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12/05/2023 12:52 PMFor many years, Branford resident Tom Brockett has dazzled community members with a show-stopping Christmas lights display at his Milo Drive home. This year, Tom’s display will shine even brighter with the addition of a collection box for donations of gift cards and non-perishable food items to benefit the Community Dining Room (CDR).
Just as Tom’s annual holiday display is a familiar sight to many, Tom is also a familiar face in Branford. A lifelong resident and now retired labor law attorney, Tom, a Vietnam veteran, is a member of the American Legion and VFW. With his wife Carolyn, he’s raised three children in Branford. Tom served for many years as Branford Little League president. Tom has also served Branford as an elected official, including a past post as Democratic Minority Leader of the Representative Town Meeting, for which he represented District 7.
“I’m always looking for good causes to help people. That’s really what it’s all about — whatever I can do to help people and make Branford a better place to live,” says Tom.
This year, Tom has turned his considerable experience and energy toward assisting CDR as a new board member. Among its many programs and services, Branford-based CDR provides free, hot, and nutritional meals and more to residents of Branford, North Branford, East Haven, and Guilford.
“At one of the board meetings, I suggested we put a donation box at the display since there’s so much traffic that comes by every year. Hopefully, it would bear some fruit for the Community Dining Room,” says Tom.
Tom says it’s a privilege to do what he can to assist the mission of non-profit CDR.
“I think it’s a great cause. They’re providing meals and other services that people really need,” Tom says. “There are just so many people who are living paycheck to paycheck, and it’s kind of a blessing that they can rely on the Community Dining Room.”
More information about the many different meal programs and support services, which are all provided free of cost, is available at communitydiningroom.org.
News of Christmas Lights for a Cause has already gone out on CDR’s Facebook page. Tom has also shared the news with friends and contacts on his social media. Christmas Lights for a Cause collection kicked off on Dec. 1. The display at 4 Milo Drive will be alight every night from 4:45 to 9 p.m. through the holiday season.
For those who have enjoyed Tom’s handiwork for many years, they’ve likely watched the display grow.
“I started about 30 years ago when my oldest son brought home a couple of outdoor Christmas ornaments from a friend. And then, it just started growing and growing and growing,” says Tom. “Now, it’s pretty much of a full display, where the front yard is loaded with lights and characters, and the roof and the house and the trees.”
Tom starts the process of testing and placing everything in early November, spending about 80 hours to set it all up. The lights go on right after Thanksgiving. Tom puts in about an hour a day maintaining the display, from straightening up to replacements and fixes.
Thousands of elements are incorporated into the lighted layout. Some of the items are handmade by Tom (he has a great trick for making small, lighted Christmas trees out of tomato cages), including the “Merry Christmas from the Brocketts” sign out front.
“I’m pretty much at the limit of what can be put out there,” says Tom.
Of course, this year, there is one very special addition: the Christmas Lights for a Cause collection cooler. Donors can place their contributions in the white cooler underneath the American flag in the yard. A sign about the CDR collection effort is also posted at the cooler.
The Brockett’s home is situated near the entrance of Milo Road off of Damascus Road in proximity to a very prominent neighbor, Walsh Intermediate School. While Tom doesn’t have an exact count of the number of vehicles and people who have come by the Brockett’s home each year to enjoy their lighted Christmas present to the community, he does have a feeling there may be a few more this year.
“The word is out now,” he says. “We’re just glad that people come out to enjoy it, especially the kids. They just love coming to see the lights.”