A north Edmonton house aiming to create some seasonal happiness with $150,000 worth of festive lights and special holiday guests officially opens on Saturday. Maisie’s Magical Christmas House on 9619 144 Ave. NW began putting on a spectacle more than 20 years ago. The extravaganza all started when Jerry Dolynchuk first began stringing up Christmas lights for his mother, who was sick at the time. “Everybody loved it, and it just took off from there,” he said on Thursday. Maisie’s also decorates for Halloween and took three weeks to convert from spooky decorations to jolly ones. Dolynchuk said all the decorations were commercially sourced and stored at a warehouse in his lumberyard until it was time to pull them out. “It’s lively. It makes the winter go faster. Plus, you make a lot of people happy … it’s Christmas, it’s a tradition,” Dolynchuk added. In honour of his mother, who loved animals, Maisie’s Magical Christmas House partnered with Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS). Although entry is free, opening night will feature a SCARS volunteer and a rescue dog accepting donations toward the non-profit. Dolynchuk’s neighbour, Clinton Beck, moved to the area after Maisie’s had already been running for a few years. He recalled first moving in and having Dolynchuk visit him to ask how he felt about Christmas and Christmas displays. “Both of us are passionate about Christmas and the Christmas season, we’re like two peas in a pod as far as that goes,” Beck said on Saturday. “So I was expecting to be part of this, and that’s part of the reasons why I bought this house.” Beck added that Dolynchuk is the “brains” behind the whole operation. “He gives me advice on making sure my lights are right and everything like that. So whatever he says, he’s the boss,” he said. “A lot of the neighbours do decorate a little bit. But this is so over the top that it’s hard to compete with something like this.” And while the neighbourhood attraction isn’t as hard on the power bill as one might think, Beck said, Dolynchuk has still put hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years into the decorations. Maisie’s Magical Christmas house will be open to visitors until Jan. 4. Opening night on Saturday runs from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. with special appearances and a free photo opportunity with Santa Claus, the Grinch, and Buddy the Elf between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg and Sean McClune
