Hallcroft Christmas lights: a family tradition in Basin since the 1930s

When shadows start to lengthen and night descends upon the town of Basin, the corner of Big B Drive and South 9th Street begins to glow. Like a glimmer of hope at the darkest time of the year, a little pink house brings visual merriment to the Christmas season. 

The home sits on a hill with a large two-acre yard; it’s the longtime family home of John Halcroft. Every year, Hallcroft plans and prepares for decorating every spot of the property. 

“Christmas is my favorite time of year,” he said. “Not only is everyone friendlier but I like the religious aspect of it too.” 

While most homes in Basin decorate with blowup figures, Hallcroft showcases vintage ones. Santa Claus is on the roof, a group of carolers on the front porch (with a homemade giant lit up treble clef), reindeer in the bushes, polar bears perched on planters, under a lit archway is the Nativity Scene, just to name a few. Tree trunks wrapped in lights, swooping lines of color along the entire fence line, each rooftop angle aglow in a different color. Visually stunning, with motorists slowing their speed as they pass-by.

A labor of love evident by the detail and magnitude it takes him about a month to prepare. “The wind has slowed down my decorating this year,” Hallcroft said. “Someone recently stopped me at the Wal-Mart in Cody to ask when the lights would be turned on.”

It’s a meticulous process considering the length of wires and multiple plugs. “I have to get it just right or I’ll blow a fuse,” he added. 

His annual dedication to decorating is in honor of his mother and father, Wayne and Pauline. A family tradition beginning in the 1930s, Hallcroft has upheld it over the years, increasing the scale each year. He is the youngest of six children. In junior high school, Hallcroft remembers the town of Basin having decorating contests, with cash prizes. He remembers decorating the planters in front of the house. “I won a few times,” he said. 

Like some, after growing up in Basin he moved away but returned in 2001 to care for his mother. He remembers taking her outside all bundled up to see the lights. 

For Hallcroft, his favorite aspect of this year’s display is the front of the house and the trees around the back garden area. He shops at garage sales and orders decorations online. New this year is a 6-foot Merry Christmas sign for the front of the house. 

So when your evening winds down, gather your family, hop in your car, turn on some Christmas music – maybe even bring a cup of hot cocoa – and take a cruise up Big B Drive, Hallcroft will leave the lights on now through New Year’s.