They ‘brought the holiday season back’ to Baldwin

This is the first year that we’ve decorated the home since 2014, and a lot of people were so excited.”

Kathleen Caputo Baldwin resident

Siblings Kathleen and Ricky Caputo restored a Baldwin tradition by once again decorating their Eastern Boulevard home with a dazzling display of holiday lights, in loving memory of their mom.

From 1998 to 2014, the community had become accustomed to the Caputos’ breath-taking decorations, which lit up the neighborhood during Christmastime. According to Kathleen, the putting up the decorations and creating them each year became too difficult, which is why the Caputos stopped decorating their home in 2014. However, in honor of their mom, Anne, who died in November of 2021 after suffering cardiac arrest, they brought back the popular decorations this holiday season.

“This is the first year that we’ve decorated the home since 2014, and a lot of people were so excited,” Kathleen Caputo, 34, said. “People were like, ‘I used to come here when I was younger, and I came here as a kid, and now I am bringing my own kids.’”

She, her brother Ricky, 38, and sister Elizabeth, 37, donate money every month to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. A collection box was placed in front of the garage of their home this year for neighbors to also donate, and about $1,600 was raised from the community.

“We put up all the lights this year for our mom,” Ricky Caputo said. “She always used to donate money to St. Jude, and we continued that for this year.”

Putting up the decorations, including the lights, a Santa and nutcracker displays, snowmen and more, was a huge undertaking for the Caputos. Kathleen said that a total of 10 people worked throughout the day to help get these decorations up in October.

“People were very thankful that we put all this work into it,” Kathleen said. “And they were so appreciative that we put the time into this, and we brought the holiday season back and happiness back into the world.”

Some expressed their appreciation via Facebook of the Caputos’ hard work.

“Thank you for the joy that you have given to our community,” Jaime Carter-Jorif wrote on Facebook. “My daughter just told me a few days ago how much she will miss seeing your beautiful home when we are driving on Atlantic Avenue.”

Another Facebook user, Vincent Barnwell, wrote, “I was raised on Fox Road and remember when you moved in and first started this tradition. Although it has been decades since I have lived on Long Island, thank you for all the wonderful memories.”

The holiday tradition started 25 years ago when Ricky was inspired by his friend’s dad, Bill McGrath, who went the extra mile to decorate his home. Ricky would spend time with the McGrath family and eventually helped light up their home.

“He would show me what to do with the tools when I was like 14 and 15,” Ricky said. “And then he kept teaching me more things, which made my passion for decorating even bigger.”

Since Ricky started decorating more than two decades ago, the tradition has continued to grow. Kathleen said this year, in particular, was emotional, because it was in memory of her mother. She said there was also an outpouring of “joy” that reminded her about the importance of illuminating her home for the holidays.

“I have a two-year-old, and he loves it,” Kathleen said. “He always wants to look out the window, and he’s always asking if there are people outside, and we hand out lollipops.”

Kathleen said that her home attracts a community gathering of people from all age groups, and she made it clear that enjoying the holiday spirit knows no age limit.

The siblings are already brainstorming ideas for next year, and Kathleen said that she would probably be building the displays a bit earlier in the year.