Long island teen gives new life to broken decorations for blockbuster ‘misfit’ light show

One man’s trash is another man’s light show. A teenager is lighting up his Long Island neighborhood with a blockbuster holiday extravaganza that repurposes thousands of discarded and broken

decorations. Andrew Reid’s “Misfit Island Christmas Spectacular” on Oxbow Court in East Northport features nearly 100,000 lights and more than 500 decorations — roughly 85% of which was

saved from the trash. “Of course, everyone’s watched the Rudolph movie and they have the misfit toys, so why not have the display be called something ‘misfit,'” Reid, 19, told The Post.

Reid, a paramedic student at Nassau Community College, has been slowly building this year’s bright behemoth since August — but has been accumulating his trove of Santas, reindeer and

snowmen for four years. EXPLORE MORE The project, originally reported by News 12, started as a family competition during the pandemic. After noticing the large amount of broken lights and

smashed decorations that were tossed to the curb each year, Reid and his siblings set off on a mission to bring them back to life. “Everyone sees them as garbage, and so did I,” Reid said.

“But after seeing so many of these things — and passing up on them, because they’re garbage to me at this point — I saw this polar bear. “I couldn’t pass up on it,” he went on. “I took it

home, tinkered around with it, was able to fix it up and it became easy after that.” At first, the four siblings competed to see who could mend the most decorations each year — until Reid

launched into a fully fledged, self-taught rehabilitation effort. “I was able to figure out how electricity works, how positive and negative works, how the neutral works on all these

things,” Reid said. “Now, just seeing it, I know the problem with these wires: what not to touch, what I can touch safely,” he continued. “It just comes easy to me. My room is filled with

wires, blowers and lights. It’s always a mess.” The “Misfit Island Christmas Spectacular” — the first annual show to earn its own title — is the biggest and best Reid has ever put on, he

declared. Visitors would be pressed to find any space in the family home free of bright decorations — even the car is wrapped in multicolored lights. Reid’s favorite pieces are two matching

16-foot-tall snowflakes that he made out of old pallet wood. “At night they look like they’re floating. I had to cut the wood, drill the holes, insert the lights, hook it all up … we needed

three people to stand it up,” Reid said. “People don’t even realize. They ask where I bought it — you think I bought that?” This year’s show is also interactive. Visitors are encouraged to

leave their mark on the brand new “Misfit Tree” — which, like the others, was left on the side of the road — by leaving their own handmade and repurposed ornaments on its branches. A

costumed Minnie Mouse also makes daily visits to the light show, which is put on every night from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Reid expects gawkers to flock to the impressive light show in larger

numbers than in years past, prompting the teenager to use his powers for good. This year, the holiday light show is collecting donations for the Ronald McDonald House at Stony Brook

University. “It’s a charity that’s local and is partnered with Stony Brook Hospital and they’re good people. I said I’m going to raise money for their foundation because I know it’s going to

go to good use — for the right reasons,” Reid said. So far, Reid has raised “thousands” — but is keeping the total a secret until the holiday season is over. But money isn’t the only type

of donation Reid is accepting this year. Visitors can also drop off old and otherwise broken holiday decorations on his doorstep — which may then re-emerge in the coming days as part of the

magnificent display. “I’m never really done! The more I get, the more I put out,” he said. Possibly even more impressive, the teenager is covering the cost of his mother’s electricity bill

during the holiday season. “It shouldn’t be her responsibility if it’s for me. She has enough to pay for,” Reid said.