Thiele Farm decorates hay bales for a dazzling Christmas Display
After Santa Claus’s long trek from the North Pole, the jolly old man needs a break from a long night of delivering presents.
Following the tiring night of eating cookies and hopping from chimney to chimney, Old Saint Nick comes across a patch of green grass lightly covered by glistening snow. As he turns the corner, a hay-bale portrait of himself awaits, right next to a red chair marked “Santa’s chair” and a small red house adorned with a green wreath.
At Thiele Farm, the family makes sure to have a dazzling hay bale display to light Santa’s path while in the night sky, as well as to bring happiness to those passing by.
William Thiele, director of PA Farm Bureau district 15, started the tradition of making hay bale displays around the holidays with his family, primarily inspired by the creativity of his mother.
“My mom always tries to do a new display and loves getting new ideas,” Thiele said. “She really enjoys putting the display together and being able to put a smile on people’s faces.”
The Thiele family made their first display for Thanksgiving around five years ago. On the same patch of ground, the family started rolling hay-bales together to make a turkey’s body, and added a head, as well as feathers to the back.
The Thiele Family has continued this tradition for different holidays, such as a 4th of July display and one for 9/11.
“To put together the displays, my mom first does a rough draft outline of what she would like to paint whenever it is a nice day,” Thiele said. “Once she finalizes it, we’ll stack and paint the hay-bales the way she likes it. It doesn’t take long to stack, but the painting can take hours and we’ll do it until she gets tired of it.”
The current display took around an hour to put together once the design was finalized, he said. In addition to the paintings, the family included extension cords and light for the display to light up at night.
“We always have cars that will stop and take pictures of the display and sometimes ask us about it. We have even gotten a few Christmas cards from people of them sitting in Santa’s chair,” said Thiele.
