Patrick Mach harbored a Texas-sized dream to compete on ABC’s The Nice Christmas Gentle Combat. When he lastly obtained the decision, he constructed Texas. The Mach Christmas Show — a large, walk-through attraction within the North Texas city of Ennis — will compete on the hit actuality competitors on Thursday, December 19.
They’ll battle in opposition to three different households across the nation for $50,000, a trophy, and severe bragging rights.
“It’s a bucket-list merchandise to be on the present,” Mach says. “I’ve all the time needed to be on since season one.” (The present is now in season 12.)
The Mach household — Patrick and spouse Natasha and their 4 youngsters, Natalie (17), Ethan (16), Noelle (12), and Brandon (11) — all pitched in to create the show and can seem on the present.
The household lives on a “mini-ranch” within the Ennis-Alma space, about 40 minutes south of Dallas. (Ennis is known for its Bluebonnet Trails within the spring.) Three-and-a-half acres of their 10-acre property are taken over by their Christmas lights extravaganza every vacation season. It even has its personal electrical meter.
“Texas” makes use of half-a-million lights, 200 inflatables, and custom-built items to depict 40 cities and cities throughout the Lone Star State (although not truly within the form of Texas). Every is marked with a inexperienced city-limits signal and has a vignette that represents the town.
San Antonio has an enormous, 8-foot-tall Alamo outlined in lights and a River Stroll bridge crossing a blue river. “Area Metropolis” Houston has rockets and Buzz Lightyear, and “Reside Music Capital” Austin has a guitar with strings that “play.” (A {custom} Texas Capitol constructing will likely be constructed for subsequent yr’s show.)
The Fort Price part nods to Texas Motor Speedway and the Fort Price Herd.Photograph courtesy of ABC
Fort Price will get longhorns and a Texas Motor Speedway-inspired racetrack, full with “Lightning McQueen” and “Tow Mater” Disney/Pixar characters. Dallas incorporates a {custom} wireframe define of the skyline, plus Dallas Cowboys inflatables and an entire part dedicated to the State Truthful.
The smaller Texas city shows are simply as artistic: Glen Rose has dinosaurs, School Station has Texas A&M-inspired navy drummers, New Braunfels has a polar bear floating the river, and Ennis, after all, has bluebonnets.
The Glen Rose part has dinosaurs.Photograph courtesy of ABC
In a nod toThe Nice Christmas Gentle Combat host Carter Oosterhouse, they added Carter, Texas — sure, an precise city in Parker County — only for the present. It included a mural of Oosterhouse using a bull. The host, Mach says, was impressed.
Love of ChristmasThe Machs’ drive to gentle up a Texas-sized spectacle comes from their deep love of Christmas. Patrick and Natasha met on a courting app when she “hearted” his Christmas-y photograph. On one in all their first dates, through the pandemic, they watched a Nice Christmas Gentle Combat marathon. He proposed to her on his Christmas lights show at dwelling. They married in a Christmas-themed marriage ceremony three years in the past, and Santa even confirmed up.
Patrick Mach had grown up loving Christmas and placing up shows along with his father, from whom he realized carpentry. His dad gifted him an old school blow-mold nativity scene in 2004; he then handed away on December 30, 2006.
“So since he handed so near Christmas, yearly I did just a little extra to maintain thoughts off what occurred … then it simply turned so large,” Mach says.
The truth is, Mach had been nominated for the Gentle Fightevery yr since 2019. He by no means thought he was prepared.
“It took just a few years to commit,” he says, “then 2023 got here round and we stated, ‘Let’s go.’”
The household discovered they’d made the present in September 2023. Filming would happen round Thanksgiving. Every member of the household, plus a military of associates, labored from a “battle plan” to design and construct the show, which might be significantly expanded for the present.
“From 2022 to 2023, we doubled the show,” he says. “It was all palms on deck. We have been nonetheless engaged on it the day they confirmed up (to movie).”
The shoot lasted just a few days and was an “superior expertise,” Mach says. The crew turned like household.
“Behind the scenes we have been all the time slicing up, laughing, the children made associates with the producers,” he says. “We nonetheless textual content message with the producers every now and then, and one digital camera man introduced us a Christmas show merchandise that he doesn’t use and needed to go to a superb household.”
Two issues that shocked him behind the scenes: how strict they have been about utilizing copyrighted characters and pictures (no Grinches allowed) and the way tiring the filming was.
“After we filmed, I slept the very best I might slept in months,” he jokes.
The Mach household with Nice Christmas Gentle Combat host Carter Oosterhouse.Photograph courtesy of Patrick Mach
He stays tight-lipped in regards to the consequence of the present. But when the household does win, he’d prefer to put the $50,000 towards a well-deserved trip. They’re the fourth Texas contenders on this season of Gentle Combat; to date, none has been victorious.
See it in personWin or lose, the Mach Christmas Show will stay on for the general public to stroll by means of and luxuriate in on choose nights by means of the vacations. (Watch their Fb web page for the schedule.) There’s no cost to see it, however they do accumulate donations for native charities similar to Toys for Tots, Serving to Arms of Ennis, and the SPCA.
It may be just a little tough to seek out, and GPS doesn’t all the time path to the correct place, so that they advise guests to make use of the pin they’ve dropped on Google Maps.
Though the Machs have attracted guests from a number of hours away, they continue to be centered on sharing their love of Christmas with their neighborhood.
“Ennis is a smaller city, and that is our means of giving again to the neighborhood,” Mach says, “of giving households one thing to do across the holidays as a result of there’s nothing round right here like this.”
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The Machs’ episode of The Nice Christmas Gentle Combat will air at 7 pm Thursday, December 19 on ABC and will likely be obtainable to stream on Hulu the following day. The Mach Christmas Show is open on choose nights by means of the vacation season; comply with their Fb web page for the schedule and extra data. The deal with is 171 FM1183, Ennis, 75119. Observe the instructions on the pin on Google Maps. For lists of Fort Price’s greatest Christmas lights, go right here and right here.
