The display has grown a little out of control, Micalle Slack said, adding that she and her three children are expected to pitch in and supervise the display every night until New Year's.

"We have to sit in the dark in the house during Christmas light hours. He doesn't want to distract from the display," she said.

But daughter Stacie Slack, 22, doesn't mind the lights. The real problem, she said, is that her father and a neighbor play an annual game of one-up-manship as they try to outdo each other's decorations.

Oren Shepherd, the Slacks' neighbor, said there's no real competition, just a friendly collaboration to bring some holiday spirit to the neighborhood. Shepherd, 73, and Slack even volunteer to decorate their other neighbors' homes to light up the entire block.

The Grand Lighting Ceremony for Christmas Utah will be at 9 p.m. Friday at 5631 S. Whispering Pine Circle in Murray. The display will be open every night until New Year's Eve.

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com