After 38 years Brian and Tess Jones will switch off the Christmas lights for good after this year, bringing an end to an era that brought joy to generations of local children.
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Their first display was at their then-home in Atkinson Street, which was smaller for the more compact yard, with just Santa in his sleigh. But since moving to the top of Henry Bayly Drive in 1989 their display has become a must-see on the annual Christmas-lights drive for local families.
Perched on the side of a hill and visible from far away, people drive in from the street, park their cars and are immersed in a Christmas wonderland.
Having only missed three years over nearly four decades the couple feel the time is right to step back and “thank everyone whose visited over the years”.
“It’s sad in one way, but then you remember we’ve done our bit,” Brian said. With Tess adding, “we’ve made a lot of kids happy over the years, a lot of adults too”.
And their home has become a festive season destination for so long now that multiple generations stopped by.
“Mum and dad brought the kids up here and now the kids are bringing their kids,” Brian said.
“And they say that too, ‘I remember this when I was little’,” Tess said.
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The display has incorporated different themes during its lifetime, such as the ‘Aussie 12 Days of Christmas’ and had features like the wishing well that they would donate to St Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army and other charities.
And it’s grown and evolved, sometimes for a change-up sometimes from necessity. The couple even went as far as Melbourne for a Nativity Scene purchased on Ebay – ‘local pick-up only’ as it were. They also used it as an excuse to exercise their creativity as well, taking inspiration from wherever they could find it.
“We cut out and painted all of the cut-outs in the front yard and you pick up things over the years,” Tess said. “The displays in the caravan used to be in the front of the house, but it meant that we couldn’t use the front room for lunch, so we got the caravan and put the front windows in it.”
“It’s funny how things originate,” Brian added. “The snow that’s in the caravan came from when we were at Harvey Norman and they had a promotion for the fridges that had a little penguin in it with polystyrene balls flying around, and we thought ‘we can do something with that’ – it’s all about turning what you see into ideas.”
Even though 2018 will bring their era to a close, the Jones’ display can live on around the region with all the pieces for sale.
