PENNSAUKEN – A piece of equipment that almost went into the trash 20 years ago has become a $50,000 Christmas treasure for the Hak family, recent winners of ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight.”
“I’m an electrician at my shop, and I noticed a traffic light controller that was going to get thrown away,” said Brian Hak, a 1994 graduate of Saint Peter School, Merchantville, and 1998 graduate of Camden Catholic High School.
“I took it home … and I figured out how I could get some of the lights to blink,” he explained.
The rest is holiday history, and today, Hak and his family – wife, Jenn, and daughters Lauren and Kaitlyn – are basking in the Christmas glow.
It was revealed on the TV show’s Dec. 11 episode that the Hak’s colorful and breezy “Summer in December” house had taken the grand prize. The 82,000-light display, from 2024, was among the show’s “Christmas Vacation”-themed competitors.
The family was contacted by show producers in 2023, after they noticed the Haks’ annual house lighting extravaganza. Filming for this current season took place last year.
Those driving by 8220 Bryn Mawr Ave. this year will come across the Hak house’s new theme: “White Christmas.” Adorned with 34,000 lights, the house also features a Nativity scene, Christmas tree and snowman.
Locals have known about the home for some time, but now it has the eyes of a national audience upon it – evidenced by the increased line of cars that gather close to dusk.
“We’ve seen cars come from as far as Alaska,” said Lauren Hak, a senior at Camden Catholic High School.
“It’s always constant,” she continued. “I’m getting random texts from people I haven’t talked to in a while, saying, ‘I’m right outside your house.’ It’s cool.”
An avid viewer of “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” now in its 13th season, she was even identified in her Saint Peter School eighth-grade yearbook with a future goal of winning the program.
Spreading the glow, the Hak family is using the increased attention to collect toys for the Toys for Tots program. A giant box is located in front of the home for new and unwrapped toys.
“It brings us a lot of joy, seeing people not only enjoy the lights, but give back by bringing toys,” said Katelyn Hak, a Camden Catholic sophomore. “We enjoy doing it every year.”
The concept for the yearly winter fun begins in the summer, with brainstorming among family and friends. Next, Brian Hak’s brothers, Michael and Andy, help with construction and programming the lights.
“We all work together for the common good,” he said with a smile.
Then, every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the family – all of whom are parishioners at Saint Peter Church – holds a “Flip the Switch” party, complete with music, merriment and candy canes.
Hak credits his alma mater for being one of the sparks that lit the fuse of this endeavor. He was a stagehand during Camden Catholic’s theatrical productions – and worked the lights.
And of course, there’s also his daughters’ desire for more Christmas spirit. “When my own children wanted more lights, then it really got out of hand,” he said with a laugh.
When asked what the family plans to do with the prize money, Brian Hak chuckled. For him, there’s only one logical choice.
“More lights.”
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