Charlotte Varcoe
‘TIS the night before Christmas and the roads will be bustling with families and friends as they experience a wonderland of festive lights tonight.
A large number of Limestone Coast home owners have spread the festive spirit this season by decking their homes with light displays.
Businesses have also joined in with a busy few weeks of Christmas shopping and tourists flocking to the region following the opening of the South Australian-Victorian border.
Mount Gambier resident and Christmas light enthusiast Belinda Say has an elaborate and interactive display of lights along Kingsley Court.
Photo opportunities, including inflatable displays and an interactive Santa’s sleigh, are available for children and parents to take a photograph with.
Ms Say said she had been collecting lights for a number of years and was looking forward to adding more in the future.
“There is a lot of work that goes into creating the display we have available,” Ms Say said.
“We keep adding new things each year as well because at the end of the day we do it for other people to enjoy.”
Ms Say said last weekend had been the busiest for the home so far with a large number of cars driving by.
“We get a lot of people in cars, some hop out to have a look at the displays and we see a lot of people take advantage of the photo opportunities we have,” she said.
“We have two different sections, the front garden section, which actually is now joined in with our neighbour’s yard, and the inside garden part.
“There is a cardboard cut-out of Santa and an elf that people can stick their heads through for a photo and a sleigh where people can sit in and have photos taken as well.”
Ms Say said it was not only children taking advantage of the photo opportunities, and that adults also joined in on the fun.
“We have had grandparents and parents join in on the photos which I think is fantastic,” she said.
“Christmas Eve is always the busiest time for us because we hand out candy canes and glow sticks and last year we handed out over 300 on the night.”
Not knowing the number of lights on show, Ms Say said she would run out of storage space before running out of space in her front yard.
“We have been building on our lights every year and now we are in our fifth year of doing this which we think is great,” she said.
She said the influence for the lights came from her own childhood memories of driving around looking at Christmas lights during the festive season.
“When I was little I went around and looked at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve and that is something I remember doing ever since,” she said.
“It is a special memory for me and something I have always wanted to do while allowing the adults and children to enjoy them as well.”
The lights on display at Ms Say’s property are on from 7.30pm each night.
