It’s perhaps one of the most iconic moments of any Christmas movie. Clark Griswold, driven once again to the end of his rope by a hilarious string of calamities, desperately plugs together two extension cords in a last-ditch effort to salvage Christmas.
And then, a miracle. All 25,000 twinkling incandescent lights snap on at once, blinding the neighbors and causing a temporary blackout.
It’s a great moment, albeit one that makes you forget why Clark was so frustrated in the first place. Over the course of stringing his lights, he falls off the roof, staples his arm to a cord, rips a gutter off his eaves (sending a block of ice into his neighbors’ pricy stereo), gets trapped in his own attic and ultimately gets so frustrated by the whole ordeal he kicks apart a decorative Santa Claus.
For anyone who has ever struggled to put up lights, it’s all too relatable. That’s why, if you don’t mind, we’re going to skip it this year and let the Mosquito Nix Elves handle it.
“I love what I do,” said Ray Gillespie, head elf at Mosquito Nix. “Bringing smiles to my clients’ faces is the fruit of our labors.”
For the past three years, Mosquito Nix has used the downtime of the relatively mosquito-free holiday season to create beautiful Christmas lightscapes across the Lowcountry. And what they do is far more elegant than the Griswold family eyesore. Working with your home’s landscaping and architecture, these elves string up a glittering winter wonderland of lights, wreaths, garlands and swag that is as awe-inspiring as it is tasteful.
“I mean, we’ll Griswold up a home if you so choose,” Gillespie said. “But I haven’t had anyone ask for that. Most of our clients want something traditional, warm, and elegant.”
If you want to see the results of these elves’ industrious inspiration, you can see the yuletide miracles they’ve worked at the front entrances at Wexford Plantation and Eagle’s Pointe, or at Nunzio’s, Burnt Church Distillery or Chick-fil-A. It’s a beautiful display that would look equally gorgeous on your home.
As we head into the holiday rush, it might not be a bad idea to put the Mosquito Nix elves to work sooner rather than later. Right now, they’re operating on a two-week lead time, and an army of satisfied repeat customers have already given them plenty to do. That’s just fine with Gillespie.
“I want to be the overachiever,” he said. “We really love what we do.”
That goes beyond the initial install, as well. Once the elves have decked your halls (or at least your walls and roof) with glittering lights and specialty decorations, they will happily replace any burnt-out bulbs within a day. “My fellow elves and I live locally, so we can jump on that really quickly,” he said.
So, if you’re ready to skip the usual wrestling match with that tangled mass of broken lights in your attic, make this the Christmas you call or text the Mosquito Nix Elves. Call (843) 352-8873 or text ELVES.
