Chris Pelletier has a big idea for Christmas, something that he’s very excited about.

“I told my wife, Anita, what I wanted to do, and she said I’m crazy. And I am. I admit it. I go over the top,” he said.

Chris plans to raise 3 tons of food to be donated to area food banks. While that’s a lot of food to raise, he’s got a plan to make it happen, and he said if there was any place that it would work, it’s this community.

“The generosity here is second to none,” he said.

The idea began with a house on North Bernard Street he’s been renovating. He bought the house with the goal of flipping it. As the holidays were approaching, he thought about decorating it for the Tour of Homes event. As this plan was being formulated in his head, he was talking to a customer of his business, Heart Mountain Hearing Center. She mentioned that last year, the Lovell Food Bank ran out of food before Christmas.

“It’s terrible any time of year someone goes hungry. No one in this country should go hungry,” he said.

That’s when the idea came to him. Why not go all out with the decorating and turn the pretty little house on Bernard Street into a grand Christmas display? Then, he could ask those who come to enjoy it to donate money or a bag of food.

Chris said, while his wife knows he takes ideas pretty far, she’s always been supportive of him. So, when he pitched the idea of a Chistmas house food drive, she suggested they take the time and money they were going to spend on their own Christmas and put it into the food drive.

“We have so much for ourselves. We don’t need anything for Christmas. Instead, this will be our Christmas, and it will be something everyone can enjoy. And best of all, we can help make sure no one goes hungry this holiday season,” Chris said.

He has a lot to finish before the grand opening on the day after Thanksgiving. He said he has a few large rooms full of decorations to put up. He even took a trip to Billings this month to visit Goodwill and other discount stores to get as many decorations as he could.

He plans to get together some friends and have four or five days of doing nothing but decorating. This includes “Griswold-level” lighting, he said, referring to the National Lampoon’s classic movie.

Every room will have a different theme. He also has a lifesize Nativity scene to put up on the front lawn, complete with a stable he built himself. He got the pieces from the Vatican during a trip to Italy.

Chris said he talked to Santa, and he’ll drop by to see the house and visit with some kids. They’re going to have a station and a mailbox where kids can write a letter to Santa and stick it in the mail for delivery. Santa told Chris, he’d answer all the letters before Christmas.

Besides his own business, Chris has got a number of businesses sponsoring the house, including Aldrich Lumber, Rovenna Signs & Design, Print with Kelly, Ace Hardware, Cody Tree Surgery and the Powell Tribune.

Chris and Anita are asking a donation of $5 per person, $10 per family or a bag of food at the door, and if people can give more, they’d really appreciate the help. All the donations will go to area food pantries. In the spirit of the food drive, no one is going to be turned away if they don’t have anything to give.

The Pelletiers are also accepting more sponsorships from any businesses that would like to help with the food drive. The house will be lit up and open about 5 p.m. on Black Friday. For more information, call 307-754-3464. 

“Maybe I can’t change the world, Chris said, “but I think I can do a lot of good for a lot of people in this area. No one should have to go hungry.”