JENKS, Okla. — Move over, Clark Griswold; Jenks has its very own Mr. Christmas.
His name is Ben Sumner, and his home display is called Kringle's Christmas Land. Last year, Sumner won a National Christmas competition, and he tells 2 News Oklahoma, he has even bigger plans for the future.
Sumner's love for Christmas has been passed down through the generations.
"It's been a big tradition in our family to spread Christmas cheer. My great grandfather won first place in Sapulpa for having the largest display back in the 1950s, so that shows how far back it goes," he says.
Sumner is the 4th generation in his family to do Christmas big. Really big.
"Last year, we won the great Christmas Light Fight. We were the third family from Oklahoma on the show and the first from Tulsa to be on the show."
Ben's collection of vintage animated characters is what makes his display so unique. He has 500 in total, stored off-site. You'll find 50 of them on display at his Jenks home for all to see for free. The figures are hand-painted originals. Many were featured in New York City department store windows in the 1950s and 60s.
"It's cool that we have these in Jenks where we can experience Christmas history right here," he says.
Sumner has been working on this year's display since November 1st. Each window here tells a story. There's Mrs. Claus, Santa in his workshop, and the Reindeer Barn, a crowd favorite.
"We have every reindeer, including Rudolph!" says Sumner.
In addition to the characters, there are lots of lights. In fact, so many that Sumner has lost count. There's also a 17 foot Christmas tree with a topper that Sumner handmade.
"If you remember Children's Medical Center back in the day, they had a tree topper that kind of looks like this," he said.
Right next to it, we find a reminder of the reason for the season, the nativity scene.
"It's the first thing you see when you pull up, and that's very important to me because we wouldn't have Christmas without Christ," says Sumner.
Expansion is next up on Sumner's list.
"My goal is to someday, hopefully soon, get a lot with maybe an acre or more and expand. I'd like to be able to grow and make this a tradition for Tulsa to come back every year," he says.
And if Santa has anything to do with it, we have a hunch "Mr. Christmas" will get his wish.
Kringle's Christmas Land is located at 12520 South Date Place in Jenks. The lights will be on from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly through December 31st. To find out more, head to Kringle's Christmas Land's Facebook page.
Tune in to 2 News Oklahoma at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday to see the home and hear more from Sumner.
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