IT’S a dark and chilly night, yet Ros Illsley is in her front garden admiring the view.
The glow coming from her three-bed end terrace is so dazzling it leaves the neighbours in the shade, but she rolls her eyes at anyone who dares call her home an eyesore – or tacky.
Every Christmas, the Illsley family’s lawn is transformed into a festive extravaganza and the blinding mega-watt display is Ros’s pride and joy.
And she doesn’t care if the haters think her plastic offering is cheap and tacky.
There are 120 lit-up blow-mould characters that Ros’s son Bradley, 27, somehow fits “like Jenga pieces” into the small grassy space.
Ros’s electricity bill doubles to £40 a week through December, and this year alone the family have spent £2,000 on decorations – the cheapest costs around £30 – and the majority get shipped over from America.
In total, they’ve shelled out over £10,000 since their domestic display became a tourist attraction six years ago.
Ros, 58, a gran of two and housekeeper at Durham University, says: “There will always be people who say it looks cheap and tacky, but I think they’re being a bit miserable. Our display brings joy.
“Other people obviously have their own lights up but ours is the only one that looks like this.
“Over the years, we’ve had all sorts of different figures. There are lots of Santas and snowmen, we’ve also had a huge inflatable Grinch that was almost as tall as the house.
“We’ve had Snoopy, angels, sleighs in all shapes and sizes and a little nativity scene with the baby in a manger and the three wise men standing around it.
“The prices range from £30 to £40 for an average blow mould figure up to £400 for a train, which is the most expensive item we have.”
The dazzling light show began as a small back garden display 20 years ago by Ros’s mum Anne – in her own home nearby – who died in 2018, aged 86.
Bradley, who was six at the time, was fascinated by the glowing plastic Santa figures and wanted some of his own.
Steadily, the display grew bigger every year to the point that it has now completely overtaken the home Ros shares with husband Martin, 58, who works in car valeting.
These days, there are 120 individual blow mould – molten plastic which takes shape by being inflated inside – characters.
Even though Bradley has moved out and lives with his partner, Jessica, 25, and their two kids, Kodi, seven, and Holly, four, nearby, he still returns a week into November each year so that he and Ros can start the painstaking – and expensive – business of wiring up the house in Lambton, Washington, Tyne and Wear.
Setting up the display is an arduous and time-consuming labour of love for the mum and son.
“It starts in November and usually takes around three weeks to prepare,” Ros explains.
“I help with carrying and positioning the characters in the garden, but it’s Bradley who handles all the wiring because that’s the tricky part.
“He is self-taught but has become a dab hand at putting it all together safely, and every year we get more pieces added to the display.
“The only place to go now is the roof, and I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that. I think we should play it safe.
“The house really glows, and it can be seen from quite a distance away; it lights up the whole street.”
Ros’s home attracts visitors from miles around who are encouraged to leave cash donations in collection buckets dotted along the garden fence.
Last year the family handed over £1,200 to charity but this year they’re on track to raise between £2,000 and £3,000.
Ros adds: “It was suggested a few years ago that we could raise money for charity, and recently we have been supporting Heel and Toe, which is based locally and supports kids with disabilities and complex needs.
The prices range from £30 to £40 for an average blow mould figure up to £400 for a train, which is the most expensive item we have
Ros
“They’re so grateful for our help, and it just makes us feel really good that something we love is helping children who are in need.”
“It’s also a lovely way of remembering Mum.”
In January, the lights are placed into storage, mostly in Ros and Bradley’s homes, in preparation for a bigger and better light show the following year.
Bradley, a sales assistant, adds: “The lights start to come down on New Year’s Day and it’s just as big a job as putting them up, it takes a couple of days.
“All the figures have to be very arranged in my loft. It’s basically a case of emptying the garden into an even smaller space, so it has to be done carefully so we don’t break anything.
“Bulbs go out quite rarely – they are well-made so we don’t often have to worry about that, but when they do I’ll usually replace the entire figure rather than the bulb.”
Not everyone feels the same festive cheer – this year has seen a domestic Christmas display backlash.
In Chessington, Greater London, dad-to-be Dave Goodings, 31, erected giant inflatable Santa and snowman figures outside his home.
He was stunned to receive a letter from a neighbour lodging a “formal complaint.”
The letter said the “tacky” Christmas decorations “ruin the character of the road and they make the whole area look ridiculous”, before stating that they would be informing the council if they weren’t taken down.
Dave retorted: “It’s Christmas, not a crime scene.”
‘TACKY DECORATIONS’
And Cassie Needles from Street in Somerset received an online backlash when she started putting up her Christmas tree in September to cheer up her family at the end of the summer holiday.
She said: “A couple of the comments were: ‘That’s really sad’. I read that comment and thought: ‘You’re sad for thinking that in the first place’. It’s not hurting anybody, people walk by and children are smiling.”
Just like his mum, Bradley also refuses to let anyone dampen his festive spirit and he is already planning to go bigger and better next year.
“I’ve become a bit obsessed with the blow mould characters and I’m looking for new ones right through the year,” he says.
“Some of them are old and quite rare, they’re collectible, especially in America and I think they look really effective when there’s a lot of them clustered together.
“I’m not bothered what anyone thinks about it – we love it and I spend the whole year looking forward to switching those lights on.”
