Tinley Park Christmas House Continues To Grow While Helping Community

TINLEY PARK, IL — Every year, Dominic Kowalczyk asks himself the same question. Why.

For years, the Tinley Park native has spent weeks turning his home and two others he owns into the Tinley Park Christmas House, which draws countless visitors and holiday enthusiasts to his front yard to take in his festive handiwork.

By now, Kowalczyk estimates he has thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars into the annual project, which grows in size and splendor every year in one way or another. But after so many years of bringing holiday joy to Tinley Park and the surrounding Southland region, Kowalczyk says he has no plans of shutting the project down.

Even if that means the owner of the three houses around 17321 Avon Lane questions his sanity year after year.

Each year, work on the Christmas House begins around Halloween and gradually builds thanks to the work of a crew of between 70 and 80 people who contribute to the Christmas House’s creation. For the better part of the past two weeks, crews have worked daily to get the house ready for its debut, which is coming — if everything goes according to plan — by Thursday night.

“It is a massive, massive undertaking,” Kowalczyk told Patch on Tuesday. “Nobody realizes how much work it is until they come and help set up for a day.”

He added: “It’s quite an operation. …it’s not a cheap hobby.”

By the time the Christmas House takes shape, more than 200,000 lights will have been installed, 300 to 400 figurines will have been put into place, and lights will have been programmed through 15 different controllers that synchronized with the music that accompanies the whole display.

Even if he doesn’t purchase anything new to add on, Kowalczyk estimates he spends between $4,000 and $5,000 just to repaint figures, replace light strands, and purchase zip ties and staples to keep everything operating the way it needs to.

Even considering how many years he has put the Christmas House on display, Kowalczyk says he can’t fully appreciate the full effect of the project until it is completed. Holiday displays have been in Kowalczyk’s blood since he was a child and first set up his first Christmas display that centered around a little plastic train at age 5 or 6.

What started as a normal-sized holiday decorative display grew each year until the display that now encompasses three full lots took shape. With each passing year, Kowalczyk has seen more support come in from friends, family and strangers alike. Over the years, the house has picked up its share of media attention, including appearing on the Great Christmas Light Fight in 2013.

The episode on the Tinley Park resident drew 8 million viewers, Kowalczyk said. Since then, it has just gotten bigger and led Kowalczyk to purchase the homes on either side of his residence. He set up rent-to-own agreements with his brother and one of his friends – just to provide more real estate to continue to grow the display.

“It’s just crazy how much attention it gets,” Kowalczyk said.

But with all the hard work comes a major community payoff. Each year, Kowalczyk makes a donation to Together We Cope, a Tinley Park not-for-profit. Last year, the Tinley Park Christmas House donated $35,000 to the organization and partnered with American Sale, which matched the first $10,000 in donations made to Together We Cope.

American Sale is also donating a portion of sales around the holidays to the not-for-profit, making the efforts of the massive holiday lighting project even more worth it for those involved.

As he prepares for another season of holiday traffic pass in front of the display he created, always enjoys the wonderment with which people view the lights and decorations that make up the festive environment at his home. Each year, couples have gotten engaged at the site, where a guestbook includes the signatures and hometowns of people from more places than Kowalczyk can name.

“The feeling is great, and Christmas decorations are one of the few things that appeal to everybody,” Kowalczyk told Patch. “You could be a 4-year-old kid, a grandma, or a biker dude, and it brings everybody into the (holiday) spirit.”

He added: “It’s just become a staple for people, and having people come out and say that it’s become their tradition makes it worth it …it’s a great feeling to know that this is something that people look forward to.”