Bay Shore 'Christmas House' Raises Money For Terminally Ill Kids

BAY SHORE, NY — A Bay Shore holiday light display is using its platform to help terminally ill children on Long Island.

Mike Murphy, 38, has raised more than $600 this holiday season for the Marty Lyons Foundation, a Bay Shore-based charity that fulfills wishes for children aged 3 to 17 who have been diagnosed terminal or life-threatening illnesses. His goal is to raise $700 by Christmas Day.

The proceeds will directly go to make the season bright for two children: Anayah, 9, of Valley Stream, who battles a life-threatening blood disorder and wants to visit Walt Disney World with her family; and Zoe, 6, of Manhasset, who recently finished cancer treatment and wishes to visit Give Kids the World for her seventh birthday in April.

Murphy told Patch that is his third year decorating his Bay Shore Christmas House, located at 8 Avon Place. Every year, he strives to use his passion for lights for a good cause by raising funds for a charity.

"They sent me a letter asking if I'd be interested partnering up with them," Murphy said. "I liked the idea of keeping it local and keeping it within the community."

Murphy, who grew up in West Babylon, told Patch that his love for holiday displays began at a very young age.

"My mom used to do the big display as a kid," he said. "When I was eight years old, I knew when I'd have a house one day and that I'd try to put up much stuff as I could. Years later, I'm still that eight-year-old."

Murphy said his childhood dream came true when he and his wife, Lynn, purchased their first home in Lindenhurst in 2011.

The family later moved to Bay Shore in 2018. Murphy said the light displays were a huge factor when purchasing a new home.

"We were driving our real estate agent crazy because I needed high ceilings, to make a giant Christmas tree," he said.

Murphy said he was afraid at first that his displays wouldn't get many visitors, since it was on a dead-end street. To his surprise, the decorations received an overwhelmingly positive response from the community, and receives about 250 to 300 cars in drive-by visitors per week.

"My wife earlier this year went to a community board meeting. She was speaking and then when they asked where she lived, she said, 'You know, I'm in Bayshore, 8 Avon Place'," he said. " Everybody said, 'Oh, you're the Christmas house!'"

Murphy said he starts preparing his holiday decorations in September, as he attaches one bulb at a time to his house. By the time he turns on the lights for the season, the house is lit up with thousands of colored bulbs — 3,125 bulbs alone are on the front side.

"My friends actually kind of coined it the 'Lite Bright'," he said, referring to the popular 80s toy. "It's just lights everywhere."

In addition to raising money for charity, Murphy said he enjoys bringing holiday cheer to his neighborhood.

This holiday season, he organized a contest where if a visitor found a color-changing bulb, they would be entered to win a game console. This Monday, Murphy announced two winners.

"When I'm home, I come out and greet anybody that comes. I give a candy canes to the kids; I have a snow machine," he said. "Yesterday, I had kids dancing around in the snow. I do my best to connect with anybody."

To donate to the Marty Lyons Foundation through the Bay Shore Christmas House, you can text 'Lights1' to 91999, visit their Facebook fundraiser, or scan a QR code during your visit.