Bright idea sparks grand Christmas lights display

When Kaye Baker suggested husband John hang a few lights along the guttering to brighten up the house for Christmas, neither imagined how their house would look 20 years later.

John and Kaye Baker's Christmas Lights at Elm St, Murrumba Downs.

WHEN Kaye Baker suggested husband John hang a few lights along the guttering to brighten up the house for Christmas, neither imagined how their house would look 20 years later.

John admits he caught the ‘Christmas lights bug’ after that first year.

He’s added to his display each year, making frames for lights to suit the house and garden, capturing the colour and magic of Christmas.

“Every year I did more as I saw opportunities to expand,” John explains.

John and Kaye Baker have been hanging Christmas lights for 20 years at their Murrumba Downs home. Picture: Dominika Lis

The display at 12 Elm Drive, Murrumba Downs, now takes him two months to install, covering the roof, carport, front garden and patio. While he’s never counted his lights, he says he wouldn’t be surprised if there were at least 50,000. There’s 500m of lights on the roof alone.

“It’s a two-month journey for me. I have to time it right,” John says.

He starts on October 1 with the gardens, planting 240 red and white petunias, so they are in full bloom for Christmas.

John, 73, then gradually works his way around the front of the house, leaving the most UV-sensitive lights until last. It’s a delicate and painstaking operation.

PRP christmas lightsJohn and Kaye Baker's winning Christmas lights display at Murrumba Downs.

The result is an award-winning display, that attracts big crowds of admirers every year, even buses on Christmas lights tours.

“There would be a 1000 (each night). Every night there would be at least 100 people waiting for the lights to come on and then by 7.30pm, the road is full of people,” John says.

“The kids just run … the lights are like a magnet.” John says seeing all the lights come on together at 7pm, is quite amazing.

“It’s something bringing the community together to make everyone happy,” he says when asked why he does it.

“We see the same people year after year. We’ve lived in the area all our lives and a lot of people know us.”

John says the magic of Christmas lights also helps people, doing it tough, forget about their troubles for a while.

John and Kaye Baker's Christmas Lights at Elm St, Murrumba Downs.

But the pressure is on John to come up with new elements each year.

“There comes a time after 20 years when you ask where the next improvement can be made,” John says. “I’m thinking this might be the last year. The big problem is that it has turned into a really big job. I’ve created a monster. It’s not a complaint but it’s reality.

“It has to evolve over time. That’s the nature of the display and the fact I’m not getting any younger. I don’t want to get to the stage when I have to stop because I’ve fallen off the roof. I think 20 years is a fair contribution to the community.”

For many years, he and Kaye have collected and donated thousands of dollars to charity, including Ronald McDonald House.

The lights are on from 7-10pm every night from December 4 until (and including) Christmas Eve.