It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
As soon as the Halloween parade ends, Mountain Brook begins preparing for Christmas.
“Halloween is over, and a few weeks pass and then, boom – it’s really pretty,” said Ronnie Vaughn, public works director for the city of Mountain Brook.
Getting in the holiday spirit is not as easy as simply flipping a switch, however. The process of covering Mountain Brook with garland and lights takes about 21 days, and they start working on Nov. 1. While there isn’t a set schedule for which areas receive decorations at which time, the goal is to wrap up decorating before Thanksgiving, Vaughn said.
The three-man team — including Johnny Franklin, Mark Atkins and Matthew Harrison — work about six days a week to decorate the villages of Mountain Brook. When it starts getting dark, they’ll return to the public works office and load up the truck for the next day of decorating.
Even after the decorations are up, the city plans to have a slight buffer before the holidays just in case there’s a cold day or rainy day that impedes decorating. They also plan for a check-up in case lights do not work and they need to call out an electrician, Vaughn said.
Franklin and Atkins have been decorating Mountain Brook for about 12 years, and Harrison joined the team a few years ago. Public Works supervisor Steven Gay said Franklin’s experience is one thing that keeps the process going year to year.
“He’s the one that makes it happen every year,” Gay said.
Decorations around town are consistent from year to year, but each village receives its own look, Vaughn said. Crestline Village, for example, has street poles that are decorated with candy, garland and bows. The clock tower also receives wreaths on all four of its clock faces.
On the other hand, street poles in Mountain Brook Village are decorated with garland, berries, drums and horns. The village also houses four Santa mailboxes, where children can place their letters to the North Pole.
English Village stands apart with snowflakes on some of the street poles, and Overton Village is decorated with garland and bows.
While the design stays standard, Gay said it is important to review the process each year. The men also check decorations each year as they are taken down to evaluate what needs to be reordered or replaced.
This year, the city ordered all new bows for the holiday decorations, which ended up being about a six-month process.
“That’s why they call it Christmas in July,” Gay said. “You’ve got to start planning and ordering then.”
Vaughn said the city is proud of the final product when all of the lights and decorations are up. While most work goes on in the background, they’re happy to help set the holiday spirit.
“We’re proud to do it,” he said. “We do a lot of things that tend to happen behind the scenes, and we’re perfectly OK with that.”
CHRISTMAS BY THE NUMBERS
Crestline Village:
- 70 street poles are decorated
- 16 trees have lights
- Four wreaths on the clock tower
Mountain Brook Village:
- 57 street poles are decorated
- Four Santa mailboxes are put out for letters to the North Pole
English Village:
- 46 street poles are decorated
- 30 street poles receive garland and bows
- 16 street poles receive snowflakes
- 16 trees have lights
Overton Village:
- 19 street poles are decorated