The Whiddon family doesn't know who it was, the grinch (or grinches) who damaged their Christmas decorations. They just knows that the damage was done — to the inflatable lawn ornaments, now with holes in them, and also to their younger children, who were left upset.
"They were crying, and that's what was worse for me," said Steve Whiddon, who lives on Wild Ginger Court in Hickory Ridge with his wife, Jennifer, and their two sons, ages 6 and 8. "The lawn ornaments, whatever, I can always get more. But seeing my kids this upset …"
The Whiddons came home in the afternoon of Dec. 29 after a couple days away to see two of their three inflatable decorations — Santa Claus and a snowman — leaning over. They soon saw a large hole in Santa's belly and another one in the lower section of the snowman. With the fans still running, each was only about half-inflated. A broken-off shovel handle, one that wasn't theirs, was laying in their yard.
Snoopy was left unharmed.
"The kids look forward to when we put the decorations up, and we put them up together. It's something special for them," said Whiddon. "Now they're thinking we're not going to have the decorations anymore because they're ruined."
It wasn't the only case of vandalism on Wild Ginger Court in the days after Christmas. On Dec. 28, another resident found two stop signs and someone else's reindeer holiday decoration in her yard, as well as damaged solar landscaping lights, according to Howard County Police Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Schroen.
The reindeer was not damaged and was brought back to its owner on nearby Flywheel Court. The stop signs were reinstalled at the intersections of Wild Ginger Court with Watch Chain Way and Flywheel Court and Watch Chain Way.
The cases are under investigation, Schroen said.
Even with the damaged decorations, Christmas wasn't ruined for the Whiddon family, and the decorations, which cost between $50 and $60 each, will return next year, as they have for six straight years, Whiddon said, either replaced or with the holes mended.
"It's not going to change our Christmas plans at all," he said.