Luminous homes lure families into the festive night
Darkness can’t come soon enough when the watts are worth the wait. Manawatu¯ families have been keeping the little ones up, keen to follow the glowing trail of homes contesting the Professionals’ Christmas Lights Spectacular in Palmerston North, Feilding and Marton.
Odin-gene-wade, 2, was starstruck by the 71,400 lights as he wandered through Lizmurphy’s wonderland on Geraldine Cres in Palmerston North, the overall winner of this year’s competition.
Murphy, supported by her husband Chris and dog Molly, began to string up almost 3 kilometres of lights with screws and 3500 cable ties at Labour weekend.
On the other side of the city, Vanessa Shaw and husband Steven Simpson were putting on their best Mother and Father Christmas show at the corner of Tremaine Ave and Milson Line for children eager to meet them.
Shaw’s father Reg Shaw, amall Santa Claus, started the family tradition 23 years ago in his front yard under the cherry blossom tree, giving out gifts ahead of Christmas and listening to children’s wish lists.
‘‘He thought it should be more about family, togetherness and fun times, not really that financial aspect.’’
After his death in 2012, Shaw and her husband took over the reins and continued his legacy, turning their garage into Santa’s Magical Workshop.
Bright, glowing stars framed the property, and more than 9000 people were expected to pass through the workshop throughout December, Shaw said. It cost about $900 to power the lights and features for amonth.
‘‘It’s mostly just community spirit that keeps it alive, keeps it running,’’ she said.
Sara Kerr and her family were happily trekking from house to house. A favourite feature of her four children at the Tremaine Ave home was a lit-up Spider-man.
‘‘They’ve utilised every space.
‘‘They’ve made it a cool experience,’’ she said.
‘‘Usually we don’t come in because the lines are too long, but we got here just in time. It’s really cool.’’
Many of the amazing light displays will stay lit until the new year, giving families caught in the pre-christmas hustle and bustle more opportunity to make a nighttime excursion.
The map was published in our December 5 edition and is available on the Professionals’ Facebook page.