Vienna Neighbors Start Holiday Tradition With Large Reindeer Display

VIENNA, VA — Residents on a Vienna street are showing neighborly and holiday spirit by collaborating on a festive display.

Nearly every resident on Wilmar Place NW collaborated to display giant inflatable reindeer in their yards.

Chris Camacho, one of the residents, told Patch the idea started two years ago when their son Lucas requested the family buy a giant inflatable reindeer.

"It really towered over everything. Honestly, we thought it was too big at first, but we bought it and put it in our front yard," said Camacho. "The best part was the immediate reaction, the mailman, delivery drivers, and neighbors loved it. We got so many smiles and people asking where we bought it."

The next year, new families on the street joined the effort, adding two more reindeer to the lineup. But resident participation really came together this year, with seven reindeer on Wilmar Place as well as another neighbor on Ayr Hill Avenue NW. It would only take several more reindeer on the street to get to the nine reindeer on Santa's sleigh.

"The reindeer are just another way for us to celebrate and connect," said Camacho. "It's exciting that every year more reindeer show up, sometimes completely out of the blue, and now we even have a few unique variations popping up. It just brings a lot of fun, collective energy to the neighborhood."

Camacho said it's up to each resident to put up a giant reindeer, but neighbors will help each other with safety checks and watch for "runaway reindeer."

"We’ve actually had to team up for some quick repairs when one of the reindeer decides it wants to try to fly away," Camacho said. "It definitely adds to the community spirit to help lasso a runaway reindeer."

This isn't the only time the neighbors have collaborated. Camacho said the neighbors host an annual Halloween party with a DJ and work with the town to close the street.

"One of the things that make our community shine is how wonderfully diverse our neighborhood is," said Camacho. "We’ve got neighbors from all around the world, and every year we all come together to share holiday cheer regardless of our cultures, religions, or traditions. It’s truly a time where joy brings us all together."

Visitors are encouraged to stop by the inflatable display. The reindeer are typically on during the day and night, except in cases of extreme weather. According to Camacho, they plan to keep the reindeer up until a few days after Christmas. Drivers are asked to drive slowly on the neighborhood street.