Meet the people behind 20 of Ipswich’s best Christmas lights
Meet the people behind Ipswich’s best Christmas light displays and find out where to go to see them. FULL LIST
Ipswich
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Each Christmas, homes across the Ipswich region come alight with thousands of painstakingly chosen lights, decorations and inflatables in an effort to bring endless joy to children and adults.
Meet some of the people behind the lights of Ipswich and find out why they choose to dedicate such effort, time and money into the art of Christmas light decorating.
Renee Darwin, 155 Henty Drive, Redbank Plains
When Renee Darwin and her family first moved to Redbank Plains, a late-night Grinch tried to steal their Christmas.
Rogue teens cut every light and stabbed every inflatable in the Darwin’s display, with one even copping a small zap from an electric Santa.
“I thought ‘I’m gonna go complete Griswold on their a**e,’ so basically this is my revenge,” Renee said.
Nerine Martin, 6 Conlan Court, Augustine Heights
In 2006, Nerine’s husband, Wayne, was deployed to the Middle East for six months, and it would be the girls’ first Christmas without him there.
“I started decorating our home with Christmas lights to bring some joy and happiness to my kids and I, as we were spending our first Christmas in our brand new home without Wayne,” Nerine said.
“It was a tough time for us all, but I wanted the kids to still be excited about Christmas.”
Gary and Stacey Doheny, 15 Lillypilly Court, Ripley
In Ireland, Christmas lights displays are huge and for Irish born Gary Doheny and his family, it was important to continue the tradition when they moved down-under.
“Back home, it’s raining all the time and everything is all sad and miserable but then you see a beam of light cutting through all of light and it just makes you so happy,” Gary said.
“Even if it’s not so miserable and cold here, it’s something we wanted to keep doing.”
Matthew and Lindsey Vining, 4 Larkhall St, Spring Mountain
Not many couples have Christmas light decorating in mind in the lead up to their wedding, but for newlyweds Matthew and Lindsey Vining, the lights were a must-do.
“I’ve developed a bit of an obsession and every year there’s more to add. I just can’t help myself,” Matthew said.
“It took me five full days this year, from early in the morning until late. It was quite busy in the lead up to the wedding, but I had to get it done.”
Danielle Brennan, 1 Nova Court, Flinders View
Living in Flinders View’s ‘Christmas Court’ isn’t for everyone, with every house in the street lit up for the festive season and attracting thousands of visitors.
But, for Danielle Brennan, this only added to her home’s appeal.
“The kids joke that the lights are the reason I bought the house,” Danielle said.
“I absolutely love Christmas and I used to come here to visit and see the lights before we bought the house.”
Dianne and Graeme Blair, Sharyn and Robert Lee, 4 and 6 Nova Court
You won’t find Christmas spirit in greater abundance than in the homes of sisters Dianne Blair and Sharyn Lee.
Even when Sharyn’s husband Robert received a devastating cancer diagnosis, the couples persisted with their displays.
“Robert insisted we do the lights, each year despite his diagnosis. He has had to go into hospital but still he insisted we get the lights out, so we got some help from friends,” Dianne said.
“We see people with kids now much older that have been visiting since they were babies. We even had a pregnant mother come and have a photo with Santa and then came back two weeks later with her newborn baby to have another photo. It’s very special.”
Helen and Michael Doyle, 162 Edwards Court Raceview
For the dedicated few, Christmas decorating goes beyond simple icicle lights and inflatable Santa.
Michael Doyle is one of these few, having made the hi-tech art of synchronised pixel Christmas lights a year-round hobby.
“I used to just have some simple lights, and then I was influenced by a friend to start looking in to these pixel lights. They are run by a computer program and can be synchronised to music,” Michael said.
His wife Helen loves the joy the lights bring, but is less involved in the process.
“You’ve heard of golf widows? I’m a Christmas light widow,” she said.
Amy Dora, 8 Oakwood Place, Chuwar
When her son Hudson was born, Amy Dora knew it was time to start a new tradition of really decorating their Chuwar home.
“The kids just get so excited, every night, Hudson makes us go across the road and look back at our lights, it’s really all for them,” she said.
Robyn Drury, 3 Pringle Place, Pine Mountain
The Drury’s have been putting up lights for the last 20 years, starting with just a couple of strands of fairy lights and eventually growing into the sprawling spectacle it has become.
“We just love the joy it brings to the community. My husband begrudgingly got involved when I didn’t want to climb up the ladder, and now he is really the main pusher,” Robyn said.
“It only took me saying that we should open the garage for photos and he’d bought a sleigh, made the reindeers and set the whole place up.”
Sue Dawson, 190 Pine Mountain Road, Brassall
Incredible DIY decorations, and beautiful scenes adorn the exterior of Sue Dawson’s home and garden and the joy her display brings the community just drives her to do more.
“An admirer of the display loved it so much that they left me a letter thanking me for doing it and left me $20 to go towards the electricity bill,” she said.
“Christmas is my favourite time of the year, one of my sons was even born on Christmas Day!”
Carissa and Jaiden Lake, 2 Carlos St, Ripley
Carissa and Jaiden Lake have only lived in their Ripley home for the last two years, but have been committed to decorating since moving in.
“When we first moved in, we only had a few lights, with all the costs of buying a new home. This year we were able to spend a bit more and really decorate,” Carissa said.
“We used to look at lights and decorate with our parents and just really enjoy doing it. Its so nice to see so many kids so happy,” Jaiden said.
Lynn Chapman, 46 Cowley Drive, Flinders View
For as long as she can remember, Lynn Chapman has loved building up the excitement of Christmas for her children, and now she is known in her community for her brilliant light display.
But the display is not just because of the kids and adoring neighbours — Lynn is obsessed with Christmas.
“If Mrs Claus had a new first name, it’d be Lynn,” she said.
Hannah Johnston, 4 Peaceful Place, Brassall
Christmas is all about joy and hope and peace, and 4 Peaceful Place is the perfect spot to savour those things - with a canopy of beautiful fairy lights adorning the entire display.
“My husband loves doing the lights for the kids in the neighbourhood. We don’t have kids ourselves, but we really just love seeing the happiness on their faces when they come,” Hannah said.
“We have our neighbours kids come over every day to move our five naughty elves around our display.”
Judy and Allan Degen, 256 Mt Crosby Rd, Chuwar
When Allan Degen lost his parents, he and his wife Judy knew they wanted to use money from the estate she inherited to bring some cheer back to the community and to her and husband Allan’s life.
“We get Christmas cards from neighbours and people from the public who say they love it and come every year, they say they can see it from the main road,” Allan said.
Troy Paulsen, 41 Barwell St, Brassall
For Troy Paulsen, the display is a tradition from his past that he wanted his children to continue.
“I got into the lights as it was something I grew up doing and I always did displays on my parents house and I wanted my children to have the same experience as I got, and to see the look on their faces once it’s all up and running and seeing how it transforms our house,” Troy said.
Tanya Basford, 21 Hillier Crt, Flinders View
The Hillier Court lights in Flinders View have grown bigger each year, and are focused heavily on recycled and repurposed materials.
“Each year we added to it because as those that do it know, it’s addictive! It‘s all worth it in the end though when we see the excited faces and hear the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the public,” Tanya said.
Scott and Angela Ryan, 134 Lewis Drive, Karalee
Once responsible for the running of the incredible Sapar Christmas Truck, Scott and Angela Ryan thrive on festive spirit.
“After doing the Christmas Truck for a number of years and seeing the joy it brought to peoples faces there was no hope in stopping Scott from decorating our home once it stopped,” Angela said.
The Ryan’s also use their display to raise money for local charity, Lisa’s Lunches - an organisation that prepares lunch packs to support families on cancer journeys.
Mark Smith, 1/24 Thomas St, Sadliers Crossing
The Thomas Street lights have been a community favourite for the last 12 years.
“Being a community-minded person and being a volunteer with SES for nearly 30 years, I just enjoy sharing and giving my spirit of Christmas with the community, putting smiles in hearts on faces of those who come to view, you truly never know what year a person has had, just to give them that joy and to see them smile is always the best reward in life,” Mark said.
David and Maree Bowater, 24 Piccadilly Court, Deebing Heights
Similarly to many light-display owners, Maree and David Bowater started with just a few strands of lights, but quickly found the process and the joy addictive.
“It’s all about strengthening community spirit, bringing people together at Christmas and seeing the sheer awe, amazement and joy on the little ones faces (and the big ones for that matter),”
“We almost decided to have a year off until our 4 year old reminded us why we do it, she said please mummy can you give us a Christmas house again. She gets so much joy out of it,”
Rule-Hallawell family, 39 Louisa place, Karalee
“We do it because we love Christmas and we are so blessed to live in such a beautiful estate. Each drive by is a reminder that we’ve brought joy to somebody’s day, and that’s very rewarding,” Wendy Hallawell said.
“For many Christmas is the best time of the year, though sadly for some it’s a just a reminder of what they cannot afford.”
“We’re proud to think we’ve created a festive, free and safe space where families can come together and get into the Christmas spirit and create beautiful memories. “
Do you know other great Christmas light displays? Comment below
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