When Dean Willeman first began decorating his home for Christmas over 25 years ago, he did not expect his decorations to become the seat of a community event drawing hundreds of people.
After decorating his home on his own, Dean was joined by his partner of 20 years and wife of 13 Deb, and the home’s extensive decorations became a family affair.
Nine years ago, Deb noticed passerby and neighbors drawn to the decorations and had an idea — what if the Willemans hosted a community event at their home, to share the joy of Christmas with local families?
And so, the Christmas on 4th Street event, held at the Willemans’ home between Chestnut and Cumberland, was born.
The first year, the Willemans kept it small: a neighbor volunteering as Santa and free photos for attendees.
“It was an opportunity that people that didn’t have a lot of money to go to the mall and spend those prices to get photo packages could come do a family photo for free,” said Deb.
As time went on, the event grew and grew. Community and family members began to pitch in with food for attendees, help with gift bags, and volunteering their time. This year — the ninth anniversary of the event — the Willemans were helped by 21 volunteers.
“It was all just family in the first couple years,” explained Deb. “Now we have volunteers coming from Cincinnati, Ohio, from Lancaster, from Reading, from Harrisburg.”
Gift bags were prepared for 150 attending children this year, with different gift bags customized for different age groups of kids 16 and under.
“This year, one of our volunteers gave us feedback that when she handed this little boy his gift bag, with a bag of cotton candy, he looked at her with the biggest smile and said, ‘This is the best day ever,'” said Deb.
Deb estimates they went through around 120 gift bags this year, using less than previous years as the event was moved from Sunday to Saturday due to stormy forecasts Sunday.
Deb guessed that, including adults, between 350 and 400 people most likely attended Saturday. Some years, she said, over 500 people have visited during the two-hour event.
Decorating the Willeman home is no small feat. Deb estimated that putting up decorations takes the couple (as well as neighbors helping out) over 40 hours to complete.
Many decorations are even handmade and hand-painted, including some painted by Dean’s late mother.
Kids who come to meet Santa (and Mrs. Claus, who was there for the first year this year) are also invited to write a letter to Santa, and the Willemans don’t stop there.
“My husband and I actually send a letter back to every child,” Deb said. “Then on Christmas Eve, we’ll pick two or three kids’ names and actually go buy them something on the list and deliver it to their house.”
Children can also write letters to those serving in our military, which Deb said she may bring to the VA this year as Lebanon does not have any National Guard troops deployed overseas this year.
A feature of this and last year’s event was live Christmas music, provided by a trio of trumpeters.
While the Willemans do not have concrete plans for how they will outdo themselves for the event’s 10-year anniversary, Deb says they have no plans of stopping anytime soon.
“We’ve had people do photoshoots in our backyard. We’ve had people get engaged in our yard,” Deb said. “I can’t get over how much this is a tradition.
“A lot of people walk up and down the street to the Dollar Store, and when they’re walking by, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, my grandparents brought me here. My parents brought me here. I’m going to bring my kids here.'”
Community is something Deb was instilled with from a young age, with volunteering always playing a role in her life.
“As kids we were brought up doing volunteer work, so my whole family for multiple generations has been like that,” Deb said. “I feel like I need to go out in the community and do it.”
Deb and Dean don’t have kids of their own, but this annual tradition gives the couple a chance to interact with the youth of Lebanon.
“I think my favorite part is my husband and I don’t have any children,” Deb explained. “We got married later in life, and it’s once a year I get to have 150 kids.”
Decorations will remain up at the couple’s home until at least Christmas, for any families who would still like to get photos with the seasonal decor.
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