Pasadena family shares holiday spirit with award-winning light display

PASADENA, Calif. - The holiday season means holiday light displays. On Pasadena's Tropical Avenue, the Harbecks' home is a destination this season. 

You can tune in to the display from your car, but up close it's so much more. 

"They're colorful and it just makes me feel cozy and at home," said Jasmine Butcher, who stopped by to see the display.

The setup is a labor love. Together Andy Harbeck, Tatiana Harbeck and their two teenage sons created angel wings the from recycled water bottles ,and gumdrops — each taking 10 hours to create — using a technique called vacu-form. They heat a sheet of plastic until it’s soft, put it on top of a form or mold and use a shock vacuum to suck the plastic over the mold. Once it cools, they add lots of glue and glitter. 

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The Harbecks spent more than 600 hours just last year making some of the other lights using two 3D printers, including butterflies snowflakes and more. 

The family just recently won a reality show competition for the best Christmas lights, but it wasn't always that way. It all started more than a decade ago, when the family moved to the neighborhood. 

"The neighbors said, 'This is kind of a big Christmas neighborhood so you might need to put up some decorations,'" said Andy Harbeck. "So that first year we just bought a reindeer and a couple strings of lights and put it up."

Tatiana Harbeck said the family was so happy, "when we say all the people driving, Andy started saying we need more lights."

 Twelve years later, the Harbecks are still just as happy to spread happiness, love and holiday cheer. "Now we need love more than anything," Tatiana Harbeck said.