By Jack McDermott
Staff Writer
Matt Fiorito of 111 S. I-Oka treks out into the cold weather with his three kids and puts in 10 hours of work over the course of two days outfitting his house with three santas, one snowman, nine reindeer, and enough lights to brighten up the entire neighborhood.  He does this in preparation for Christmas every year.  
“I go out with my kids and we all have a good time,” Fiorito said. “I appreciate that people come and enjoy the lights.”
Isn’t that the true spirit of Christmas, to put in some of your time to give others joy.  
This is why people should try to put at least some lights out, because it truly does brighten up people’s days.  Imagine struggling through winter without lights.  The entire town would be dark at 4 p.m. with moods to match.
In addition to time, Fiorito also gives money, and lots of it.  His electricity bill during the winter months is normally $200 more but he switched to LED lights this year so he will “see how it goes”.
Fiorito’s costs did pay off though because he was awarded the grand prize for the Holiday Decorating Contest in Mount Prospect under the residence section last year.  And for all the critics out there that might think he only does it to win,  the prize is a 6-inch trophy that is not worth 10 hours of work.  Even though Fiorito does admit that he believes he will win again this year, he reminded me that he does not just do it to win.
In fact, Fiorito doesn’t even know why he does it.  
“It’s just something I’ve always done as a little kid and I remember really enjoying it.”  
This is the exactly the reason I think people should put up lights, because it’s fun.  Fiorito describes Christmas as his favorite time of year.  So much so that he even named his daughter Noel.  Don’t think of it as a big pain but rather a family fun activity.
Even if you could not put in the time or money to pull off the amazing show like Fiorito, there are many other ways to brighten up your house, or in my case, your block.  Every year, my block of 200 S. Pine Street puts in $18 per house for a 6-foot Christmas tree. 
Every house adds their own unique decorations and in the end the block looks spectacular.  
The only people who have a good reason for not decorating is people who are not Christian, but if they do, that’s okay too, especially in the case of prospect student Cole Wagner.  He is Jewish  and although he doesn’t decorate for Christmas, his family does put in the time and effort decorating for other holidays like Halloween.  He also enjoys the decorations around town and likes the lights in the trees around Mt.Prospect.
For all the Grinches out there that decide not to decorate this year without good reason, try it, if not for yourself, make it your present to you neighbors.  And you never know, you might enjoy decorating as much as Fiorito does, and the best part is, you could get rewarded for it. Everyone knows that those 6-inch trophies are going for a fair price this year.
Christmas Costs:
Tree:  $20 (Yahoo Answers)
5 strings of lights (50 bulbs/string):  $100 (Target Website)
Wreath: $33 (alpinewreaths.com)                                                                                                                                                                                                            Blow Up Santa: $80(google product search)