DOING THE BRIGHT THING; SIMI FAMILY GOES ALL OUT TO SHARE HOLIDAY SPIRIT.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

It all started with a few homemade candy canes to line their Parker Court driveway 15 years ago. Just simple ones that Rae Anne Michael convinced her husband, Russ, to carve out of wood and paint red and white.

But over time their holiday display - with wooden cutouts of Santa Claus in humorous and animated poses, and favorite Disney and Peanuts characters in holiday scenes - has grown into one that rivals some of the biggest and best.

And each year for the last six, the Michael family has opened up its home to friends, family and neighbors to celebrate the season. They collect non-perishable food and invite Santa Claus over to gather, instead of give, toys.

``We wanted to teach our children to give back to the community,'' says Rae Anne. ``We thought this decorating was really nice, but not reflective of the spirit of Christmas. This was giving them the real, true meaning of Christmas.''

Their annual food and toy drive was held last Friday, with hundreds of people lining up to be a part of the festivities.

The food they collect is donated to Redeemer Lutheran Church, which provides meals for the homeless during the winter.

And the toys are given to the toy drive at the Ventura County Fire Station on Fourth Street, where Rae Anne's father, Ray Giles, was a firefighter and where she spent many Christmas Eves.

Neither of the Michaels grew up in homes where decorating was a big deal, though Russ remembers the thrill he felt as a young boy helping his father make a sleigh and reindeer to put on the roof one year.

For their four daughters, this kind of Christmas is all they know.

The eldest girls, Jennifer, 22, and Stephanie, 19, are away at college in Oregon. But the two younger daughters are still at home, and even enlisted their friends and boyfriends to help.

``It's part of everything we do at Christmas. As far back as I remember, we've done it,'' says Dianna, 18.

Michelle, 12, says she will come back for the rest of her life to help out with displays.

But Dad says he would like to see the tradition passed down to his girls when they have their own families.

``I want to be the grandpa who comes by for Christmas to all this,'' Russ says.

Rae Anne says she would love to have projects like this year-round.

``It's spending time together with our daughters,'' she says. ``We're not in front of the TV, we're helping each other. It really is what the season should be all about.

Over the years, the family has fallen into a pattern, and they all have their own tasks.

Michelle decides which new characters to add - this year it's Pokemon and Toy Story. Rae Anne chooses the more traditional Christmas scene to add to the bunch and draws the patterns on wood.

Russ cuts out the displays and creates the animation mechanisms - usually a system of pulleys - when necessary. And the entire family helps paint them.

Dianna is in charge of the lights. She can unravel even the gnarliest string and find the one bad bulb in the bunch. Her secret?

``Everyone is always throwing stuff around but you have to be patient,'' she says. ``It takes a little work, but you find it eventually.''

The elaborate setup takes about two weeks to put together. As they work on it, beginning after Thanksgiving, the family has its share of laughs and near catastrophes.

More than once the entire display has gone out when Russ adds just one too many strands of lights. And there was the time when Russ parasailed off the roof when the wind caught the Santa's toy shop display he was holding, bringing him down with it. He came out of it without a scratch.

The high wind that rushes through Simi Valley, they say, is their greatest enemy.

The Michaels won't talk about how much they spend each year to put up their display. But a peek at what it might cost comes when they reveal that they had to put in a second electrical fusebox about five years ago because they would blow out all the lights each time anything was turned on in the house.

The decorations usually stay up until around New Year's.

Afterward, the family admits to having the same feeling most children have when their new toys lose their luster and there's nothing more to do than go back to normal life.

``It's a little bit of a letdown because our house is a little bit dark and drab,'' Russ says.

``We start looking at the landscaping because it looks so bare.''

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PHOTO (color) The Michaels deck the halls, clockwise from lower left: grandmother Bonnie; Dianna; Michael Keller, Dianna's boyfriend; Russ; Rae Anne; and Michelle.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer