwritten note thanking her for the elaborate holiday lights display in her yard.

Click always appreciates kind letters and donations, but this year she was particularly grateful, she said. Click's nonprofit organization, Fisher Outreach Group, Inc., normally holds an annual Santa meet-and-greet, where the organization provides gifts to local families in need.

"Due to [COVID-19], we are not holding that event, but we are still providing gifts to those in need," Click said. "Donations have really been down this year due to the financial struggles so many are enduring, while requests for help have hit an all-time high. That $20 was put toward purchasing two bicycles for kids at North Elementary."

Holiday lights and state-of-the-art decorations can be expensive. But the cost is worth it for Click when she hears excited giggles from children outside ogling her giant cutout reindeer or "larger-than-life" Santa Claus statue, she said.

"It’s fun to be in the house eating dinner or watching TV and suddenly hearing screams and giggles," Click said. "My husband usually jumps up thinking something is wrong, but when we look out the window and see the kids laughing and excited, we know our time was well spent."

Between the Macks' detailed Halloween and Christmas displays, it takes a barn and three portable storage units to pack away the couple's decorations.

The attraction runs entirely on donations to pay for the cost of replacement decorations and cover the electricity bill, Mack said.

"We can continue because of the donations," she said.

For some, drive-by holiday light displays have become as much of a tradition as decorating the tree.

Goebbert's Farm in Pingree Grove is taking extra care to make sure that guests can continue their holiday traditions safely, Jacob Goebbert said.

"We’re actually changing our policies," Goebbert said. "We were very, very busy last Saturday."

Guests visiting Goebbert's Christmas Lights Show must buy their tickets online ahead of arrival for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays effective this Friday, Goebbert said. The farm also will remain open seven days a week to reduce crowd sizes beginning Dec. 14.

"The safety of our customers is definitely our number-one concern," he said.

The Goebbert's Light Show hours and prices are as follows: 5 to 10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, $15 per car; 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, $20 per car; and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, $25 per car.

The drive-thru show at Mack Manor, 110 Algonquin Road, will be open daily through Jan. 1. Guests generally are welcome from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays. Hours are subject to change and will be posted on the attraction's Facebook page.