Many Iowans are spreading holiday cheer with Christmas displays on their property, but possibly the biggest exhibit is in northwest Iowa’s Plymouth County. For 22 years, the Scheitler family has been hosting “Christmas Acres” – a display of 150,000 lights and around 1,300 plastic figurines and sculptures.
Rob Scheitler says his favorite part is interacting with all the people. “I try and be out here every night, especially on weekends when it is busy. We’ll have our tables set up at the end of the driveway with all the candy canes for the kids,” Scheitler said. “On weekends when it is busy, I will be out here with three or four other people just to keep handing out candy canes.”
Word of mouth and social media bring more and more people to Christmas Acres each year. It’s located along Highway 3, about seven miles west of Le Mars.
A 16-foot-tall inflatable Santa is one of the more popular decorations. “The kids come down the road and they see that big Santa, they’re going ‘wow look at that!’ It’s neat to hear what the kids have to say,” Scheitler said.
The attraction often draws tour buses and church groups. Visitors to Christmas Acres can make donations – with all of the money raised going to local charity.
(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)