HIDDEN SPRINGS, Idaho — A drive through Hidden Springs in December can feel like stepping into a Hallmark movie, with twinkling streets, glowing homes and neighbors who slow down just to take it all in.
One house in particular is once again lighting up the neighborhood with holiday cheer.
In Hidden Springs, one front yard transforms every December into a glowing forest of lights, trees and holiday scenes. The display is put together by homeowners Tim and Linda Corcoran, a project the couple enjoys working on together year after year.
WATCH: A Hidden Springs homeowner turns his front yard into a holiday display designed to bring neighbors together.
The tradition began during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Well, that year, that Christmas, it was the real early beginning of COVID. So we put up decorations and it was fun,” Tim Corcoran said.
What started as a small display grew into something much bigger after an unexpected encounter with a neighbor.
“There was an elderly man that stopped and he had his mask on and all that. And I was out decorating and getting ready in November. And he said, do you have any idea how much happiness you bring to the community? And I never thought of it. He goes, you make everyone smile. And I just wanted to stop and tell you,” Corcoran said.
That moment stayed with him and helped shape what the display has become.
“It was like the smile that they would give you and the happiness that they felt at that moment in their lives. And that’s what really kicked it off that it’s the idea that it creates happiness,” Corcoran said.
Now, families stop by nightly — some for candy canes and hot chocolate, others simply to slow down and take it all in.
“We’re doing something and making a difference in somebody else’s life each day that they come out here,” Corcoran said.
Corcoran said the lights do more than brighten the street — they help strengthen the neighborhood.
“So what it kind of generates and starts creating is a sense of community here in Hidden Springs where people will do the care and caring and giving and helping out others all the time,” he said.
And he believes that spirit extends far beyond his front yard.
“it just generates a flow and an attitude that prevails in the community,” Corcoran said.
