---
title: "Daily Hampshire Gazette: Lifting Spirits: Holyoke Veteran Surprised with Free Holiday Lights Display at His Home"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/2bb903b5-e256-4547-bdb9-c269404f05f2
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/daily-hampshire-gazette-lifting-spirits-holyoke-veteran-surprised-with-free-holiday-lights-display-at-his-home-2724700
category: "Franchise Industry"
industry: "Franchise Industry"
published: 2024-01-09T20:15:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T01:10:08.138Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/b0de3d6d9523d525c4e9959ec3763dd4592.jpg
---

# Daily Hampshire Gazette: Lifting Spirits: Holyoke Veteran Surprised with Free Holiday Lights Display at His Home

**TL;DR:** A local Christmas decorating franchise, Christmas Decor, surprised Holyoke veteran Kurt Bluemer with a free holiday lights display at his home. The team designed and executed the outdoor Christmas decorations to help bring back holiday cheer to Bluemer and his family after his mother's passing.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2024-01-09. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/daily-hampshire-gazette-lifting-spirits-holyoke-veteran-surprised-with-free-holiday-lights-display-at-his-home-2724700).*

## Story

Following 13 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, Kurt Bluemer of Holyoke, Massachusetts returned home to care for his mother who had been diagnosed with cancer. After she passed last Christmas Eve, Bluemer was preparing for his first Christmas without his mom, and the team at the local Christmas Decor, the Christmas decorating franchise, chose to step in.

“This is the first year that Kurt and his family are going to be experiencing the holidays without his mother… so we decided that we were going to go forward and pursue this opportunity to help bring back the holiday cheer to Kurt and his family this year,” Alex Arsenault, Springfield divisional manager, told the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

So, in December, Arsenault and the team designed, planned and executed outdoor Christmas decorations for Bluemer, surprising him one evening as he returned from work.

“It’s awesome,” Bluemer said, thinking of how much his mom would appreciate the gesture. “She would be very happy and impressed by this.”

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Franchise Industry (sector)
- veteran support (topic)
- Christmas Decor (company)
- Holyoke, Massachusetts (location)
- holiday lights display (topic)
- christmas decorating franchise (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/daily-hampshire-gazette-lifting-spirits-holyoke-veteran-surprised-with-free-holiday-lights-display-at-his-home-2724700). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/2bb903b5-e256-4547-bdb9-c269404f05f2).