GALT, Calif. — Look out Clark Griswold, a family in Galt may have you beat. The De Costa Family Christmas decoration display is like no other.
The collection of ornaments is so big, the family ditched their couch and dedicated their living room to deck the halls. Maria and Joao De Costa created a massive Portuguese Christmas display called a Presepio.
"It's a Presepio — to better explain its a town where Jesus was born," Maria explained. A Portuguese Presepio is very similar to a nativity scene, but the De Costa's expanded the scene into a massive city. "I don't know how many figurines I have. Maybe you can count them."
The display is a 14-year tradition, and it gets bigger and bigger each year. There is not really a theme to this town. At one end of the room is an amusement park, at the other end is a bull fighting ring and a zoo.
"I like the beach, even though I don't know how to swim," Maria said. The De Costa's took the Presepio tradition with them when they left Portugal more than 40 years ago, but back then, the display was made out of cardboard.
"The houses were shoe boxes," Maria said. "It was the only thing because then we had nothing."
The De Costa's found a lot of the figures at garage sales, but when they can’t find what they are looking for, Joao just carves it out of wood.
The Da Costas welcome visitors to see the display through their window. Lights come on from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 839 Covey Circle in Galt. The display will be up until January 6th.
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