This grandma’s luminous Christmas display gains national attention with its 80,000 lights

Evelyn Quintero is an expert in making and arranging Christmas decorations. In fact, she has such excellent creative skills that she earned the grand prize on ABC’s “Great Christmas Light Fight.”

When Quintero lights up her “Peaceful Meadow,” it’s like seeing a scene straight out of a movie. Her residence in Atwater, California, is probably the brightest and merriest home in the whole state this holiday season.

Quintero’s decorations look so good that people from everywhere want to come over just to see it in person. And we’re sure that if they do, they won’t regret it.

“I think it will put Atwater on the map,” said neighbor Maria Vega of the display.

It took around 80,000 lights to complete the luminous display. It also includes other elements such as deer, mountains, and a waterfall.

One neighbor described it as a “work of art.” And it truly is.

Despite putting up such an incredible display, Quintero never expected to make it to the show, let alone with the top prize.

“I was in total shock. I just couldn’t believe that they chose me. I’m just a little old great-grandma on a corner here,” she said.

As it turns out, she’s had lots of practice. Before moving to Atwater to be closer to her family four years ago, Quintero and her husband lived in Vacaville, California. They were sort of local celebrities there because of their astonishing Christmas displays. When they moved to Atwater, that seems to be the case still.

The lot beside her Atwater home was specifically bought for her Christmas displays. She thought it would be great for the people walking on the sidewalk to view the decorations.

“I feel like I’m in a meadow and I feel like I’m out of this world. Like, amazed by these lights,” said a young girl named Kiley Stahlhut.

This display is truly a labor of love, as 90% of it is handmade. She uses a 3D pen to create the ducks, ladybugs, and birds in her decorations.

Quintero also painstakingly hand-painted all 8,000 flowers in the meadow, which are made of icicle lights. The beautiful sea of pink, which took her years to accumulate, is a tribute to her daughter who had passed away.

“We had a daughter who passed away several years ago and her favorite color was pink so yes, I do have more pink flowers in memory of her,” Quintero said. It’s her way of keeping Andrea’s memory alive.

She loves how people, especially kids, react to her decorations when they see them. As news of her display quickly spread across the country, two Atwater women brought their friend—who just came all the way from Texas—to visit Quintero’s now-famous house.

“I’m amazed at her skills and her imagination and that she even came up with the concept,” she said.

Quintero wasn’t seeking fame or recognition for this; she just wanted to share her talent and creativity.

“It was like showing your artwork at a New York gallery. That’s what I was thinking,” she said.

Check out the unveiling of Evelyn Quintero’s “Peaceful Meadow” in the video below.

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