Holiday Light Display In Ellicott City Draws Numerous Visitors

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Even as a child, Paul Glagola of Ellicott City loved putting up Christmas lights and decorating for the holidays with his dad. He had a small tree in his room as a kid and even decorated his dorm room and fraternity room in college.

"I was baptized on Christmas Eve so I guess it was destiny," Glagola told Patch.

For more than 10 years, Glagola and his three kids, now 18, 16 and 14, have helped him deck out their Ellicott City home in grand style. His oldest son even helped design the front river. He embraces his Christmas spirit role and takes it quite seriously with a license plate that states GRIZWOLD.

"I have been called Clark or Griswold by many people for a long time because of all of this. I have received many Christmas Vacation-themed gifts over the years. I will never do that many lights however. My roof is too steep and as my help is getting older and moving away, things get harder each year," said Glagola.

Their home on the cul-de-sac at 4630 Sheppard Manor Drive has its light display shining brightly from 5 to 11 p.m. Directions aren't needed; drivers just need to follow the glow, Glagola said.

"We definitely have a group of people that have been coming by for years. I have one couple that brought their child many years ago and photographed them in my front yard without knowing whose house it was. Years later, they realized it was me, their son’s baseball coach," said Glagola. "Many texts and selfies are taken here."

The family does mix things up year-to-year and their loyal fan base tries to figure out what's different each season. For example, this year is the first time he hasn't installed arches over the driveway.

"I usually start putting up the lights in early October to take advantage of the warmer weather. My wife does a tremendous display inside, also. We have probably seven full-sized trees among the display inside including a 12-foot-tall tree in the foyer," he said.