Festive fan shares Christmas spirit
Home 4 Xmas gives people ideas for their own homes and raises money for charity
Jo Hayne doesn’t recoil in horror when told just how many days there are left until Christmas (74!). Not on your jingle bell. Hayne loves the festive season so much, she runs Home 4 Xmas from her purposebuilt Bunnythorpe shed.
It is packed with every Christmas decoration you could think of, and then some.
Every year, Hayne says she is not going to do any rearranging or add themes ever again, but says she can’t help it.
She buys decorations each year to keep up with the trends and is always on the lookout for something different. She sources some of the decorations from Melbourne where her son lives; it has all-year-round Christmas shops.
“If I walk into a Christmas shop, there’s no way I’m going to come out empty-handed, no way at all.”
By practising placement in her shed, she hopes to give people ideas for their own homes.
Hayne says the wheelchairfriendly shed, which first opened in 2018, appeals to adults as well as children.
From November 20, it will be open by appointment during the day for retirement villages and daycare centres. The entry fee will go to charity.
Hayne says there is a lot for people to look at — it is not a two-second done-and-dusted visit.
The nativity scene in its own shed provides a quiet space for contemplation.
Hayne retired in May from 22 years working at ANZ Bank.
She says she couldn’t have created Home 4 Xmas without the help of her husband Warren Hayne, who makes things such as the gingerbread house.
Some of the themes are the Grinch, Kiwiana, at the beach and let it snow.
One display features orange decorations. Hayne says people probably wouldn’t think of putting orange in their house, but it does work.
Another highlights champagnepink decorations.
Born and raised in Feilding, Hayne has fond memories of Christmases spent at Foxton Beach.
She can still remember the decorations and says her mother and grandparents instilled in her a love of the festive season.
She was the worst child at Christmas, waking up at 3am in the bunk room and asking, “Has he been yet?”.
She was hyped up and did not want to miss Father Christmas’ arrival.
Hayne’s enthusiasm never waned as she reached adulthood. She would wake her son and daughter up on Christmas morning to start the festivities.
“It’s not a day to sleep in, that’s crazy.”
Thankfully, her children and four granddaughters all love Christmas.
When Jo and Warren lived in Clearview Drive in Milson, they would enter the Christmas lights competition.
One year, they put most of their furniture in storage and invited people inside.
Every bedroom had a tree in it and there was bark in the lounge and sand in the dining room — Christmasthemed, of course.
The house was soon jammed with people.
The door was meant to shut at 10pm, but it was more like midnight.
Packing up all the decorations was hard, so when the Haynes bought the Bunnythorpe lifestyle block, they built the shed so the displays could stay out all year.
From December 11, Home 4 Xmas will be open every night.
Father Christmas will be in his sleigh in the week leading up to the big day, and Disney characters from Magical Memories will make an appearance.
Entry to the shed is $5 for adults, and $2 for children aged 12 and under. Each year, the money goes to a charity of Hayne’s choice.
She also has a small shop packed with decorations.
Hayne will be at the Feilding Craft Market tomorrow and Saturday selling some of her stock.