Video: We live on 'Christmas Close' which has 170,000 lights and may be Lancashire's most festive street
Take a virtual look around ‘Christmas Close’ where all 13 houses take part in a mesmerising display of over 170,000 lights, in this festive video.
Experience the magic of ‘Christmas Close’ and meet some of the residents on what may be Lancashire’s most festive street, in this video report.
See the wonderful display of 170,000 lights, on a Thornton cul-de-sac where homes start preparing for Christmas in June.
Christmas Lights are a ‘full time job’
In the video above, David Bamber, who is retired but says preparing Christmas lights has become like a full time job, explains how it all started.
He recalls how a few residents decorated their homes to mark the millennium - but it was ‘nothing like it is today’.
Friendly competition for best lights
“Over the years it became a bit of a friendly competition. We even gave a bottle of wine away as a prize one year to the house with the best lights.”
Then, over the past 7 or 8 years the displays got bigger and brighter.
Festive inflatables and light-up candy canes
The video shows some of the impressive garden displays on Borage Close, where the public are invited to visit for a walk around and encouraged to leave a donation to local charities.
All 13 homes on the street are decorated, with a combination of fun inflatables, colourful lights and whimsical displays - including one with candy canes and a gingerbread house theme, and another with an igloo, polar bears and adorable ski-ing penguins.
My igloo is an old kennel from Facebook Marketplace
Also speaking in the video, Howard Cain describes how he created his imaginative wintry display - using a pair of ladders as a slide, and an old dog kennel as an igloo.
Howard says: “I got the polar bears in the sale last January, and I wanted an igloo. The only ones I could find were imported from America and they were a fortune. Last month I found one on Facebook Marketplace, in Preston. It was a dog kennel that had been used on a farm and we had to use a jet washer to clean it up.”
Visit Christmas Close
There’s still time to see Christmas Close for yourself - including a big street party on Christmas Eve. The organisers have collection boxes for 3 charities Toy Appeal, Homeless Hounds and Brian House Children’s Hospice, and visitors are encouraged to leave a donation.
Watch the video above.