Chelsea family’s Christmas light display to be featured on show

Published 11:52 am Monday, December 20, 2021

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By EMILY SPARACINO | Staff Writer

CHELSEA – The Christmas lights at one particular house in Chelsea have created quite a buzz the last few years, and this year was no exception.

Ricky Cloutier and his family put together an impressive display of Christmas lights set to music at their home on Shelby County 39 in Chelsea.

Known as the Cloutier Christmas Lights, the display draws people from near and far, which is the whole idea, according to Ricky.

“We are learning as we go, but hope you enjoy what we have done,” he wrote in the “About Us” section of the family’s website, Cclights.com. “Thank you all for watching. We love setting up and watching the lights ourselves every night.”

Ricky said he has been obsessed with Christmas lights since he was 8 years old, and has channeled the obsession into creating a better show every year.

Between the vast number of lights and the programming required to sync them to music, the Cloutiers’ display requires multiple controllers, long-range expansion boards and receivers, numerous channels and amp circuits, thousands of LED lights and countless hours of setup and programming, which Ricky said his oldest son, Zach, helps him with each year.

On Monday, Dec. 13, a post on the Cloutier Christmas Lights Facebook page revealed the family had the opportunity to participate in Season 10 of the TV show “The Great Christmas Light Fight” airing on ABC in 2022.

“This was an awesome experience for myself and my entire family,” Ricky wrote in the post. “Win or lose this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us, and just being picked for the show was enough for us. You will need to tune in next year to see the outcome.”

Ricky credited his wife, Elicia, for her support of his “addiction,” other family members for their help with building and operating the display, which is located at 5703 Shelby County 39.

The time frame for the show is 5-10 p.m. Sunday-Saturday, weather permitting.

Visitors may tune their car radios to 97.1 FM to hear the music.

There is limited parking in the driveway, and visitors are asked not to walk through the display, but may stand behind the white lights on the ground or walk through the Winter Wonderland portion of the display.

For more information and updates, visit @TheCloutierChristmasLights on Facebook and Cclights.com.