Who needs Rudolph’s red nose when you’ve got bright headlights like those in the annual Califia Holiday Car Parade to guide holiday spirits?
The 26th annual parade, led by Bill Hatch’s 1969 Mercedes 280SL, traversed Mission Viejo Sunday night, Dec. 17 — an annual and festive tradition for the Califia neighborhood. The cars were decked out with oodles of Christmas lights, bright reindeer and inflatable Santas.
Hatch, a longtime resident of the community, started the parade as a “landlocked” answer to the annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. His daughters were only 4 and 6 years old that first year, he said, and it was “about as down-home as you could possibly get.”
Hatch constructed a Christmas tree out of PVC and ran lights around it, hoisting it up in his Mercedes convertible with an umbrella stand.
“It was ugly,” Hatch recalled of his first effort with a laugh. And back then, he used hot incandescent lights rather than LEDs to illuminate the tree. “It was basically taking your life in your hands because you could pop a light in your car.”
Since that inaugural holiday parade 26 years ago, the decorations have grown safer — and more ornate. There are inflatable holiday characters — Santa, the Grinch, reindeer and dragons — adorning the tops of the vehicles. Christmas lights stretch all over the cars, over the hoods and down the sides.
Hatch still erects a fake tree for his car, and he estimates he puts about 2,000 to 3,000 lights on his vehicle.
Some two dozen cars now participate in the parade — there is a cap so as not to impact traffic too much — and Hatch works with the city and Sheriff’s Department to ensure they’re OK to roll through the neighborhood. Drivers toss out candy canes and other treats for the kids lining the streets, and the parade culminates in a potluck dinner.
“It’s become an expectation and an event within the community,” said Hatch.
“It was and is and always will be fully…
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