The Hanson Christmas Lights start again this year on Thanksgiving Day. The show will start at 5:30 p.m. and will continue every night. The last night of lights will be on Thursday, Dec. 31. This year’s show is even bigger than last year. This year’s show has 33,000 channels compared to last year’s 24,000 channels. This year’s addition includes new four-foot Christmas trees, a new Bethlehem star and a new system that will make the roof look like a TV screen. Jeff Messer got started on the light display about eight years ago, after seeing a synchronized light and music display in a Valdosta subdivision. Messer started doing research on the Internet to figure out how to do just that, and started putting together the first light show, starting out with the first mega-tree and two or three little trees. Everything grew from there. Then he moved out to the location on Valdosta Highway, with a much bigger yard to work with, and now the show has gotten not just bigger and better, but more complex and more intricate.
Buried power cables run through the front yard, coming up through numerous canisters where power cords can be plugged in. PVC pipe frames make it much easier to put the lights around the shutters and windows. The entire set-up takes about three weeks of work. There will be 22 songs in the display this year. Messer teased that the songs, “Glory, Glory” by Elvis Presley and “Little Drummer Boy” by the Pentatonix will be the crowd favorites this year. To keep all those who stop by to watch safe, Messer asks that everyone keep safety first in mind when they pull over to park, for what promises a real treat for young and old, grandparents, parents and grandkids. To see the show, take the Valdosta Highway and head north of town about five miles, just past the United Methodist Ministries Center. When you see the light display, pull over to the side and tune your car radio to 104.3 FM.