Naperville family says ‘Merry Swiftmas’ with Taylor Swift decorations

One house in Naperville is saying "Merry Swiftmas" this year, with holiday decorations that pay homage to singer Taylor Swift. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)

One lawn. 10 eras.

Maybe not your usual pick for holiday decorations but seeing the world’s biggest pop star light up a house in Naperville of all places is like snow at the beach, as Taylor Swift would say.

Weird but it was beautiful.

Roof to sidewalk, Amy and Brian Scott’s house display near Atlas Lane and Tupelo Avenue is decked out in LED lights, the usual lineup of candy canes, snowflakes and trees adorning the facade and landscaping. But almost everything is done with a Swiftie flair.

Album covers line the home’s overhang. Song lyrics sprinkle the lawn. Even Swift herself makes a cameo, albeit in wooden form — after all, slipping away from her worldwide Eras Tour isn’t easy — as does her boyfriend Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.

A cutout of Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, makes a cameo in the Scott family’s Taylor Swift display at their house near Atlas Lane and Tupelo Avenue in Naperville, pictured here on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)

Over the excited whispers of onlookers and the regular motorcade of cars passing by, a mix of Swift’s music plays.

It’s enchanting, really.

“A whole house of Taylor Swift?” one spectator wondered out loud as she approached the display Monday night for a closer look. “Whoa.”

Naperville’s own pseudo-Swift show is all due to the Scott family, longtime locals who are well-known in their neighborhood for going all out around the holidays.

“We’re big Christmas people,” Amy Scott said. “We always go big.”

A print out of Taylor Swift’s album, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” sits in the front yard of the Swiftie-themed light display that has taken over Amy and Brian Scott's Naperville home for the holidays. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)

Even back when she and her husband were newlyweds, they “really did up the balcony” of their small Naperville condo, she said. Over the years, the festive projects have only grown and naturally the couple’s daughters have embraced their parents’ passion.

The family started doing themes a few years ago. When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, they placed a big “W” on top of their house, Scott said. During COVID, they found a twist for their more traditional lineup of gingerbread men by fitting them all with masks. Last year, the family embraced “Toy Story.”

“That was probably one of my favorites,” she said.

Nothing tops Taylor, though.

Avid decorators and longtime Naperville residents, the Scott family goes all out for the holidays year after year. For 2023, the family decided to pay homage to none other than singer Taylor Swift. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)

Scott said the idea came to her about a month ago, after seeing Swift’s “Eras Tour” concert movie.

“I went to the movies with my girlfriends and when I walked out, I was like, we could definitely pull this off,” Scott said. “(Taylor Swift) puts so much material out there with symbolism that I knew, if we just thought it through, we could create something really cool.”

To solidify the 2023 theme, she went to see the movie again and brought her husband with her. Through the nearly-three hour flick, the pair brainstormed, she said.

“We were talking and taking notes about everything,” she said. Together, they decided Swiftmas was the way to go. They started designing right away but it wasn’t until last week that the display, mostly handmade, really started coming together.

“As soon as my daughters came home from college for Thanksgiving break, we were out there on ladders,” Scott said.

A cutout of Taylor Swift is featured in the front yard of Amy and Brian Scott's Naperville house near Atlas Lane and Tupelo Avenue as part of their "Merry Swiftmas" holiday display this year. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)

“(The response has) been really overwhelming,” since, she said. “Like, really overwhelming.”

Still, amid the buzz, the family is glad to bring a piece of Swiftie fever to Naperville.

“The whole reason we do this is just to spread happiness and joy and just good energy to the neighborhood,” Scott said. “That’s why we’ve always done it.

“It’s been cool because I’ve been outside the last two nights and everybody that gets out of their car is just smiling and laughing. It’s kind of like one big party in our front yard. It’s been nothing but positivity.”

A sign wishing onlookers a “Merry Swiftmas!” sits on top of the Scott family’s holiday display at their house near Atlas Lane and Tupelo Avenue in Naperville on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)