Lolita Harper Addy Fry clapped her hands...

Lolita Harper

Addy Fry clapped her hands excitedly Friday morning as the small

pack of kindergarteners made their way up her front lawn. Adorned in

a festive Christmas necklace and earrings, the 74-year-old

grandmother welcomed the horde of smiling children to her humble --

yet copiously decorated -- home.

Husband Bill Fry, whose costume included red velour Santa shorts

and a makeshift white beard, herded the pack of 28 to the middle of

the lawn for a picture in front of Frosty.

Six-year-old Anthony Vu was very impressed with the inflatable

snowmen that decorated the front lawn.

“These are beautiful,” he said with an exaggerated tone and a

smile that was missing one bottom front tooth.

His amazement intensified as he entered the front door and he was

greeted by a dancing, singing Santa and red and green as far as the

eye could see.

“Your house is even more beautiful,” Anthony exclaimed.

His words of praise prompted tears in Addy Fry’s eyes.

“Isn’t this something?” she said, dabbing her eyes. “Isn’t this

something to believe in?”

William and Adeline Fry -- known to their friends simply as Bill

and Addy -- spent the past month decorating their modest Costa Mesa

home with oodles of holiday decorations. For the first time in

decades, the Frys shared their masterpiece with small children, whose

eyes lighted up when greeted by a dancing Santa Claus on the

fireplace mantel.

Eight car loads of children from St. Barbara School in Santa Ana

descended upon the Rosemary Place home to take a tour of the

decorated house and sit down for a visit, lunch and cookies.

Addy Fry said she was unable to sleep the night before, with

visions of happy kids dancing in her head.

“I kept thinking to myself, ‘How am I going to get them all

through here? I have such a small house,’” Addy Fry said.

The decreased square footage of the house only enhances the

intimate ambience created by overflowing garlands, beautiful bows,

ornate, holiday-themed stemware, Christmas trees and angels. Every

nook and cranny has a decoration, including the bathroom, which has a

Santa that greets you with a hearty “ho, ho, ho” as soon as it

detects any motion in the room. Even the shower head has a Santa

Claus, with a small Christmas tree sitting in the corner of the tub

below.

Bill and Addy Fry speak in warm and humble tones, calling

strangers “honey” and “kid” as though they’ve known them for years.

Addy won’t let an adult through the door without offering them some

“cawfee,” and Bill makes the word “ain’t” sound like it has a

perfectly proper place in the English language. No guest escapes a

hug or a kiss from the lovable couple, and every visitor is asked to

return.

“You know, this couple is so special,” neighbor and friend Rachel

Hamilton said of the Frys. “They are incredible people who just do an

incredible job.”

The Frys began their decorating tradition 55 years ago when they

were first married in Philadelphia. Lured by family members and

Disneyland, the Frys decided in 1967 to make Southern California

their permanent home.

The Frys not only forfeited a white Christmas, but they were

forced to abandon their collection of holiday adornments.

“We’ve been here 35 years and we didn’t have a Christmas ball when

we moved in,” Bill Fry said, still holding on to his East Coast

accent.

Over the last three decades, the Frys have amassed 38 large boxes

of Christmas decorations, for which they built a special shed for.

They store the overflow decor in the garage. The Frys also deck their

halls for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Easter.

“It’s amazing how they do it,” said neighbor Fred Hamilton, who

was on hand to film the field trip.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.