‘Christmas Light Fight’ Host Carter Oosterhouse on Holiday Traditions, Marriage to Amy Smart & More

ABC has made the holiday season a little brighter thanks to The Great Christmas Light Fight. Season 12 is currently underway with more elaborate and unique displays. Even though Carter Oosterhouse has been judging for more than a decade, the longtime judge continues to be impressed.

The construction expert and interior designer Taniya Nayak has the difficult task of deciding who out of the four families they visit in each episode takes home $50,000 and the coveted trophy. Here Oosterhouse talks about the show’s longevity and what his residence looks like during the holidays with his wife, actress Amy Smart. 

It’s amazing how this show has become such an annual holiday tradition for families to watch together. 

Carter Oosterhouse: The Great Christmas Light Fight is the gift that keeps on giving. The more we are on, the more people come up to me at the airport and reflect on how it’s a tradition for them. They tell me, “We know it’s Christmas time when we see this show come on air.” The family programming this embodies is so sweet and perfect for the holiday season. You have the holiday movies on, which are nostalgic and fun. This is a little bit different, yet gives the same moment for families to gather and have a nice little night at home. 

Disney/Jim Gensheimer

How would you say your judging eye has evolved? 

That’s a good question. I think sometimes as a judge you don’t even realize how these displays continue to get better. And it’s not just bigger. It’s more than more lights. I always say I can pick the winner right when the lights go on, but that’s not always true because now what I’ve seen is the creativity level has skyrocketed. People are more and more creative than ever before. It’s not just about putting lights on a tree or making sure the balance is correct or the color profile is engaging and interesting. It’s really about creativity. What that means is people are starting to tell stories with their lights. That’s fascinating. In scripted or nonscripted TV, it’s all about telling a story. When you watch something, that is why you keep going back to it. Now these families with these light displays are telling stories. As the viewer, it’s so much more dynamic and interesting to the point you have to scratch your head and say, “I’m blown away. I’m shocked. Just when you think you’ve seen them all, you haven’t.” 

Technology has also advanced within these displays through computer programming and drones. 

The technology is there and every year it gets better. Sometimes we do have people who are extremely good with computers and putting light and synchronized lights together, but that’s not always the winner. I don’t want to say it’s usually not the winner, but it seems to me what I have learned is over time I go back to the creative ones. Those are going to be the winners. If they can throw tech in there, even better because it makes it faster, more efficient maybe, and more interesting to some degree. As far as technology goes, every year we’re seeing something different. The light fighters who have been doing it for decades and are at the forefront of this technology, really geek out over that. I do too. I love learning more about it. Then some people who are doing it for the first time knock your socks off because they have no frame of reference. They just want to do something they want to do and in their mind is really cool. 

I’m always amazed at the dedication of these participants. 

The light fighters work extremely hard. They are very diligent with what they are doing. The families are in the grind. When September comes around, they are starting to put their lights up and it’s all hands on deck. It’s a lot of work. As a judge too, I want to make sure I applaud them and give them the credit they deserve. It is impressive to see the lengths they go. These guys are beyond the next level. They know the drill. They take the kids to school, go to work, and then come home to start working on their display at all hours of the night. Then they get up the next day and do the same thing. The cool thing is I’d say 99 percent of the people are happy to do this for their community. That’s the best part. 

On your travels, have there been places you never thought about going but are glad you went? 

For Trading Spaces, we traveled all over the United States. I think that was the indoctrination of a really crazy travel schedule. I’d say the good thing is I can go back to some of these areas. To your point, I do get to see areas that have lit up these lights or sometimes they are theme parks because we do heavyweights as well. We get into bigger areas that have the capability of dressing it up. Those are eye-opening. I’m in this last round of shooting right now where there are plenty of places I’ve said, “I want to bring my daughter back here.” That’s a sign they’ve done a really good job. 

You and Taniya are solo judging in these episodes, but do you talk much? 

We touch base a couple of times during the season and before. It’s funny because it is all very similar for us. There is a progression of what these light fighters are doing. I always feel like I can figure it out if they are going to be a top tier when the lights go on. Lately, I feel as you’ve gotten into it, this is not what I expected at all and even better. That’s fun. Taniya and I have been on the same page with all that. 

Carter Oosterhouse and Amy Smart at “Common Ground” Screening. (Gregg DeGuire/Variety via Getty Images)

Does this being known for this show put pressure on you at home to deliver a good display? Does Amy get you to work? 

Good question. It used to be my wife saying, “So what are we doing? Why aren’t we having any lights?” I say, “I am the judge of The Great Christmas Light Fight. I feel like I would not do a service and carry out the oath of being a judge and fail miserably putting lights up.” Usually, when I get home it’s a lot closer to Christmas. So, we do the inside. I’ve been trying to bring back things people make as a builder and duplicate them. There are a lot of makers out there. You see this guy who has been working in his workshop, who has this crazy Santa Claus walking up a ladder built on a timing system. I think that’s really cool that I want to go home and do that. So I have dabbled in those. 

You mentioned you’re filming right now for next year. Do you go back and watch the episodes airing as a family at home? 

We try to, absolutely, when I’m not shooting for next year. We critique. If my daughter is into it, I feel like I’m doing my job. There are tons of shows she can watch, especially during the holidays. I feel if she is into it, I’m doing alright. 

What’s your go-to Christmas movies to watch? Do you watch Amy’s movie Just Friends? I feel sometimes people forget that is a Christmas movie. 

Just Friends, we do watch that. That is definitely a Christmas movie. We go back to all the nostalgic movies. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, we run back through all that. Now there are all these shows, too. Like these Christmas baking shows. I feel like those are of interest to us too. I guess we’re finding shows I never thought I would watch and falling into. Also, being on a show this long, we’re so thankful it has been on the air this long and having such a successful run. You go through a rollercoaster of emotions. Right now, we’re doing great. It’s fun. It’s a new interest not just on the show but on Christmas too. It’s all about being loved ones. This experience has really helped me dive deeper into the whole Christmas world and look at it from other angles compared to when I first started on the show. 

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Anything you can tease about the episodes to come? 

There is one episode that is coming up, and what was really of interest was the coordination. Not just of the lights but things that these blow molds were doing within the light display. We see a lot of coordination from the tech world, but when you can take traditional elements and mix those into a newer feel, that was really impressive. There was this choir of blow molds in the show, and that was so dynamic because you think, “Wait? Are those blow molds singing to me now?” There was a ton of them. Not only was it visually interesting but to hear it was amazing. 

What do you want to see from the show moving forward? 

I do like the heavyweights. Those are really fun to shoot because they are on such a different level.  It’s also the community is helping out as well. You just have more people involved. I’d like to see more of those to tell you the truth because there seems to be a lot more people, which creates a bigger energy. That’s not to say the homes don’t do that. We only do one of these types of episodes a year, but I’d love to see more of them. 

The Great Christmas Light Fight, Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC