Barbara McConnell and her husband Bob are turning on their holiday display lights early this year, starting the evening of Thanksgiving.

Their decorations have been a community favorite for years, with more than 40,000 lights serving to draw visitors from far and wide.

Set to 22 minutes of music streamed from an FM radio station (107.3), the couple’s display – which includes a 15-foot-tall rotating tree, a waterfall and dazzling shooting stars – is so impressive that one year a stranger actually paid their electrical bill for them.

“It’s like a winter wonderland,” says Barbara McConnell. “We have a stream, a waterfall, deer and trees, as well as lights on the house that look like falling snow.”

However, they didn’t do it for the fame. The lights are in memory of their late Corgie, Sam, who “used to love interacting with the people who came to see the lights,” Barbara says.

“Ever since he passed away, we’ve kept making them bigger and bigger in his honor.” If visitors look closely, they can see a white, decorated Corgie, whose lights are kept on in Sam’s remembrance.

The McConnells keep a bucket outside for donations to Pasado Safe Haven, an animal sanctuary located outside Seattle. While there is no pressure to contribute, Barbara admits that “it’s nice when we hear car doors opening and closing.”

The display’s profits are sizable enough to be featured on Pasado’s website, and the couple makes it a priority to place the lights each year.

“We even put them up the year my husband broke his hip!” tells Barbara. “He was on the roof putting them up in the rain when he fell off – all our friends came and helped us finish.”

The show runs from 5-9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, but lasts until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 12 a.m. on holidays (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day). The display runs through Jan. 1.

The McConnells reside at 13837 101st Place NE in Kirkland.