Merry Christmas 2003!

Welcome to the Nisja’s 23rd year. It’s hard to believe that I started this project when I was still in high school.

I recently had lunch at Applebee’s and got to talking about how that display window at the old Emporium “over there” changed my life. Our display has become a year-round project.

When we finish in January, we are already making repairs, designing new items, and most importantly putting together that “to do” list that becomes much needed in September.

Repair and replacement was the name of the game this year; the wet weather took its greatest toll ever. Friends will tell me about something that they think would be a great addition to our display. My response is, “How will it do in freezing temperatures and rain?"

In last year’s letter I said we were hoping to have a lot less rain than the 15.1 inches we had in 2001. Maybe I shouldn’t even write about it because in December 2002 we had over 21 inches of rain in the Nisja’s official rain gauge. This year we are really hoping for a lot less rain. I must say I don’t have a lot of confidence in that because in my “to do” list I added “purchase raft and anchor.”

We do thank all of you who still came out to see our display despite the unfriendly conditions.

Here are the answers to the still most popular questions. We start setting up the first weekend of November. It takes 250 hours plus for set-up. I have no idea how many hours are spent doing everything else during the year!

Everything gets stored between our home in Rohnert Park and Dad’s. The most difficult part after 23 years is the maintenance! No question! The additional storage unit we built last year is already full! We now use pictures and video to remember where we place everything. Each of the wooden cutouts takes about 20 to 40 hours to complete. This includes cutting out, sanding, painting and finish coats. Thank goodness for a wife who doesn’t mind painting!

So, you want to know what’s new. Last year on December 2 we had a litter of Golden Retriever puppies. We kept one and appropriately named him Bear. Bear is very animated and we are trying to figure out how to use him in the display. Only kidding.

This year the greatest addition is a change to that reversing train that used to be about 25 feet long; now it’s about 70 feet long. We had some struggles with it in part due to weather so the easiest solution was to make it one long loop. Problem solved, sort of.

You see, with a bigger train you need more Christmas trees, more fence, more lights, and a whole lot of other items to complete the project. One thing you really need is Grandma’s approval to make it bigger and move it closer to the street. In order to get this approved, we sent in the little boy. He proceeds to tell Grandma that the train is going to the sidewalk and the neighbors and across the street. Grandma immediately says, “no way.” Dad and I then step in and tell Grandma it’s only about five feet closer to the street. No big deal. It seems to have worked because we got the okay.

Speaking of the little boy, our son turned 8 years old. I really get a kick out of you being able to identify him when he is in front. My letters through the years must really leave an impression. He has started playing ice hockey this year and insists that we have bears playing hockey. He has no doubt that we can make it work. We did, we just used snowmen.

I wonder if this is what I sounded like to my Dad 23 years ago? He knows that he will be able to help us in the set-up more than ever and is very excited to do so. Sandy and I are truly blessed to have such a wonderful son who continues to be my motivation. When you see him in front, you will know who he is. He is a wonderful tour guide and a great little elf. His Christmas wish is for everyone to enjoy themselves when they come to Grandma and Grandpa’s.

This has become a year-round project. It is full of hard work and even more love. I have always done this for the children and will continue to do so. It is very entertaining to me to watch some of you come by with your kids in the middle of November while we are setting it up and you tell me how great it looks. What’s even better is in December watching all of the adults act like kids. To see the smiles of both young and old remembering how special Christmas really is.

We are often all so busy with our jobs and day-to-day lives that we forget about how special our families really are to us. One of the reasons I continue to do our display is for the quality time I get to have with my dad, mom, wife and son. Isn’t that what this time of year is really about?

We hope that when you visit you can forget some of the day-in and day-out routine. We hope that your time here will bring you closer and that you and your families will feel some of that magic that make this time of year special.

We have updatedour web site with new pictures and this story. We hope you, friends and family around the world will enjoy it. In speaking of friends and family, I need to thank all of our friends and family who continue to support our effort. I could not do this without them!

For what it’s worth, I still have two years to go but I am already planning what I want to do for our 25th year! Thank you for coming by our home. May the Christmas of 2003 be the merriest Christmas ever.

Donn Nisja