Since its creation four years ago near Haggerty and Palmer roads, Kathy’s Christmas Wonderland has been delighting people every December. Curated by Kathy and her husband Wilfredo Pacheco, the house features thousands of Christmas decorations.

“We started decorating just the house and flower bed,” Kathy said. “Then Wilfredo’s mom gave us a Nativity scene, and I started buying people’s entire garages off Facebook Marketplace. We travel all over the USA buying Christmas decorations. Wilfredo’s toolshed is the only thing not packed with Christmas.”

Wilfredo, who also plays Santa Claus, helps keep the assortment curated and intentional.

“We have a tunnel, sidewalk and Gingerbread Island,” he said. “Those areas are subdivided into themes like the kids zone, dog area, Mickey Mouse, polar bear, tropical, etc.”

The Christmas house lights are on from Black Friday until a week after New Year’s Eve.

“I play Santa on Fridays through Sundays from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. until December 21,” he said. “We’ll have hundreds of people nightly pass through, many of them saying it evokes a special nostalgia.”

The Pachecos’ setup features over 1,000 Christmas blow molds, large train cars, a life-size sleigh, talking and caroling Christmas trees (synched to 91.1 FM), and a giant Santa head above the garage.

“The house is free to tour,” Kathy said. “Donations at the end are accepted but not required. Any money we get goes toward our $800 per month DTE electric bill. We’re also still on the hunt to purchase one rare piece – the 1972 Santa tender train car blow mold. It’s hard to find in good condition.”

The Pachecos moved to Canton in 2008.

“We met at Romulus High School,” Wilfredo said. “My mom is from Michigan, dad is from Ponce, Puerto Rico. I’ve been at Ford Motor Company for 30-plus years. Woodhaven stamping, then Dearborn, then Livonia transmission.”

Recently, Wilfredo celebrated a special anniversary.

“Seven years ago on October 15, 2018, I donated 70 percent of the right lobe of my liver to my co-worker’s husband who was a GM worker,” he said. “It came to me in a dream. People helping people.”

The Pachecos love the Canton area.

“It’s convenient, easy access to a lot of cool things, close proximity to work and has good diversity,” Kathy said. “My favorite restaurants here are Antonio’s Cucina Italiana and Mexican Fiesta.”

Having five children, the Pachecos are very family oriented.

“We do a lot of things together,” Wilfredo said. “Christmas, home improvement, traveling. I loved going to Rome, Italy and Zurich, Switzerland. There’s a place there called The Lookout Tower on Uetliberg Mountain. It’s cloud-level, like living in a dream.”

You can also see the Pachecos’ Christmas decorations featured in a recently aired Carhartt television commercial. Come check out the house for yourself. Address: 41430 Stafford Court, Canton. Buying/selling Christmas decorations, contact Kathy at KatPac09@comcast.net.