Dale Kasper and daughter Niki, 9, hold the remains of two Santas destroyed by vandals on Christmas Eve.

Mean-spirited Grinches have stolen an Abbotsford family's Christmas spirit.

For 11 years, Sheri and Dale Kasper have transformed their front yard into a winter wonderland.

But on Christmas Eve, in the cover of darkness, two vandals crept onto their driveway and destroyed two large inflatable Santas and ripped the head off a mechanical Saint Nick.

"It's disgusting," said Sheri, 35. "This is somebody's property and somebody's hard work. I don't understand why people would do something like this."

The Kaspers were alerted to the vandalism by neighbours Karl and Lisa Elmore.

The Elmores were in the living room, window blinds up - all the better to see the colourful display across the street - when they heard a couple of loud pops and saw two men standing over wrecked decorations strewn on the ground.

Karl took off after the vandals, chasing them barefoot down the street. The vandals got into a car and sped away.

The gussied-up Kasper house is a neighbourhood fixture so popular it even causes the occasional traffic jam, said Lisa.

"It was pretty heartbreaking to see them take down all the blow-ups last night."

The Kaspers removed the inflatable figures in case the vandals returned. They also turned off the Christmas lights, leaving the house's exterior in the dark for the first time in more than a decade.

Sheri estimates the damage at $400, but the damage goes beyond money.

Sheri said the family's Christmas spirit was already in short supply with her parents' health problems and the heartache caused by the school shooting in Connecticut.

A decapitated Santa, head lying on the driveway, on Christmas Eve, didn't help.

Neither did explaining to her nine-year-old daughter Niki why someone would do such a malicious act.

Sheri said she isn't certain if they will put the display up again next Christmas, but tried to put a positive spin on things.

"We were joking around that at least there is less Christmas decorations to take down."