Lights out for Christmas Ranch after this year’s holiday display

The Christmas Ranch is an iconic symbol of Christmas spirit in the Cleveland area. This family-run Winter Wonderland has been a favorite destination for area families for nearly three decades, bringing joy and instilling holiday spirit in the hearts of both young and old. However, the sparkle of Christmas lights at the ranch will fade away after this year, as it has been announced that this year’s display will be the final one.

Bob Hanley, one half of the devoted husband-and-wife duo responsible for the breathtaking spectacle, passed in September at the age of 67 after a brief battle with lung cancer. His widow, Diane Hanley, 60, has found managing the extensive light display impossible without her partner’s support.

“Bob and I had always talked about putting up the lights for 40 years and then stopping and moving into town when we got older. We made it to 38 years this year,” Diane said.

The Christmas Ranch’s origins began in Huntsville, Texas, when Bob began putting out light displays around the couple’s suburban home, which soon became a draw to area residents. Needing a bigger canvas to display his lights, Bob suggested they buy a home with acreage in the Cleveland area 28 years ago. Now, after Bob’s death, Diane has decided to have one final Christmas display in memory of Bob and his unwavering dedication to this annual endeavor.

“Bob kept adding stuff to it, so we bought acreage in the Cleveland area and started the drive-through. It grew every year after that,” Diane said.

Preparations for this year’s light display began well before Halloween. Diane said she found herself reflecting on the labor of love her husband poured into this holiday tradition. She admitted to having a better understanding of what it took for Bob to set up this intricate display, which had the Christmas Ranch featured on the ABC television show “Great Christmas Light Fight” in 2018.

As she was in the process of unraveling countless light strands and positioning delicate holiday props, she grasped the tremendous detail and time-consuming nature of the spectacle that Bob so passionately engineered each year, and how risky it could be installing some of the larger displays that required the use of a scissor lift.

“I always joked with him and said, ‘Good thing your life insurance is paid for, Bob.’ He would tell me it was perfectly safe, but now I am not sure that was the case,” Diane said with a chuckle.

While most of the displays were figured out with the help of Danny and Adrian Cennamo of Shepherd, the Hanleys’ two daughters and a couple other volunteers, there are a handful that simply couldn’t be sorted out.

“A few of the items we didn’t put up this year because we just couldn’t figure out Bob did them,” she said.

Big Red, the enormous red reindeer, as well as the lighted dinosaurs are still part of the display. Diane said Big Red will be rehomed to the Cennamos’ property in Shepherd next year, which is the ideal location as the Cennamos are the authors and illustrators of a book titled “Big Red, the Father of Santa’s Reindeer.”

The dinosaurs will remain at the house. As Diane has plans to move to Grand Oaks Subdivision next year, she hopes the dinos will be enjoyed by the next owners of her property.

Since moving the display to Cleveland, admission to the Christmas Ranch has been free. People passing through the drive-through display had an opportunity to make donations in a collection box as they exited. These funds went toward St. Mary’s Catholic Church charities.

Diane plans to redistribute the light displays to other non-profits in the hopes that they continue to benefit charitable work.

“Our church has talked about putting them up and doing a Christmas walk on their new property off of Kirbywood Drive in Cleveland. I am not sure they are going to do that and I am going to discourage them from taking the lights because I know how much work goes into it,” she said. “I’ve also thought about donating pieces to Pedigo Park’s Christmas display in Cleveland,” she said.

She’s not looking forward to cleaning out the two-car garage that has been filled with Christmas lights for nearly three decades or emptying the storage space that is roughly the size of an eight-car garage where the Hanleys have stored the figurines they display. She figures that she and Bob spent more than $100,000 in Christmas displays and lights in the 38 years since it all began.

“Bob just loved Christmas. He always joked that it was me wanting lights around the house. I would tell him I just wanted a strand, not a Winter Wonderland,” she said.

The Christmas Ranch, located at 14651 FM 1725 in Cleveland, is open nightly through Christmas from 6 to 10 p.m. regardless of rain. On every Saturday leading up to Christmas – Dec. 1, 9, 16 and 23 – Santa Claus will be passing out candy canes to all the children who visit. This is a drive-through tour only, so guests cannot park and walk through the displays.

As you make your way through the display, look for the sign that Diane posted in Bob’s memory.

“The holidays will be a little less bright without the lights. I am sorry that our Christmas lights won’t be here next year. It’s sad to me but I can’t go on. It was really hard putting them up this year without Bob,” she said. “I want to thank everyone for coming by year after year. I really do love this community and am grateful for the support.”