Among those navigating the streets of Naperville this occasionally rainy but otherwise pleasant (weather-wise) season are special elves spreading their own unique holiday cheer through Christmas-adorned vehicles.
Naperville resident Sarah Goebel is one of them. She was spotted this week driving her embellished minivan down Ogden Avenue, a bright bulbous nose fastened to the front and two large brown antlers affixed to each side.
Goebel said she decorates the minivan for her 6-year-old son.
“At the drop-off and pick-up line at school, all the kids get a kick out of it,” she said.
Jen M., also a Naperville resident, said she adds the antlers and nose because they complement her beige-color SUV and make it look like a reindeer.
“I get thumbs up from people on the roads and people wave,” said Jen, who pulled into the Jewel-Osco parking lot on Route 59 just a few spaces away from another SUV boasting a large Christmas wreath on its front bumper. “It is fun and festive.”
Five years ago, when Naperville resident Christina Sussman began decorating her car for Christmas, she received some strange looks, she said. These days, it’s much more common, she said.
The antlers that adorn her car are actually the second set she’s purchased. The first were lost to the wind and crushed by car tires when her son rolled down the windows on a warm day.
Sussman considered buying a wreath as a replacement, but decided to stick with the reindeer motif for now, she said.
“If I lose another set of antlers, I’m switching to the wreath,” she said.
Sussman’s devotion to decorating her car isn’t limited to the Christmas season. When a Chicago team is in the playoffs, the flag of the winning team goes up, and on Halloween, she attaches a plastic foot to the hatch of her SUV, she said.
That “gets quite a reaction,” she said. “I even got pulled over once.”
If holiday-inspired motorists want to take things one step further and add Christmas lights to the decorations, Illinois State Police Sgt. Matt Boerwinkle said don’t do it. The Illinois Vehicle Code is very specific on what lights a motor vehicle can – and cannot – have.
“The law simply states that if the lighting or lighting combination isn’t included in the statute, then it’s illegal,” he said via email.
Headlights, for example, have to be a white, whereas tail lights must be red, according to the code.
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Since “Christmas lights” are not mentioned, they would be illegal, Boerwinkle said.
The law may seem a little Grinch-like, but the restriction is designed to eliminate any confusion between regular vehicles and those with lights that identify them as emergency vehicles.
In addition to reindeer antlers and wreaths, other legal but less-popular holiday car decor include elf and snowman costumes. Another possibility is a simple peace sign – something so needed it should remain on a vehicle all year long.
Cathy Janek is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun. Contact her at [email protected].