Waterfall of Christmas lights: Cary home flips switch on 250,000 lights

Each Thanksgiving, he flips the switch on his grand display of 250,000 lights, forming a rainbow waterfall over his Cary home. There are 40,00 lights on the roof alone.

You won't need directions to find this home on Council Gap Court. You'll see it from the road.

Hundreds of strands adorn his trees, roof and house -- and Grandinetti estimates around 1,400 cars stop by each night to take in the view. "It doesn't stop," he said. "It doesn't."

One day, a man was so moved by the lights that he wrote Grandinetti a check for $15,000 to donate to St. Jude's. The man's father had just died, and he was thankful that the lights brought his mother, a new widow, so much happiness.

Grandinetti said his own father loved St. Jude's and its mission to not charge patients for care. He said he's lucky to have three healthy daughters, but he knows that's not the case for all parents.

"I just think it's a great cause," he said. "You'd be surprised how generous people are when they know what you're doing it for."

An advisor to businesses, Grandinetti travels as many as 230 days out of the year. He also lectures at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Over the years, he's become quite an expert at installing Christmas lights.

Since he travels so much, the work begins in early September.

The only part of the display he doesn't set up himself are the lights high up on the roof. Instead, he brings in a crew that uses safety harnesses to decorate the roof with 30,000 lights.

"No way would I get up there. No way," he laughed.

While neighbors and strangers love the inflatables and lights in Grandinetti's front yard, it's the hundreds of strands dangling from the 100-foot-tall trees that have become the home's hallmark feature each Christmas season.

He actually uses a fishing pole to pitch the lights into the trees, creating the "raining" effect.

The lights come on each night around 6 p.m. To avoid blowing a fuse, cords and connectors are dispersed throughout the entire house. It takes about 45 minutes to plug everything in, Grandinetti said.

"I don't think there's an outlet that doesn't have a plug in it," he laughed.

Places to see the best Christmas lights in NC

In 2024, Grandinetti's home will be featured on ABC's The Great Christmas Light Fight. He could win $50,000, and if he does, he plans to donate everything to St. Jude's.

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