How to See the Impressive Boise Home Featured on ABC’s ‘The Great Christmas Light Fight’

Crying into a bowl of chili was the last thing we expected to do while watching an episode of a show dedicated to over the top Christmas decorations, but here we are. If you've never visited this Boise Christmas lights display, there are so many reasons to add it to your holiday bucket list. 

Roger and Sally DeBolt have lived on Parapet Ct since the early '90s and have been decorating that home just as long. After seeing Marty Slack's animated show light show in 2005, Roger felt inspired to see if he could take his static display and turn it into something larger. He knew it was going to take a while to ascend to the 100,000 lights, snow, bubbles, animated singing reindeer and dancing santa that made up Slack's award winning display but he had to start somewhere.

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Well, that somewhere was being able to control 128 different channels in 2006. Flash forward to 2019 and DeBolt's show had grown large enough and impressive enough to grab the attention of ABC's The Great Christmas Light Fight. The competition show would travel to different cities and judge light displays on three different categories: use of lights, overall design and Christmas spirit. At the end of each episode, a winner is awarded a trophy and $50,000.

Roger, his wife Sally, twin sons and daughter-in-law got the opportunity to compete for the title in an episode that was part of Season 8 in 2020. It was filmed in 2019 and pitted the DeBolts against families from Jenks, Oklahoma, Fontana, California and Brownsville, Tennessee.

During the episode, we learned a lot about what makes DeBolt's show just so special. For one, Roger is color blind which blew judge Carter Oosterhouse away. Oosterhouse was incredibly impressed by the use of color in the display and that's when Roger said he's pretty dependent on the computers telling him which color is which and his family offering feedback when things don't look quite right.

He also told Oosterhouse that the family almost wasn't able to compete on the show. About 18 months before filming, Roger was diagnosed with a rare form of Stage 4 lymphoma. He's undergone radiation and chemotherapy, but was told that even though his cancer will go into remission it will come back again at some point. Shorty after, Sally found out that she had breast cancer. She was able to beat it and the couple said focusing on their Christmas light display helped them stay positive and fight through their illnesses. We're almost sure that fight together is what inspired them to make the not so Christmasy Rachel Platten tune "Fight Song" part of their 2020 display.

We won't spoil how the episode ended for the DeBolts because it's currently on Hulu for you to catch up on. Once you do, we know you'll want to see this incredible display that blends a choreographed light show and comedy. You can find it at 6211 Parapet Court in Boise. The display runs 5:30-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 5:30-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The soundtrack can be heard by tuning your car radio to 95.3 FM.

The DeBolts use their light display as a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Idaho. They accept donations through their mailbox at the display and online by clicking HERE. They've set their goal at $3,000 this year. They raised $4,400 in 2020 so we think that with the community's support they'll blow that number away!