NORWICH – In the spirit of Christmas, two local houses have been decorated with elaborate light displays, hoping to attract visitors who’ll make goodwill donations.

As it has been for the last seven years, the Warner Road, Norwich, home of Richard Lindner and Dr. Karen Banks is surrounded by tens of thousands of Christmas lights.

The lights are programmed to music and drivers can tune their radios to 95.9 FM to hear a broadcast coming from the home’s basement that runs repeatedly from about 5 to 9:30 p.m. every night.

The lights draw spectators and traffic, but also support for a good cause. The Lindner family puts out a large basket at the end of their driveway and collects food for Catholic Charity’s Roots and Wings program.

Lindner says his two children, 8-year-old daughter Tyler and 5-year-old son William, are always excited to help their father.

Last year the family collected about 1,800 pounds of food. This year however has been a difficult one and the collection is about half its usually rate. Lindner said three years ago, before the recession, the family collected a record 4,800 pounds of food.