It's our annual holiday nightmare, pulling boxes of stringed lights out of storage only to find a tangled, garbled mess. Gremlins have been busy, obvs, but imagine the horror when the folks over at Constellation Field pull out 2.5 million lights for their annual holiday spectacular.
"Oh my goodness. I don't want to even get started about how we have been untangling," says Jeremy Coleman, who handles community relations and special events for the Sugar Land Skeeters. Baseball season segues into the holidays, and Coleman says it's an all hands on deck endeavor, with him splitting time between back office logistics and front line installation. And if any entrepreneurs out there can think up an invention for preventing tangled holiday lights, Coleman says he's interested. "I would be the first one to buy it."
Those gigawatt-happy folks over at Constellation Field already boast more than 100 displays, and they've amped up this year's show by adding something for everybody. "We've been working on a Kwanzaa theme. No one is isolated or missing out," says Coleman, though we're not sure if Festivus made the list.
Look for music — both live and recorded Christmas tunes — plus special events like Military Appreciation Night, Hurricane Relief Night and a Pinot's Palette ornament painting night. They're holding pet adoptions with two Lights & Leashes nights (dogs on December 8, cats on December 15), and even a movie night where guests can tweet their suggestions (we're partial to Elf).
Alcoholic beverages are available for purchase and they've got culinary treats and food trucks on hand. So you can celebrate the holidays Clark Griswold style and risk obnoxious guests, explosions and maybe even an electrocution or two, or do it the easy way and head out to Sugar Land. Who knows, you just might spot a proposal or two.
Sugar Land holiday lights runs November 24 through January 1, 6 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Constellation Field, 1 Stadium Drive, Sugar Land, 281-240-4487, sugarlandholidaylights.com, $11 to $14.