A love of Christmas lights started the tradition.
Even as a young boy, Payton Bohler loved to put up lights and decorations for the holidays. What started as a way to make his room more festive spread to the rest of the Bohler family’s house, then the spacious yard out in rural Franklin.
Each year was bigger and brighter. But Bohler had an idea — what if he could use his own Christmas spirit to harness giving and compassion in others? What if he could use his talents for the greater good?
Bohler has done just that. He has created Christmas Acres, a collection of more than 70,000 lights and decorations arranged around the family property that is open nightly to the public. In return, he asks that people drop off non-perishable food such as canned veggies, boxed pasta and peanut butter in a bin along the driveway.
Now 21, the guy everyone calls “Griswold” for his over-the-top approach to holiday decorating has had his most successful season yet. Donations have filled the Bohler family’s front room, and on Dec. 11, they dropped off 919 pounds of food at the Interchurch Food Pantry.
“Every year, his project gets bigger and bigger. What a wonderful example of how one person — and his family — can make such a positive impact in the community,” said Carol Phipps, executive director of the Interchurch Food Pantry. “Through his donations, we are able to provide food to so many appreciative families, bringing smiles to their faces.”
The response has been unbelievable, Bohler said. With plans to keep his display up through New Year’s Eve, he hopes to be able to gather even more over the next week.
“It’s unreal. I’m shocked by how much there is. We’ve never had this much before,” he said.
Even in the daytime, Christmas Acres crackles with holiday spirit. Light-up snowmen, toy soldiers, Santa and Mrs. Claus and a whole herd of reindeer dot the expansive property.
A “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer” tableau brings Rudolph, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius, the Abominable Snow Monster and more characters from the beloved holiday special to life.
A manger scene at the center of it all ties the whole concept together.
But nighttime is when Bohler’s creativity shines.
“It makes me really happy to do. I love seeing the kid’s faces,” he said.
Bohler has been decorating his family’s home since he was 9 years old. What used to be about 7,500 lights has grown to about 10 times that number.
Planning for the display starts in the summertime, and actual setup starts in late September, as Bohler unpacks all of the lights, decorations, extension cords and other tools. He checks all of the lights. Special tools help him find burned-out bulbs and repair them. Everything is sorted into rows.
Once that’s all done, he can begin setting them up. Tweaking and adjusting the display goes on well into November, and can continue through the holiday season.
By the time Bohler was in high school, he was doing decorations around the community, including helping the Town of Whiteland plan their holiday display. After graduating from Whiteland Community High School, he formed his own company, PT Lawn Care and Holiday Lighting, which helps homeowners hang their own lights.
His work can be seen at three downtown Franklin businesses — Farm Girl Mercantile, which his mom, Tracy Bohler, owns; FrenChic, and Toodleydoo Toys.
“I did 28 houses this year, which was the most I’ve done,” he said.
About seven years ago, Bohler came up with the idea to collect food for the Interchurch Food Pantry. He was going to be doing his display anyway, and instead of charging admission, he could do something good for the community.
Every year, the response from the community has been better and better. But this year has been unlike anything he’s ever seen. Donations have come in at a dizzying pace. Normally, the Bohlers keep everything in the hallway near the front door, but there was so much food that they had to store everything in its own room.
“We’ve never had to take two trips out there. Usually we just bring it all after New Year’s,” Bohler said.
For the Interchurch Food Pantry, the food collection was an example of how much people believe in supporting their work.
“We were thrilled with Payton’s project with the Christmas Acres lights display,” Phipps said. “The community showed its appreciation through the extremely generous food donations plus monetary donations.”
AT A GLANCE
Christmas Acres
Where: 6211 N. CR 500 E., Franklin
When: 6 to 10 p.m. daily through Dec. 31
Information: facebook.com/christmasacrestreefarm
