Teen Uses Unwanted Lights, Decor To Decorate East Northport Home For Ronald McDonald House

EAST NORTHPORT, NY — One man's trash is another teenager's treasure.

Andrew Reid, 19, of East Northport, has a passion for holiday lights and a knack for fixing things. For the past four years, he has combined those loves by taking discarded holiday lights and decorations, tinkering with them, and adding them to his light display at 14 Oxbow Court.

This year, Reid has added a wrinkle: collecting donations for the Ronald McDonald House Charities NY Metro’s new facility at Stony Brook Hospital.

Reid said he already knew people would be interested in driving by his family's home to see the dazzling display that repurposed lights and decorations could be turned into.

"They're going to hear about a 19-year-old doing it and saving these things, and I'm like, 'Everybody's going to want to donate to something,'" Reid told Patch. "They would be more inclined to donate to a charity."

Reid said he chose Ronald McDonald House because of the new house being built in Stony Brook.

"It's something local, so people will be more inclined to donate to it," Reid said. "I wanted to help out the community even more by raising money for kids with illnesses."

People can support Reid's fundraiser by bringing cash when they visit his house, or they could donate with a QR code. He is also collecting broken or working decorations that people may not want anymore, he said. All proceeds are going straight to the foundation, he added.

The display features an arrangement of more than 500 restored holiday decorations.

Four years ago, when he was 15, Reid spotted discarded holiday decorations during his runs and decided to breathe new life into them. It started when Reid fixed a tinfoil-horned unicorn. It has since blossomed into an annual tradition where he playfully competes with his siblings to collect abandoned decorations.

This year’s display is Reid's largest yet. The pieces, carefully refurbished and rewired for safety, range from reindeer to polar bears and even a custom-made Minnie Mouse decorating a tree. More than 75 percent of the family basement is dedicated to storing these decorations, which Reid meticulously dismantles and reassembles each season.

Reid's most special new addition this year is his "Misfit Tree" — a tree he found on the curb. He hopes to grow the tree over several years and add more and more homemade decor to it.

The "Misfit Tree" has a purpose for Reid's recycling, too: He wants children to donate their homemade decorations so everyone can see them on the tree. Reid said he wants children to "think outside the box" and foster community connection at the same time.

While any decor left outside would have to withstand the weather, Reid hopes children will drop off their items and return to see them, year after year.

Reid's goal is to raise $5,500 this year.

He is also collecting broken tree ornaments, or those that are no longer wanted, for use on a future project. People are encouraged to drop off their unwanted tree ornaments in a bin placed outside the home.