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A Scarborough father says his decade-old family tradition that filled his Guildwood neighborhood with joy has been transformed into a Christmas crime scene after masked vandals destroyed more than a dozen decorated inflatables in his front yard.
The attack happened in the early hours of Sunday morning, just hours after Scott Patriquin put the finishing touches on this year’s impressive Christmas display.
The 2025 edition also included outdoor speakers playing music that synced with elaborate lights installed throughout the yard.
“Before we knew it, we heard the inflatables popping one after another and then we got to the door and we actually heard someone on the other side of the door destroying one of the inflatables that we had hanging up there on the ceiling,” Patriquin told CityNews. “They were tearing it off the roof and destroying it with hammers, obviously it was very scary.”
Footage captured by the family’s doorbell camera captured the two suspects approaching the front yard. One of them appears to have a hammer in his hand, which he uses to pound and chop the inflatables until they fall one by one into the snow.
When the carnage was over, the likes of Santa, Rudolph, and Frosty the Snowman deflated and scattered dejectedly across the yard.
Toronto police are investigating, but have not released a description of any suspects at this time.
He said, “For someone to do something like this, to take something so happy and joyful and something to be proud of, that the neighborhood is proud of and everyone comes together, and instead have them standing here in front of something that is a monument to trauma, I can’t even fathom that.”
The Scarborough dad’s performance was a source of pride for his neighborhood – giving families some extra festive cheer.
It was also a lot of work, but Patriquin says he enjoyed every second of it.
“It’s probably about 25 to 30 hours of setup every year, then obviously taking it down and putting it away and adding new things to it, but it never feels like work. It’s fun. I really enjoy it and it’s worth it for the reactions you get and the joy people get from it.”
Neighbors like Sarah Carlson said the vandalism has frightened their children.
“My son was really upset, he was very dramatic and he said they were killed and he was so sad, he had trouble sleeping that night,” she said. “And my daughters are the ones who were obsessed with the light and would come over every night to check it so it was a sad thing in our house.”
Patriquin, meanwhile, says he’s not sure whether he’ll try to replace the display before Christmas.
Despite bad feelings from the senseless vandalism, they say they have received an overwhelming amount of support which has helped keep the Christmas spirit intact.
“If they were trying to take away Christmas, as I’ve seen the community and everyone else share, they failed miserably.”