Local grinches steal holiday decorations in Champaign-Urbana

CHAMPAIGN, ILL. (WAND) - Keith Smith took over his grandfather's tradition and turned it into much more for the holidays. Him and his husband host 'Lighting Up the Croft' every year. Smith says it takes around eighty hours and thirty thousand lights to decorate his entire yard.

"It was originally for family and then it was for friends and the community. Now it's all about the community. Everything we do is for the community. We have hundreds if not thousands of people drive by. I try to add something every year. My surprise this year was the thing I added was this polar bear. It was really cute," said Smith.

Smith had his newest addition of the display stolen from his yard. He says the decor was over $200 and is seeking help from the community to locate it.

"Had it out here next to Frosty and someone stole it the night before," said Smith.

He was not the only one to experience a similar theft. Lola Pittenger says she had light surrounded her entire house. The next morning, she noticed it was all gone.

"It was a definitely a feeling of ick, a feeling of disgust knowing that whoever took our lights worked pretty hard. There were a lot of lights put out, probably over $500 worth of lights. I felt really heartbroken. I mean we got creative for Christmas just to help bring Christmas spirit. Help bring some light to our season and to our neighborhood," said Urbana resident, Lola Pittenger.

They both encourage residents to use security cameras if needed. Despite what happened, Smith and his family are still putting on their annual show.

"The show can't stop. We'll probably finish up Saturday, we're waiting for more lights to be delivered. After all they really are just things, and they can be replaced."

You can catch Smith's huge light display in Champaign. He says visitors can even sync their radio to the music of the lights. For more information about hours and location, visit here.