Courtesy of Holly Grace.
Donna Jenkins has lived on Timberhollow Circle for 44 years and has seen every rendition of the neighborhood’s 12 Days of Christmas tradition since its inception in the late 80s.
Each December, Timberhollow residents put up 14 painted wooden signs – 12 Days of Christmas plus welcome and goodbye signs – for the duration of the holiday season, often attracting hundreds of neighbors by the carload. Jenkins and her husband are some of the few neighbors left in the cul-de-sac that can recall the early years.
“I had no idea it would happen,” Jenkins says. “None of us did, but it comes and goes. In different years, it’ll be a little quieter.”
Early crowds arrived in limousines, party buses and even a hay wagon. These days, limos and buses have been supplanted by SUVs and, of course, golf carts. But people are still coming to see the 14 signs – some original and some reconstructed – that Jenkins and her husband first made in a neighbor’s garage in 1989.
Jenkins grew up in Arlington. She recalls visiting a similar display in Mayor Tom Vandergriff’s neighborhood as one of her fondest childhood memories.
After moving into the neighborhood in 1980, Jenkins and her neighbors noticed people driving by to look at Christmas decorations. With memories of the Mayor’s display in mind, Jenkins and her neighbors decided to create a more involved display for their newfound fans. Using blown-up illustrations from children’s books, the neighborhood set out cutting and painting the signs.
“We thought, let’s do it, and if we don’t get it done this year, we’ll put it up next year,” Jenkins says. “Somehow we got it done in a week. And so then we got it put up and all of a sudden, the cars started coming.”
Three decades later, Jenkins’ seven swans have been replaced with a newer replica of the original – as most signs have by this point – but the cars still arrive from December 1 to early January.
Some people tour the neighborhood on foot as well, oftentimes getting a closer look at the signs, posing for pictures or grabbing candy canes from neighbors like Jenkins. Caroling is also prevalent, she says.
“I’ve heard every rendition of 12 Days of Christmas that you could possibly hear, good and bad,” Jenkins says.
The tradition has outlasted most of the original homeowners. As older neighbors move away, the signs are passed down to new arrivals, who are seemingly always onboard, Jenkins says. She estimates that one sign has been passed down at least five times.
The tradition has become multigenerational for spectators as well. As with Jenkins and the Mayor’s display, there are now plenty of neighbors looking to recreate childhood memories to share with their own children.
“I had a doctor I went to and he was reading my chart, and he goes, ‘Oh, you live on the Timberhollow Street,” she says. “He said, ‘I grew up coming down that street,’ and so we were immediately friends. And I thought it was so neat. Now he has a little girl that he brings down.”
Jenkins says that she has no plans to move away from Timberhollow Circle anytime soon. She raised four kids in the house, and all four still live in Lake Highlands with families of their own, so she’s got little reason to move away.
Besides, her grandchildren bring their friends over to enjoy the tradition she had no idea she was starting all the way back in 1989.
“It’s kind of our gift to [visitors], but they’re kind of a gift to us all, and everybody feels that way,” she says. “So that’s really neat.”
