Battle of the Christmas lights: Families spend £10k transforming homes

Britons use an estimated 150,000 miles of Christmas lights each year, enough to circle the country’s coastline 20 times as they brighten up the darker months.

But while some go all out with colourful celebrations of the festive season that can be seen from far around, others stay dark as they save on their energy bills.

This can lead to tensions between neighbours – with one family in Stoke-on-Trent ordered to turn theirs off last Christmas because of light pollution complaints.

Other displays have become so popular that certain days including Christmas Eve can bring gridlock to the roads as people flock to normally peaceful residential areas.

Environmental concerns have also been raised in recent years amid concerns over the impact of displays which can feature up to half a million lights.

Meanwhile some organisers trying their best to raise money for local charities have found some people wrongfully accusing them of mishandling donations.

Families can put up nearly £10,000 worth of decorations in some cases – and that total is before the extra hundreds of pounds it will cost in electricity bills. 

‘Gridlock on crazy Christmas Eve’

Ricky and Chrissie Fenning host the ‘Winterbourne Wonderland’ to raise money for local charities at their home in the Gloucestershire village of Winterbourne Down.

Bright blue and purple lights cover the semi-detached house, and aerial photographs show it is the only property in the local neighbourhood lit up in the dark.

A host of Christmas-themed lights and displays are on show outside the home including animatronic butterflies, a forest display, a wishing well and a huge tree.

The display in the village seven miles from Bristol has more than 150,000 lights and raised £15,000 last year – taking the total raised since 2021 to just over £25,000.

The money raised this year will go to The Grand Appeal, a children’s hospital charity in Bristol, and Suicide Prevention UK, following the switch-on on November 22.

Mr Fenning spent two months setting up the lights, and an estimated 10,000 visitors saw the display last year. The lights are on daily until January 4 from 4.30pm to 9pm.

He told BBC Bristol: ‘Christmas Eve was crazy; we gridlocked Winterbourne.’ The display has a donation station and coin box – with QR codes for visitors to donate.

The display is sponsored by a range of local businesses and Mr Fenning described Suicide Prevention UK as a ‘really deserving charity’ that helps people in crisis.

Rachael Williams from the charity said: ‘The extra exposure as well as the fundraising really goes a long way, because the more people we can help locally, the better.’

‘Neighbours claim they don’t mind’

A couple in Cambridgeshire who have decorated their home with Christmas lights every year since 2012 have now raised more than £67,000 for charity.

Helen and John Attlesey begin hanging thousands of lights and other decorations each September at their home in Soham before the November switch-on.

The couple, who are now in their 70s, have raised funds for years for charities helping their grandson Jake, who has a rare form of epilepsy.

Mrs Attlesey told BBC Cambridgeshire that electricity bills were ‘part and parcel’ of it, and their property is known locally as ‘the light house’ or ‘the Christmas house’.

But the home is the only one in the local neighbourhood that has such an installation, and Mrs Attlesey was asked what the neighbours thought of the display,

She replied: ‘They say they don’t mind and it’s a good cause, but whether they just say that to us, I don’t know. But lots of people say it’s wonderful.’

The display includes Santa and snowman figures, toy soldiers, nativity scenes and even swans – and the couple are hoping to eventually raise a total of £100,000.

Funds go to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Dreamflight, which takes very ill children on holiday to Disney World Florida.

Mr and Mrs Attlesey previously came under fire for the toll their decorations took on the environment, with MPs and environmental campaigners urging people in 2021 to consider ‘the effect on our planet against having lots of lights above our doors’. 

Final year after raising £250,000

A couple have raised more than £250,000 for charity through their annual Christmas light display at their home in the Nottinghamshire village of Nuthall.

Tony and Wendy Swift have been turning their property into a winter wonderland featuring half a million lights to raise money for charity for the last 22 years.

The couple begin putting up their festive display in the summer in preparation for welcoming up to 30,000 people a year to their semi-detached home.

Mr Swift and his 33-year-old son Adam spent several weeks placing lights over their family home with over £9,000 worth of festive decorations. 

They have decided to call it a day on their spectacular light display after this year, having raised a staggering £250,000 for charity over the last two decades.

But they were left stunned when ice skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean agreed to come along to switch it on for the final time on November 15

Mr and Mrs Swift have raised more than £250,000 for Hayward House, a specialist palliative care unit in Nottingham, and the When You Wish Upon a Star charity.

They said they knew the ‘time would come’ to stop putting on the display and felt ‘apprehensive, sad and joyful’ at the same time about this being the final year.

Mr Swift, 66, told BBC East Midlands: ‘I know it sounds selfish, but we’re getting on a bit and we need to visit friends, family and have a few trips away.’

Critics make false claims over donations 

A family in East London have continued their Christmas light display dubbed ‘Romford Wonderland’ for the tenth year in a row to raise money for a special school.

The Grange family spend four weekends in a row putting up the lights, and get two workmen to construct frame works and put down fake snow.

Ian Grange told the Romford Recorder: ‘We started small and have added bits over the years. We just hope it brings a bit of joy to people over Christmas.

‘There’s thousands of people who have come out to look at it so far. Kids are buzzing and everyone seems to be so happy and jolly.’

Funds raised from donations are going to Lime Academy Ravensbourne, a special education school in Romford attended by Mr Grange’s daughter.

But Mr Grange said he had also been criticised over the display, with some people falsely claiming he takes money out from donations to cover his costs.

He insisted: ‘I can tell you that every single penny goes to that school on top of my own donations. I’m lucky to run my own successful business.

‘So that’s why I can afford to do this. If you can give a little bit back to the community then it’s nice to do that and make people happy.’