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Blade-Wielding Grinches Can't Deflate Lemont Family's Christmas Spirit

Kids in a Lemont neighborhood are gazing at Santa once again after vandals deflated a beloved holiday display over the weekend.

Micki Reinhardt says she and her husband were putting the kids to bed Saturday night when their home surveillance camera recorded someone vandalizing the 20-foot Santa in their front yard.

"It made me angry," she said. "Santa had been essentially stabbed or cut seven times and was deflated in front yard."

Wanting justice for Santa, the Reinhardt's looked to social media for help.

"We put two options out there: put a check in mailbox to reimburse us for Santa (or) come forward and let us know who did this," Reinhardt said.

Neither happened.

But, the Reinhardt's learned they weren't the only ones who were upset.

"It was hurtful," neighbor Kelly Cochran said.

Cochran brings her daughter to see Santa twice everyday, she said.

The Reinhardt's repaired Santa over the weekend.

Now covered in duct tape Band-aids, he's delighting children once again.

But the Reinhardt's are speaking out-- in hopes of teaching the neighborhood grinches a lesson.

"For us it's to send a lesson," Reinhardt said. "That you can't wreck people's property, what you think is prank is robbing joy of Christmas for a lot of little kids."

The Reinhardts filed a report with police. They are now hoping someone with better surveillance video--or someone who knows something---will come forward to help them figure out who did this.

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