With the fully lit Christmas tree outside their home off Sandy Lane, the Sobrals have captivated Warwick residents.

The family has lived in the house on Trent Avenue since 2000 and has always wanted to decorate the 40-foot tree in their yard, but this is the first year they have really had the opportunity.

Gloria Sobral, a self-declared “decorating freak,” decorates all year long and considers it a hobby. For the Christmas season she “started small,” but each year it kept getting more elaborate. This year she and her husband, Seth Sobral, decided lighting the tree was the natural next step.

The two reached out to family and friends looking for help – or ladders – but ended up contracting Seascape to not only decorate the tree but do various work around the house and yard.

Their son, also Seth Sobral, said even if Gloria can go “overboard” sometimes, he is “all for sharing the holiday spirit.”

“She couldn’t wait to put everything up,” he said. “She was so excited and started right after Thanksgiving.”

The eldest Seth said he doesn’t mind as long as Gloria is happy but thinks the tree may mean more to the community than the family themselves.

“It’s like Warwick’s very own Christmas tree,” he said.

When Seascape first put up the lights and decorations, Gloria was actually in Florida. She began to get text messages, emails and Facebook messages from friends, family and even strangers about how amazing the tree was, but Gloria hadn’t seen it herself. She didn’t truly understand just how much attention the tree had garnered and thought it was a little odd so many people had tried reaching out to her. Upon her return from Florida, she was “overwhelmed” with how beautiful the tree is.

“With all the bad things happening around the world lately, I think it was good we decorated the tree,” Gloria said. “It touches people’s hearts and lights up the world just a little bit.”

Gloria said that it “warms her heart” how the lighted tree draws people in. She believes it’s a perfect way to recognize the work of Jesus because he also attracted followers through “his light.”

Since the tree has been lit, people often stop to look or take pictures, and the Sobral family has enjoyed the new connections made with everyone they meet. On Monday the family actually invited some of those onlookers into their home for hot chocolate and snacks. Children are the most fascinated by the bright lights and often ask how anyone could get so high to get the top lights on. The family likes to joke that they used pogo sticks to get the lights on.

Both Gloria and Seth Sr. are deaf, and Seth Jr. was kind enough to act as interpreter for an interview. Although there have been occasions in which they felt unwelcome as such, the couple has never felt that way in Warwick.

Seth Sr. said, “We wanted to do this because the community has always been so good to us. We aren’t treated any differently, we have great neighbors and we feel right at home here.”

They believe decorating the tree is just a small way to give back.

The holiday season has really only begun, but the Sobral family already has big plans for next year. They intend on decorating the tree again, but to encourage more community involvement they would like to host a decorating ceremony where the local community can gather and hang up their own ornaments and any special sentiments and “make a night of it.”

Gloria said, “This is only the beginning. Every year we want to see it get bigger and brighter.”