Firm wants to light up someone's life

Contest closes Thanksgiving; submit nominations directly online, By Nancy Kriz VERNON — There might be pumpkins, corn stalks and twinkling orange lights decorating neighboring houses this week, but Ron Muller wants people to start thinking now about Christmas lights. He runs Christmas Décor, a franchise business that designs, installs and maintains as well as disassembles exterior holiday lights. The firm is offering to do just that for the family of a local military person who is stationed overseas. Its Decorated Family Program, now in its second year, gives area residents an opportunity to nominate military men and women to receive a free holiday light package “for putting their lives on the line every day and to help light up the lives of the families they needed to leave behind,” according Muller. Muller’s New Jersey franchise territory includes Vernon, Highland Lakes, Lafayette, Hamburg, Hardyston, Franklin, Ogdensburg, Hewitt and parts of Newton and West Milford. “In many of these military families, the armed service person is away from his or her family during the holidays,” said Muller. “The spouse is home with the kids. We’re hoping to bring a smile and some cheer to their lives by decorating the exterior of their homes.” Muller knows firsthand how sad the holidays can be for a family when a military parent or spouse is away from home, fighting a war or serving overseas. “For me, my brother-in-law — who is in the Army — was stationed overseas a few years back,” he said. “He missed the holidays that year. He has two little ones, and so I know how that feels. This is payback (to military personnel) for us.” How to nominate someone People living in Muller’s territory can nominate military men and women representing all branches of the armed forces — including the National Guard and Coast Guard — by writing a 500-word essay describing why the person’s family should become a Christmas Décor Decorated Family. “We’re looking for genuineness and honesty in the applications. We want people to tell us the situation of the military family or their own situation. We want to hear the circumstances.” Applications can also be self-nominated; they must be submitted online. The family will selected based on their proximity to a participating Christmas Décor franchise and the impact of their story. Applications must be received by Thanksgiving. To nominate, visit www.christmasdecor.net and click on Decorated Family by Christmas Décor. Once selected, the family will be contacted by a Christmas Décor designer who will design a custom holiday display for their home and suggest options to the family. A crew will install the decor prior to Dec. 15. At the end of the season, Christmas Décor will return to the home and take down the display. Last year, Christmas Décor designed custom exterior holiday light packages for 50,000 homes nationwide, at an average cost of $1,400 per home, excluding electric costs, said Muller. The winner or winners will have a display equal to ones the company designs for those clients. “When we light a home, our lights are very distinct,” he said. “You can tell a Christmas Décor home. There is no one else in the area doing this. We pay attention to every detail. They will get the same service that we provide to our clients. We’ll give them a nice design and light their home and make it stand out.”

Nominate a local military family to win a custom designed exterior holiday lights display