IT’S ALREADY CHRISTMAS IN GRANDMA’S GROTTO
With so many decorations Betty has to get an early start
SEPTEMBER might seem a bit early to start decorating your house for Christmas. But grandmother Betty Ann Jones has good reason for hanging her fairy lights and decking the halls so early.
She has been raising money for charity with her homemade winter wonderland for nine years and the sheer number of decorations means that the 74-year-old has to start getting ready early.
“It’s not as mad as it sounds,” she said. “There’s so much to get ready and I do it all by myself, so that’s why I have start in September. I’ve already cleared out the dining room and the sleigh is in position.”
Every year, Betty Ann turns her home in Pontardawe, near Swansea, into a fantasy Christmas grotto, with 12,000 fairy lights, 30 metres of fake snow and around 5,000 seasonal toys and ornaments. She asks for a £5 donation for people to come in, explore, and enjoy a glass of punch. As well as raising money for cancer charity Macmillan, she un- dertakes this huge annual task in memory of her son Michael, who tragically passed away in 2014.
“I used to go around with Michael and hand out food to the homeless over Christmas. I vowed to keep going for him.”
Michael was a policeman before becoming a qualified support worker and Betty Ann wanted to keep his legacy alive by continuing to fundraise for important causes. She received an award for her work in 2012.
The idea for the winter wonderland came from a day out in Bath, when a friend spotted a room decked out in festive decor and thought the Christmas-crazy grandma should do the same. Nine years later, the tradition’s still going strong.
Betty Ann, who thinks she’s spent thousands on decorations over the years, said: “I went to Christmas markets in Germany for 16 years and brought back many Christmas things. Now, when anyone ever goes anywhere, they bring back a decoration for me.”
Her favourite one is a 6ft Father Christmas, but most of her visitors enjoy the hand-made nativity scene built by Betty Ann’s husband Keith.
While Betty Ann creates her Christmas home alone, she has fes- tive helpers to make everything run smoothly. The youngest is 60 and her oldest helper, who dresses up as Mother Christmas each year, is 86.
Betty Ann and Keith shell out £120 on electricity each month over Christmas.
She says Keith thinks she’s a “mad woman who is overdoing it” but he still provides a helping hand.