Unbelieve-bauble! My 2,000 decorations
Glitter gran... Sylvia’s amazing 2,000-bauble display GREAT grandmother Sylvia Pope is all ready to have a ball this Christmas – she has spent four months hanging 2,000 baubles worth £15,000 from her living room ceiling.
Sylvia, 76, started her mammoth collection 19 years ago after admiring a smaller collection at a friend’s house.
She began putting up her festive haul in the summer to ensure the display looked stunning by December.
And she refuses to let her family help her, in case of breakages.
The retired catering supervisor said: “I really enjoy setting my baubles up all over my house.
“I won’t let anyone help me, even though it gets a little harder each year.
“My family get angry at me but it’s my own little hobby that I enjoy taking my time with.” Divorcee Sylvia’s bauble booty includes pieces she bought during her world travels. She said: “I have collected them from all over – Holland, Malta,
New York, Prague, Las Vegas and the Cayman Islands.
“I think some people across the pond may beat me with their collection, but in the UK I would have thought I’m somewhere up there with the best.” The decorations are a mix of cheap and cheerful and more expensive, including one that cost £85. Other examples are worth between £20 and £60. In her first year collecting the decorations, Sylvia, from Swansea, bought around 60 and her bauble haul just kept on growing. She usually takes about two months assembling and hanging the display
– and admits she has to replaster her ceiling every year to cover the thousands of holes.
The mother-of-four, who has 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchilden, said of her collection: “The expensive ones get special treatment, double wrapped and put in an extra-safe place when they’re not hanging from the ceiling.
“I can’t a pick a favourite though. My family all try to get me really lovely ones and they would be fuming if I singled one out!”