Patrick Mach had a Texas dream to compete at ABC The big Christmas light fight. When he finally got the call, he set up Texas. The Make a Christmas display – a massive, walk-through attraction in the North Texas town of Ennis – will join the hit reality competition on Thursday, December 19th.

They’ll compete against three other families across the country for $50,000, a trophy and some serious bragging rights.

“It’s a bucket list item to be on the show,” says Mach. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of it since the first season.” (The show is now in season 12.)

The Mach family — Patrick and his wife, Natasha, and their four children, Natalie, 17, Ethan, 16, Noelle, 12, and Brandon, 11 — all helped create the exhibit and will appear in the show.

The family lives on a “mini-ranch” in the Ennis-Alma area, about 40 minutes south of Dallas. (Ennis is famous for its Bluebonnet Trails in the spring.) Three and a half acres of their 10-acre property are taken up by their Christmas lights display each holiday season. It even has its own electricity meter.

“Texas” uses half a million lights, 200 inflatables and custom-built pieces to represent 40 cities and towns in the Lone Star State (though not actually in the shape of Texas). Each is marked with a green town sign and a vignette representing the town.

San Antonio has a giant 8-foot-tall Alamo outlined with lights and a River Walk bridge that crosses a blue river. “Space City” Houston has rockets and Buzz Lightyear and “Live Music Capital” Austin has a guitar with strings that “play.” (A custom Texas Capitol building will be constructed for next year’s exhibit.)

The Fort Worth section is a nod to the Texas Motor Speedway and the Fort Worth Herd.Photo courtesy of ABC

Fort Worth is getting Longhorns and a Texas Motor Speedway-inspired race track, complete with Disney/Pixar characters Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. Dallas features a custom wireframe outline of the skyline, as well as Dallas Cowboys inflatables and an entire area dedicated to the State Fair.

The exhibits in smaller Texas towns are equally creative: Glen Rose has dinosaurs, College Station has Texas A&M-inspired military drummers, New Braunfels has a polar bear floating on the river, and of course Ennis has bluebonnets.

There are dinosaurs in the Glen Rose section.Photo courtesy of ABC

In an allusion toThe big Christmas light fight Host Carter Oosterhouse added Carter, Texas — yes, a real town in Parker County — just for the show. It contained a mural of Oosterhouse riding a bull. The host, says Mach, was impressed.

Love for Christmas
The Machs’ drive to create a Texas spectacle comes from their deep love for Christmas. Patrick and Natasha met on a dating app when she “loved” his Christmas photo. On one of their first dates, during the pandemic, they saw a Great Christmas lights fight Marathon. He proposed to her by his Christmas lights at home. They got married three years ago in a Christmas wedding and even Santa Claus was there.

Patrick Mach grew up loving Christmas and setting up exhibitions with his father, from whom he learned carpentry. His father gave him an old-fashioned blow mold nativity scene in 2004; he then died on December 30, 2006.

“So since he died so close to Christmas, every year I did a little bit more to remember what happened…then it just became so big,” says Mach.

In fact, Mach was nominated for it Easy fightevery year since 2019. He never thought he would be ready.

“It took us a few years to commit,” he says, “then 2023 came and we said, ‘Let’s go’.”

The family learned they filmed the show in September 2023. Filming would take place around Thanksgiving. Each family member and an army of friends worked according to a “battle plan” to design and build the exhibit, which would be significantly expanded for the show.

“From 2022 to 2023 we doubled the ad,” he says. “It was all hands on deck. We were still working on it when they showed up (to film).”

The shoot lasted a few days and was a “great experience,” says Mach. The crew became like a family.

“Behind the scenes we were always talking, laughing, the children became friends with the producers,” he says. “We still text with the producers every now and then, and a cameraman brought us a Christmas item that he doesn’t use and wanted to get it to a good family.”

Two things surprised him behind the scenes: how strict they were about using copyrighted characters and images (Grinches weren’t allowed) and how tedious filming was.

“After filming, I slept better than I had in months,” he jokes.

The Mach Family with Great Christmas Light Fight host Carter Oosterhouse.Photo courtesy of Patrick Mach

He remains tight-lipped about the outcome of the show. But if the family wins, he would like to use the $50,000 for a well-deserved vacation. They are the fourth Texas contender this season Easy fight; So far no one has been victorious.

See it in person
Whether you win or lose, the Mach Christmas display remains available for the public to view and enjoy on select evenings throughout the holidays. (Check out the schedule on their Facebook page.) Admission is free, but they raise funds for local charities like Toys for Tots, Helping Hands of Ennis and the SPCA.

It can be a bit difficult to find and GPS doesn’t always lead to the right location. Therefore, visitors are advised to use the marker entered on Google Maps.

Although the Machs have attracted visitors from hours away, they remain focused on sharing their love of Christmas with their community.

“Ennis is a smaller town and this is our way of giving back to the community,” says Mach, “giving families something to do around the holidays because there’s nothing like that around here.”

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The Machs episode of “The Great Christmas Light Fight” airs Thursday, December 19 at 7 p.m. on ABC and is available to stream the next day on Hulu. The Mach Christmas Display is open on select evenings throughout the holidays. Follow their Facebook page for the schedule and more information. The address is 171 FM1183, Ennis, 75119. Follow the directions under the marker on Google Maps. For lists of Find Fort Worth’s best Christmas lights here and here.