Illinois family goes viral with over-the-top Taylor Swift Christmas decorations

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Amy and Brian Scott have become suburban legends for decorating the outside of their home in a Taylor Swift theme for the holidays and going viral.

“I think we were really naive with just thinking it would be like every other display,” says Amy Scott, 45, after thousands flocked to her neighborhood to look at her home.

The Scotts have been married for 22 years, and every Christmas they decorate their house along a theme to make the whole block shimmer. In 2022, they did Toy Story. In 2016, they honored the Chicago Cubs World Series win with a big “W” on the roof. In 2019 and 2020, the LED lights created Candy Land. But none of the previous versions drew the attention their Taylor Swift theme has.

“No parking” signs line the east side of the street. A trolley that takes visitors on a tour of the best Christmas lights stops by. It’s a lot of commotion, but it seems like the whole block has been on board.

“I personally went and knocked on everyone’s doors,” says Amy. “I wanted to say, ‘Thank you, and we appreciate your patience and grace.’”

Amy, an eighth-grade science teacher, went to see the “Eras Tour” film with some of her friends. When she got home she told her husband they had to enter their holiday era.

“We were like the only two people in the theater at the time,” says Brian, 45, about how he and his wife took notes and scoured Amazon for items to buy. “I’m sure if you would have seen us, you were like, ‘What are these two doing?’”

They sectioned their front yard into four eras: “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989” and “Evermore.” And put the remaining six album covers on the roof next to a life-size Travis Kelce cutout holding an electric sign that reads “Taylor’s Version.”

The details bring happiness to Swifties, from the Dear John letter to reindeer with red scarfs to a champagne glass.

“It was actually a lot easier than previous years,” says their 18-year-old daughter Rebecca. “Usually we have to build a lot more things, but my dad just prints a lot of it. So it’s like, we just bedazzled a bunch of stuff.”

Brian owns a printing business, which made it easy to create two-story, 20-foot mesh banners of Swift’s Eras Tour poster. QR codes are scattered around the yard like Easter eggs directing traffic to make a donation to Little Friends, a nonprofit organization that serves adults and children with autism.

“It’s been really cool to watch people donate $13 or $22 in symbolic numbers,” says Amy. “We do have a matching donor that will match up to $5,000.”

The bright idea is going to continue in future years if their daughter, Emily, 21, has anything to do with it. She’s hoping to continue the viral tradition next year.

“Maybe next year we would do different eras in the yard?” Emily said. “I feel like since our house has gone viral people are just going to come back.”

Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network’s Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV