Homeowners across the city are lighting up their homes and communities this season with holiday decorations, bright lights, and musical shows.
Resident Gladys Wagner says her decorations help bring out the holiday cheer in her neighbourhood of Orchid Place.
“It’s something everybody enjoys and I’ve got the time to do it,” she says.
“Mine are fairly simple but it still brightens things up.”
Wagner has always had an interest in decorating for the holidays, including Valentine’s day and Thanksgiving, but began decorating trees on her street since the COVID-19 lockdown as a way of brightening the spirits of her neighbours and getting out of the house.
“First they didn’t know who was doing it, then one of my neighbours saw me going out and she said, ‘can I help you?” she says.
“When I first started a few years back, decorating more outside, there wasn't many on my street that decorated and now it's kind of caught on, so if you don't have lights on your house on my street you kinda look like the oddball now.”
Residents of Patterson Crescent, Daryle and Jodie Demery, use an open source software called xLights to decorate their home and broadcast music coordinated to their lights that visitors can tune into from their cars. xLights is similar to stage lighting systems.
“We’ve had nothing but positive (reception) and people are so interested in how my husband programs everything,” Jodie Demery says.
The Demery’s begin preparing their decorations in the summer, building unique ornaments and setting up the program for the show.
“Our neighbour loves it. He puts up a few lights and says ‘I’m done!’” Jodie says.
Steve Hargreaves, a resident of the lavishly decorated street of Elliott Place, says he’s been decorating for the holidays since he was 17 years old.
Despite all the decorations on his home, he says he’s still trying to build his collection.
Hargreaves says the decorations are just a part of what brings his neighbourhood together.
“People walking their dogs will stop, say hi, and see whats going on. It is a way of connecting with people really.”
Hargreaves neighbours often lend their expertise and tools when he’s setting up some more difficult decorations, such as hanging lights on the large tree beside the red sleigh in his front yard with a lift.
“Everyone kind of pulls together to help each other out,” he says.
