How did this start?

“It’s one of the things that I’m passionate about,” says Andy Venzke, in front of his stunning home off 36th Street. “I’ve always been interested in lighting and music, so this is kind of a great to marry those two.”

“A bunch of us gals who get together once a month to play Bunko 30 years ago,” remembers Dawn Cavaugh of Richland Circle, “decided that we wanted to unify the block, so we came up with the idea of Gingerbread Lane.”

“It’s kind of a 40-hour event,” says Rick Higgins, in front of the house he and his friend Kathy decorate together, “and it looks great when it’s done.”

Any idea how many lights you’ve got?

“Probably 10 strings on the house,” says John Ledvina as he begins counting.

“Oh God, there’s probably 800 feet of extension cord,” says Cavanaugh. “I really have no idea.”

It makes sense that electrical engineer Venzke is the one with a precise count.

“I actually just did a count here the other day because somebody asked that question,” he says. “I have just over 25,000 this year.”

Higgins struggles to even venture a guess.

“Probably 100 strings, or 150,” he laughs. “And that’s just a wild-a** guess.”

Would you call this an expensive hobby?

“Yes!” Venzke laughs.

The others (with more modest decorations) disagree.

“No, it’s not bad,” Ledvina says. “Well—I guess I don’t check the light bill, and I don’t want to know what it costs.”

Higgins says new technology has helped.

“A lot of the lights that you’re looking at are LED,” he says, “and they go season for season for season for season—and they don’t use a lot of electricity.”

Where do you store it all?

“Well, I used to say ‘in the garage and in the basement,’” Venzke says, “but now it’s the garage, the basement and two storage units.”

“She has a two-car garage,” Higgins jokes, “and she can only get one car in it.”

“Down in the basement,” Ledvina says. “It’s all boxed up—everything has its place.”

How bad does the traffic get?

“Right around Christmas I’ve counted over 20-30 cars at a time,” Venzke says.

The homes on Richland Circle, aka “Gingerbread Lane,” say it’s a nightly event, but one they don’t mind.

“Unless you’re in a rush to get someplace, it’s pretty cool,” Ledvina says.

“You better plan on 30-40 minutes to get around the block,” Cavanaugh adds.

Higgins’ neighborhood is far more quiet, but he says he’s noticed the neighbors doing a little more decorating each year.

“When you do something like this,” he says, “people notice it, and it’s kind of like having a freshly-cut lawn—you just feel good about it.”

What do friends and family think?

“The ones that I’ve heard from have all given me positive feedback and said that they enjoy it,” Venzke explains. “I hope that everybody around here enjoys it and looks forward to coming to it each year.”

“I think they think it’s really cool,” Cavanaugh says.

“It seems like everybody in town knows where ‘Gingerbread Lane’ is,” Ledvina says.

“It’s worth it because they say Thanksgiving is a day and Christmas is a season,” says Higgins, “and at this time of year, it’s a lot of fun.”