Texas Family's Christmas Light Display Earns $80,000 for Make-A-Wish Foundation

Jordan Maywald has been in charge of his family's Christmas decorations since he was nine. Each year since, Jordan, now 23, has added more to the light display that has turned their Austin property into a holiday destination.

"It started very small, just a few things in our front yard," he tells Southern Living. "Over the years I expanded across much of our property and now it covers about 3.5 acres."

The Maywald Christmas Light Display won on ABC's The Great Christmas Light Fight in 2019. "At the time I was the youngest champion in the show's history, and currently still am," Jordan notes.

But it's not about winning. For the past seven years, the Maywalds have used their famous light display to raise money for Make-A-Wish Central and South Texas.

This year, they welcomed more than 15,000 visitors, raising more than $80,000 to fund 10 wishes. To date, the display has raised nearly $200,000 and granted 27 wishes. Each time a wish is granted, Jordan adds a reindeer to the mix.

"Helping these children is what Christmas is all about for us," he tells Southern Living. "We will continue to put up our display yearly to help grant life changing wishes!"

Jordan prefers to build most of the displays himself, and spends the months leading up to Christmas scouring the country for old décor via Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. The highlight of this past year's spectacle was a 17-foot-tall fiberglass Santa Claus.

"You don't see that really anywhere else, and who puts that in their front yard?" Jordan told KXAN. "But we do because we just love Christmas so much."

You can visit The Maywald Christmas Light Display 10505 Twilight Vista in Austin, Texas. The magic begins in November and lasts through New Year's Eve.