Family booby traps Christmas display to stop vandals

LAVEEN, Ariz. - Someone in a west valley neighborhood is not feeling the Christmas spirit!

A family is being targeted by vandals again this year. On Saturday morning, they found their elaborate Christmas display had been trashed and now they say they're fighting back.

It happened nearly half a dozen times over the years. The family puts up a stunning display and these Grinches come and vandalize it. This year, they are hoping to stop or slow down the vandals.

The Raulston's home wins the neighborhood HOA's 1st place award for Christmas decorations most years. Sadly, it also draws the attention of vandals.

"Why would somebody do this? We don't bother people. It's here for everybody to enjoy. What would cause people to come through and destroy it pretty much?" asked Marcie Raulston.

With their Christmas 2015 display, Marcie said, "They came and destroyed some of this happiness here."

Last weekend, the family discovered that someone had again trashed their Christmas display.

"We had some of the reindeer thrown into the street, we had Frosty here pretty much broken into, two stomped on and candy canes thrown about," explained Marcie.

The family repaired what they could and put the Christmas scene back together, but this time, they added a surprise -- something they hope will trip up the vandals and stop their rampage.

"It's booby trapped. Nothing that will hurt anybody, but hopefully stop them," said Marcie, who believes it's probably neighborhood kids, but they want the vandalism to stop.

"We put a few little things in place to hopefully stop them from running through the yard and pulling things out as much as we can."

The family is considering security cameras, hoping that would help catch the Grinch and they can celebrate the Christmas beauty they've created in peace.