'Winter Wonderland': Tinley Park family goes all out with Christmas decorations
TINLEY PARK, Ill. - We all know somebody in the neighborhood who goes all out on Christmas decorations, and every year you just have to go see it.
Well, if you live in the south suburbs, there is a decisive champion of the holidays: the Kowalczyk family of 17321 Avon Lane in Tinley Park.
Not even Clark Griswold from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation could have imagined this. It’s one of the most astounding holiday displays you'll ever see.
Dominic Kowalczyk and family have been creating, building, and expanding the "Winter Wonderland" for more than 25 years.
It's a monster hit.
Kowalczyk's yearly extravaganza has evolved into a fundraiser, with donations of more than 32,000 last year going to a local charity called "Together We Cope." This effort is so big the Tinley Park police funnel traffic through the neighborhood and direct cars to a nearby grade school parking lot.
Kowalczyk officially turned the lights on Monday afternoon, after two solid weeks of work.