Pauline, 67, and her husband Robin bonded over a shared love of Christmas. Now they’ve built a jaw-dropping Winter Wonderland on their own doorstep!
I’d only been seeing Robin a short while when we discovered how much we both loved Christmas. Growing up, my parents had gone all out every year. Mum would take me down to London to see the lights and the inside of our house was decked to the nines.
It had been just the same with Robin’s family. When I moved into his Stratton house in 2000, he already put up a few Christmas lights every year. But gradually we bought more and more in the Christmas sales. We added a couple of light-up reindeer to the front walls, and we started collecting Lemax Christmas village models.
Our house is on a cul de sac, and a few of our neighbours had Christmas lights up too. So one year we organised a lights ceremony. and all gathered to switch on our displays in unison. It was a wonderful community event and brought us all closer together. Our families joined in too, and Robin’s son and daughter loved the decorations.
Over the years, our collection grew. We used fake snow and penguin figurines to help make a North Pole area. Three-foot-tall statues of toy soldiers and angels decorated the front lawn, along with candy canes and Christmas trees.
Word got around about our display and, soon, people came from the local village to visit us. “This is lovely,” someone commented. “Why don’t you put out a charity collection pot?” I loved the idea and immediately got in contact with Guide Dogs to request a collection tin. My father had raised money for them in the past, and I wanted to continue the tradition.
We officially opened to the public in 2004. Our lights went on in early December, and were on every day until January 3, including Christmas and New Year’s Day. Each night our house would be lit up from 4pm through till 9pm. Local people set up mince pie and mulled wine stalls to help raise money and, one year, we had the Salvation Army Band.
Meanwhile, we continued to add to our display. We went the whole way to Skegness to pick up a nativity scene, and we had a handmade wooden sleigh constructed for our set of light-up reindeer. Setting up everything each year was a lengthy business. Robin would sometimes start getting ready for Christmas in October. Luckily, we were both retired, so we had some spare time on our hands.
By 2012, we’d amassed 1,500 of the Lemax Christmas Village models. We’d collect them from different garden centres, or browse online looking for the best deal. They could cost anything from just £2.50 up to £200, so we had to keep an eye on our wallets. “I think we’ve finally got enough to open the model village,” said Robi
