Oklahoma man puts up Christmas lights for his entire neighborhood

Oklahoma man lights up his whole neighborhood

Stephen Dunkelberg put his extra Christmas lights to good use this year, putting them up on all 22 houses in his neighborhood to spread holiday cheer.

BIXBY, Okla. - When Stephen Dunkelberg put up Christmas lights on his house this year, he noticed he was the only lit up house in his dark neighborhood.

The former landscape business owner had an abundance of extra Christmas lights, so he decided to spread his own form of Christmas cheer. Four full days of work and 22 houses later, his entire neighborhood in Bixby, a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was shining bright for the holidays.

"I would picture what it would look like if all the houses were lit up," Dunkelberg said in an interview with FOX TV Stations. It felt like the right thing to do to see if they all wanted Christmas lights, and they did."

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Dunkelberg, a full-time accountant, spent two weekends from sunup to sundown installing lights on all his neighbors’ homes. All told, he used 1,500-1,700 feet of lights.

Stephen Dunkelberg putting up Christmas lights for 22 houses in his neighborhood (photo sent by Stephen Dunkelberg)

He said his neighbors were very grateful for the extra effort.

"Kids and grandparents, people would get real excited," he said. "I’ve gotten a lot of texts and home-cooked blueberry muffins. Everybody’s been great."

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It was a labor of love, Dunkelberg said, and one he encourages everyone to experience if they have the means.

"I encourage everybody to use whatever they have and do the right things with it," he said. "I could’ve thrown them away or sold them, but the right thing to do was to give them away. I think everyone has something they can offer. Use what you have."