A cactus Christmas creation

They call him Father Christmas, though he’s hardly old enough to have been around since the reputed 17th century old gentleman.

However, just like the traditional jolly, gift-bearing gent, La Cañada’s own Perry Mondon, 64, gives a gift to his neighborhood, and beyond, each year through the creation of his illuminated cactus Christmas-land, as well as through his year-round kind and neighborly demeanor.

“We’re very fortunate to live next door to Perry,” said Peter Bissias, who bought his home 15 years ago and lives there with his wife, Michele and daughter, Taia, 4.

The family enjoys living next door to Mondon and his extravagantly festive property, which features thousands of lights and Christmas-themed displays.

“We look forward to [the lights] every year. Other people in the community do too, and even friends in Orange County and other part so Los Angeles come here every year to see [Mondon’s] display,” Bissias said.

Mondon is a retired consultant and worked many years as a traffic engineer. He grew up in the home on Oakwood Avenue, just above Knight Way, and later inherited the house from his parents. He began decorating his home and surrounding cactus landscape in the 1980s.

“It started with a snowman on the chimney in 1987,” Mondon said, adding that he saw the snowman at nearby Ralphs Market and was inspired. The first lighted snowman was added to by other light displays each year.

“Then I found a Santa and a sleigh, and of course, I had to have reindeer to go with that,” he said.

Since then, the display snowballed, reaching up to 50,000 lights, which has since been refined and downsized to about 25,000 lights. Because he eliminated many unessential lone strands of lights, Mondon said, he is still able to add to the display each year, with lighted planes, trains and animals, as well as a carousel, toy soldiers and, of course, traditional Christmas scenes.

Mondon said he had to cut down on the lights for economic reasons, since his electric bill for the display — which he runs from Dec. 5 to Jan. 6 each year — cost about $1,220 two years ago. He was able to reduce to $880 last year.

Although it is expensive, Mondon said he feels good about creating and re-creating the display each year — despite the excessive amount of time it takes to maintain each light bulb and feature — because it brings joy to so many people.

“There’s a regular traffic jam out here some nights,” he said, of the many people who drive or walk by to see the light display, which begins at the driveway and fills nearly every portion of the grounds, cactus plants and tree limbs.

People come from as far as San Diego, in cars, vans or even tour buses of senior citizens, some stopping to talk with Mondon, if he’s in the yard, or just gaze at the beautiful display.

But not all of the visitors to the festive display are friendly.

In addition to the prickly cactus in and around the yard, Mondon has had to add a padlock to the gates of his wooden fence and a perimeter of barbed wire, to provide safety for the display, which has been vandalized several times.

“I’ve had beer bottles and other items thrown at the lights, and some of the displays were stolen before,” Mondon said. “I don’t know why anyone would do something like that,” he added.

There also have been weather and other difficulties that disrupted the display. In addition to high winds sometimes knocking down lights, rain can make for lighting problems as water gets into the features and can’t be removed so it corrodes the fittings, which makes some lights not work after storage, Mondon said.

And, the light display almost was postponed a few years ago, on a Friday, Dec. 13, when a ladder broke while Mondon was putting up some of the lights, and he fell to the ground, breaking his ankle and numerous bones in his foot.

Despite a trip to the hospital emergency room, Mondon bought another ladder, and the show went on.

Mondon’s determination to make life brighter for his fellow man is appreciated by many of his neighbors, Michele Bissias said. “We call him Father Christmas, but it’s year-round, not just at Christmas, that he’s so kind,” she said.

During the year, Mondon brings his neighbors persimmons and fresh tomatoes, she said, recalling a time when a family was visiting and a little girl lost a hair clip in the yard. Mondon brought over a metal detector to aid in the search. “We say he’s the guardian angel of Oakwood,” Bissias said, adding, “He’s just a delightful human being.”