By Camdyn Sawyer, Features Editor
Ah, the magical sights of Christmas. Who doesn’t love the glistening sparkles of a Christmas tree or the twinkling of icicle lights hanging from a roof. Or, maybe the sight of a Ford-F150 covered from bumper to bumper in Christmas lights.
Wait, what?
You read that correctly – a Ford pickup truck covered in Christmas lights.
John Garay Martinez is a senior at First Flight High School who has been spreading holiday cheer with his own version of Santa’s sleigh. This truck turns heads in the school parking lot, lights up the night on the highway, and is a hot conversation topic whenever he goes out.
The idea of covering his truck in Christmas lights came to him this time last year. He was scrolling through social media and stumbled upon some inspiration.
“I saw it on TikTok and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s dope’ and no one around here has done it,” Garay Martinez said.
Though this truck looks like the elves in the North Pole put it together, it was actually a very challenging task for Garay Martinez to complete. It took him and a friend about four hours to complete.
Every edge of the vehicle is outlined in strands of lights. They stretch across the bed and the sides and are secured with tape. LOTS of tape.
“It doesn’t scratch my paint, surprisingly,” Garay Martinez said.
Before this truck could shine brightly on the highway, Garay Martinez needed to purchase the lights.
“I just went to Walmart and got the plastic ones. I think it was like four rolls of 200-foot lights,” Garay Martinez said. “I probably spent like $350-plus.”
That includes the power inverter he also had to buy to plug in all those lights before he could illuminate the road and keep this Christmas magic alive. Just like Santa’s sleigh moves in a blink of an eye with no presents lost, the same goes with the truck.
It glows like the North Pole, sparkles brighter than a Christmas tree and hums with Christmas magic. Whether seeing it before or after school in the parking lot or cruising up and down the bypass, this truck shows that it’s always nice to spread Christmas cheer. Doing it in this creative way is a reminder that the holidays are meant to be loud, bright and joyful.
“It’s awesome because I love Christmas,” Garay Martinez said. “I’m just trying to have fun.”
Junior features editor Camdyn Sawyer can be reached at [email protected]g.
