Jenny and Geoff Stohlberg open Gympie home for charity Christmas light display
A Gympie couple are getting into the Christmas spirit with invite-only viewings of a festive display of lights. Click here to see the video and view full list of Christmas lights in the region:
Gympie
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gympie. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hidden away on a suburban Gympie street is a Christmas wonderland, where more than 100 guests are already booked in to be dazzled by a festive display of lights – and it’s all for a good cause.
Jenny and Geoff Stolberg have opened their beautifully decorated home to invited guests since 2018, but the event was sadly cancelled last year due to Covid.
The Gympie Times spoke to them ahead of the release of its Christmas Lights list.
This year, 114 people are booked to visit the brightly lit home; a record number, according to the couple.
Guests are greeted at the front gate by a corridor of hanging lights.
From there, they can explore decorated areas of the Stolberg’s home, some paying homage to countries they have visited, one themed to match a children’s book written by Mrs Stolberg and another dedicated to the colour pink.
The festive idea was first hatched during an overseas trip to Germany.
“People paid fifty dollars and they went to four or five houses during the day, and then went to a Christmas shop where they had nibbles and stuff,” Mrs Stolberg said.
LIST: Where to find spectacular Christmas lights in the Gympie region
“But we couldn’t do that during the day because it lights up at night; we have to have illumination, we have to have the darkness.”
The decorations took 10 weeks to set up and the money made from each guest is directly donated to a charity chosen by the couple.
Last time they opened their home they raised $2000, which was evenly split between the Gympie Bird Club and Little Haven Palliative Care, which Mrs Stolberg said was used to buy a new wheelchair.
The couple plans to donate to Little Haven again this year.
Seeing the reaction of guests makes the thousands spent worth it and provides incentive to keep the tradition going for many years to come.
“Some of my friends lost their husbands a few years ago, and they come here and it just lifts their spirits,” she said.
To see the Gympie Christmas Lights Facebook page click here
More Coverage
Originally published as Jenny and Geoff Stohlberg open Gympie home for charity Christmas light display
‘Pure sunshine’: Community mourns loss of beloved cricket mum
Family, friends, cricket clubs across Wide Bay and the South Burnett Mayor herself have expressed their grief and huge sense of loss following the death of a ‘radiant’ and beloved wife, mum, volunteer and council worker.
My First Year: Fraser Coast region Prep photos 2025
The Fraser Coast Chronicle has been to primary schools across the region to photograph the prep classes of 2025, the Class of 2037, in their thousands. See our mega gallery of schools here.
My First Year: Gympie region Prep photos 2025
The Gympie Times has been to every primary school in the region to photograph every prep class of 2025, the full Class of 2037 in their hundreds. See our mega gallery of schools here.
‘Substantial’ number of witnesses to be called in shed fire murder hearing
A committal hearing will be held for a teenager charged with murder after a deadly shed fire, a Hervey Bay court has heard, with a substantial amount of witnesses set to be called.
Fraser Coast properties sold by council over unpaid rates revealed
An auction to recoup unpaid rates across the region had an original list of almost 30 properties, as homeowners struggle with the rising cost of living and land values.
Former A-grade league player’s alleged role in footy final brawl
New details in the case against a talented rugby league player, who faces multiple assault charges stemming from an alleged brawl at a Qld grand final game, can be revealed.