Each year, Northwest Arlington’s Interlochen neighborhood comes alive with the sights of the season. Sights which include, but are not limited to, Santa in a flying saucer.

And each year, I intend to call Ralph Sobel, one of the organizers. But when I pulled up to his house, he explained it was good to see me because I hadn’t been by in years.

That’s not him sitting in front. He was actually behind the door. But Santa’s dog looked so excited to see me walk up.

The Interlochen Lights start tonight. Sobel explained they’ve always been a drive-thru, so last year’s event drew a record crowd.

Ralph Sobel is, technically, Jewish, but he explains this is a celebration of different faiths, which is why his house is decked out in Christmas finery. But he does have a menorah, too.

Sobel explains it’s important to include people of all faiths, so the Lights of Interlochen are complete with an Airing of Grievances.

In that soundbite above, he mentions some people do have a more serious and religious theme. Down the street, one of the neighbors even encourages you to hark.

Really, though, you can hark things year round, so I wonder if they just leave that up to call attention to their grievances.

Sobel said the neighbors wind up with a friendly rivalry. Each year, they hand out ten awards, including a Griswold Award.

This year, Interlochen even has an Allan Saxe Award. Loyal Scaiaholics will recall Allan Saxe has helped me with my transition to becoming an old man. He tells people he’s been working for years to buy his immortality: He’s made donations all over the world, so his name is everywhere.

“Why not meet me at my baseball field?” he once suggested when I asked where he wanted to meet for an interview.

Allan Saxe Field is on Allan Saxe Parkway, but he’ll also point there’s another Allan Saxe Parkway in Arlington: the street that leads to the landfill.

But as families in Interlochen try to outdo each other, you’ll notice some similarities. The Peanuts gang, for instance:

At the risk of editorializing, I’d vote for the guys on the left for recreating the scene at the end. On the right, since you’ve already got Schroeder bangin’ out the hits, why not get Snoopy in there with the guitar and the ladies doing that dance with the head tilting near the start of the show?!

This is a neighborhood of innovation, after all. The Nativity in Matthew and Luke may have grabbed more attention with the Wise Men and myrrh:

But as goats looked on, surely so did flamingos:

Sobel mentioned you can come check out the lights after seeing the Cowboys win. The Cowboys are having a strong season. It’s a Festivus miracle!