PORTLAND (AP) – Holiday lights adorning trees at Charles and Theresa Gendron’s home have become a Christmas landmark in their Yarmouth neighborhood, a display the couple now puts together without breaking a sweat.

It used to take two days for Theresa Gendron to put up outside decorations, run extension cords and string Christmas lights on trees in her yard. It was hard work, and she couldn’t quite achieve the effect she wanted.

For the past two years, however, the Gendrons have turned to professionals to handle the work, and they couldn’t be happier with the results.

The family spent roughly $4,000 to have Lucas Tree Experts of Portland come to their house to design and install a holiday display with more than 6,000 lights.

Now, the Gendron home has 16 trees covered with lights. Seven pear trees, alternately lit red and green, line the field. A large pine is dappled in glittering white. The roof and window trim of her 3,300-square-foot colonial-style home is outlined in white.

“We love the magic of Christmas,” Theresa Gendron said. “We love the spiritualness you feel at this time of year. And when I come home and see all my lights, it reminds me of what the season is all about.”

The idea that homeowners will hire a business to create a Christmas wonderland represents a new trend in Maine, where self-reliance is gradually giving way to the shortcuts of suburban living.

Just as a growing number of homeowners contract with outside businesses to mow lawns and plow driveways, some are looking to experts to adorn their home for Christmas.

The Gendrons bought the lights, paying by the bulb for wrapped trees and shrubs, and by the linear foot for house coverage. Workers from Lucas Tree will take down the decorations in January and store them until next season.

Lucas Tree is the only Maine dealer so far for Christmas Decor Inc., a holiday lighting franchisor based in Lubbock, Texas. The company began offering franchises in 1996, with a program for seasonal landscapers and contractors.

The average customer pays between $900 and $1,300 for the first-year cost of an installation. That price includes buying the lights. The price to reinstall the display in each subsequent year is roughly half of the first-year cost.

For Lucas Tree, it’s a perfect add-on business for a company that owns bucket trucks and has crews that are comfortable working in high places.

The company installed displays at 15 homes last year and more than 25 this year. Arborist Joe Dumais of Auburn said that as word gets out, he expects revenue to grow at a double-digit rate.

Hiring holiday decorators is being fueled by an aging population that can no longer climb ladders, but wants the house to shine when guests arrive for holiday parties and children visit for Christmas.

For Theresa Gendron, time was a major factor in the decision to hire out. The mother of two children who are busy with sports and other activities, Gendron said she’s always on the move.

AP-ES-12-15-03 1037EST