Lakeside Motel lights up!

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MOSES LAKE - Christmas lights come in all shapes and sizes at the Lakeside Motel.

Twinkling colored lights, candy cane lights, white lights and blue lights adorn the outside of the Moses Lake business.

This winter, Lakeside Motel owner Steve Smith and his son, Eddie, 12, hung at least 12,000 lights.

The lights are bright and visible about 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., along 802 W. Broadway Ave. in Moses Lake.

"It's a work in progress," Steve says.

They've lived in Moses Lake for 12 years and didn't put out lights during the first year.

They worked up to decorating with lights every other year.

The lights are a lot of work, but Steve may also put them out again next year instead of alternating.

"This year got screwed up because of our nightmare," he explained, meaning the blizzard and heavy snowfalls.

Steve was aiming to hang between 18,000 and 20,000 lights, but lost track at 10,000.

This year, he and Eddie started their work a couple weeks before Thanksgiving.

"We just did a little bit here, a little bit there," Steve explained.

The candy cane tree alone took two days to complete, but not two full days.

Those days were cold, so they would come inside and warm up as needed. They did their decorating work in between washing laundry and completing homework.

Steve explained how Eddie enjoys helping. Each year, the boy does more and more.

"Hopefully, the next year, or year after, he will do it himself and I can retire," Steve said.

"With all of the lights, it's really nice when it's done," he added. "It's not really hard work until it gets cold when all the snow is out. I helped string all of the trees in front of the rooms, basically everything I helped with."

Steve draws a diagram to plot out their work.

"It's basically the same every other year," Steve says.

His love of Christmas goes back many years.

"I always tried to put lights up ever since I was 20," he said.

He kept buying lights a little bit at a time each year, by spending about $200 at Christmas.

With the twinkle lights, he has to go through them to make sure they work.

The tips of his nails hurt from pulling the lights out and replacing them.

But his work doesn't go unnoticed.

People in town call him with compliments on the lights.

"I had a lady call me and said she used to manage the motel 20 years ago," Steve said. "She said she really liked the lights. It's a lot of work, but that's how it goes."

He doesn't put out the lights for compliments, he added.

"It's fun after it's done," he said. "You go out to dinner, see it all lit up, it looks nice, that's why I do it."

His wife, Becky Smith, agrees.

"He likes the result. He enjoys the result," she said.

The lighting tradition is a team effort between her husband and son.

She said Eddie has become an important part of putting it all together.