Over-the-Top Christmas Decorations: the Series!
The Great Christmas Light Fight is a reality competition series that has aired on ABC every December since 2013. In every episode of the series a panel of judges (most from the ABC hit show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) look at the Christmas displays by a series of four families per episode and judge which display is the best on the basis of three categories: use of lights, overall design, and Christmas spirit. After all four families are profiled, a final segment of the show reveals the winner. ABC aired Halloween special versions (The Great Halloween Fright Fight) in 2014 and 2023. Some episodes have special themes, such as "Neighborhoods" which feature entire streets, and "Heavyweights" which feature extremely over-the-top displays.This show lights up the following tropes:
- As the Good Book Says...: One of the families in Season 9 featured a life-size Nativity display which they lit up when the judge shouted "Let there be light!" Afterwards Judge Tanya said "And there was light."
- Big Blackout: Contestant Lisa's display malfunctions in Season 2 and winds up going dark, a problem that is quickly repaired.
- Big Electric Switch: Even the "on" switch for many of the displays is over-the-top.
- Big "OMG!": Usually happens when a house illuminates its display.
- Christmas Episode: The entire series is nothing but Christmas episodes, being a show about Christmas displays.
- Commercial Break Cliffhanger: Happens most often when a display is illuminated, leaving the sounds of the offscreen crowd reacting to the lighting or a shot of the crowd reacting to offscreen lighting. Can also happen when something exciting is revealed in the diaplay. Sometimes happens following an incident.
- Cool Boat: A season 9 episode featured Santa at a Southern Florida family's display giving boat rides in a boat covered with Christmas lights
- Cool Car: The end of every episode has Santa dropping off the episode's judge at the winning family's house in a fully decked-out red automobile with a horn that plays "Jingle Bells". In addition, some displays feature cars that have been decorated for Christmas.
- Cool House: More actually, cool houses decorated with over-the-top Cool Christmas displays.
- Cool Train: Some of the displays feature a train. One of the displays in The Great Halloween Fright Fight was a drive-through with a train. The Pratt House of Scottsdale, Arizona also had a train ride through a candy filled room.
- Enforced Plug: Being a reality show on ABC, you can very well bet that occasional Disney-themed displays will be featured on the show.
- Everyone Is Christian at Christmas: The Maan Family of Manteca, California in Season 10 have an animated Christmas display that also incorporates Diwali, complete with Santa doing a traditional Indian dance with Indian dancers.
- Everything is Big in Texas: Many Texas families like to have displays that are extra-large in size, one in Season 9 featuring a life-size Nativity scene.
- Exaggerated Trope: The "Heavyweights" episode featured the Over-The-Top Christmas Display tropes the series is based on and takes it Up To Eleven by featuring the largest displays seen on the show to that point.
- Fantastic Fireworks: Some displays have animated virtual fireworks displays made of LED pixels, but others do feature actual pyrotechnics.
- Foot Focus: In a Season 9 episode, Judge Taniya notices that a woman dressed as Mrs. Claus is wearing summer sandals, looking fit for a summer vacation in the family's South Florida home.
- Halloween Episode: On October 28, 2014 ABC aired the special The Great Halloween Fright Fight where the judges ruled on four Halloween displays with the factors being overall design, Halloween spirit, and creativity.
- Level Ate: The Pratt House of Scottsdale, Arizona in Season 10 has a theme of a gingerbread house with lollipops, marshmallows, and hot chocolate. The marshmallows were even edible! In the same season, the Sencil Family's home of Suican, California also has a gingerbread house theme!
- Oh, Crap!: In a season 2 episode, contestant Lisa's front-and-backyard display suddenly goes dark as she is talking with the judge, then someone shouts that something in her back yard is on fire. cut to commercial. the main power supply box for her display suffered a water-induced short and was quickly and harmlessly extinguished.
- Over The Top Christmas Decorations: The Series!
- Product Placement: Along with some families having Disney-themed displays, sometimes Disney characters appear in more generic displays.
- Public Domain Soundtrack The show's credits play the music from the Nutcracker Suite. Subverted in that ABC's squeezed credits do still play it during the announcer's voiceover if it is not the season finale being aired.
- Santa Claus: Drops the judge off at the winning house at the end of every episode. A lot of displays also feature Santa in some form or another.
- Santa Clausmas: Some of the displays are overtly secular in nature.
- Strictly Formula: In every episode four families are featured.
- The family is introduced
- The family gives a backstory as to how, when, and why they started decorating for Christmas.
- The house's Christmas lights are illuminated.
- The family takes the judge around the display and shows off some of the display's details.
- Those same four events repeat in that order for the other families.
- The episode ends with Santa dropping off the judge at the winning house and the judge declaring that family the winner and awarding them the trophy.
- Time-Passes Montage: Frequently after a family is introduced, we see a rapid shot of the sunset before the lights are illuminated.
- True Meaning of Christmas: Some displays feature Nativity scenes. For others, the display is just a nativity scene.
- Very Special Episode: Season 2's "Neighborhoods" and Season 5's "Heavyweights".
