With Christmas just around the corner, Nelson Weekly sent reporter Gordon Preece on a tour of Nelson and Richmond’s Christmas light displays. He checks out Giblin St, Richmond and Stoke’s Towai St, with 10 others switching on this week.
The flick of a switch ends weeks of untangling cables and delicate assembly.
A click-clack of a seatbelt begins a drive with periodic angelic views for young and old.
‘Tis the season for Christmas lights in Nelson and Richmond, with glimmers in other Tasman locales.
On a clear Wednesday night with an oversized Santa hat, I pulled up on Towai St in Stoke and Giblin St in Richmond for a gander at their festive visuals to duly note these pop-up attractions.
I discover one owner does hers for the sheer joy of the silly season, and the other to shine a light on his late daughter’s legacy.
Retired builder Vic Woolf’s exterior is ornate, superior to fairy lights on trees and gutters.
His lights include the usual suspects like Santa, reindeer, and stars to nativity themes, and a small portion synchronised to Christmas tunes.
While it may all be merry and bright galavanting his 8 Giblin St front yard, Vic’s motivation runs deeper.
His lights pay homage to his daughter Amanda, who passed away in December 2012 at the tender age of 25.
She had been admitted to Starship Hospital due to a hole in her heart.
“She had an open heart surgery, and she came out of recovery all good, went back in the bedroom… and then the nurse comes out and says she’s had a heart murmur,” Vic recalls.
“Then she just closed her eyes, and that was it; she didn’t suffer. After that, I didn’t want to do Christmas ever again, but then we saw on her phone that she had Christmas lights [photos]... so I wanted to keep it going.”
Vic says Starship Hospital treated his daughter “like royalty” and, in the Christmas spirit, his message to his Christmas light admirers was to give his Starship Foundation, Kidney Kids NZ, Heart Kids NZ and Child Cancer Foundation donation boxes the same treatment.
“These charities are important, so help them out,” he pleads.
Enlightened by my first stop, I jaunt to 23 Towai St in Stoke were I’m promptly given mini candy canes by nine-year-old Nevaeh Ritchie to welcome me.
The niceties don’t stop there as its cascading solar lights over the back fence and the car pergola rub shoulders with small but beautiful decorations in the narrow garden bed.
The lights extend to the trampoline, which I didn’t try myself as I’m over 12 and prefer journalism.
Designer behind it all is self-proclaimed “Christmas freak”, Tara Ritchie, who “ran with imagination” for her first public display.
“I think I drive my husband insane because I’m always making him get on the roof and fix the lights,” she laughs.
“Really love seeing the smiles on kids’ faces and just the happiness that kids get from all of it.
“A lot of inspiration actually came from the guy I call Santa [recently retired electrician Mike Nicholls] down on Point Rd in Monaco… he did our oven and stuff here...”
While I was a little early in the season for many of the light displays, there are plenty more switching on this week, including Mike and his wife Melody’s Monaco home.
These properties and 10 others welcome the public to be drawn to their light, and I am happy to report, you should. I’d love to know who you think did it best.
