BOZEMAN — Christmas brings out everyone’s lights, from on the tree to on the house. For one Bozeman man, it's a brighter tradition with a touching backstory.
“Everybody’s thankful," says Brodie Lesourd, who lives at the house on the 4000 block of Shadowglen Drive off of Durston Road. "Everybody is just — the spirit is just awesome to see.”
It’s a North Pole stroll that won’t require a plane ticket.
All you need is a coat, the kids, and directions, but once you are on Shadowglen Drive in Bozeman, it’s hard to miss Christmas Land.
“I love the Christmas house!” said one boy as his family walked up the driveway.
“The Christmas Land sign out front," Lesourd says, pointing to the sign on the front lawn. "It’s like Christmas land.”
From Snoopy, the minions, countless polar bears and Frosty the Snowman, it’s easy to get a little lost.
“It’s great," Lesourd says. "You give back to the community. It brings everybody together for Christmas. I mean, it’s a beautiful thing to do.”
For Lesourd, one of Santa’s elves, the $40,000 display is even more special.
“My grandmother started this when I was a young kid," Lesourd says. "She died last year, so I decided that I wanted to kind of carry on the tradition and this is kind of what I’m doing in her memory.”
From a colossal Grinch to a colossal Santa, even a colossal Bumble, this place is Christmas Land and in just one night, alone, leading up to Christmas, Lesourd says they had 3,500 people here in a single evening.
“We had a lady last night who came through and she said that her friend was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and they came through here and they just all cried and were so thankful and it was just a great time for all of them so it really touched me," Lesourd says.
It doesn’t stop with the yard.
A walk through Lesourd’s garage takes you through a carnival.
And donations are split up the middle, with some going to the Bozeman Fire Department, the other half — the electrical bill.
All to help welcome Christmas Day in a dazzling display.
“This is the time of year to be with your family, and if you can help anybody out in any way, that’s the best thing that you can do," Lesourd says.
WEB EXTRA: Enjoy bonus footage of Brodie Lesourd's dazzling "Christmas Land"
