As many of you know my parents have been decorating their house in Beech Road for christmas for the last 21yrs. First off for fun, then for local charities and for the last 10yrs Mount Vernon Marie Curie Cancer Unit a charity thats very close to home for us as thats where my Dad had all his treatment and in turn saved his life.  

I think it's fair to say that the hard work and effort that goes into making sure these lights are up in time each is very much unrecognised. It's a never ending project, all through the year my mum buy's new lights, fixes old lights and often sits and makes up her own. The start up and preparation for switch on starts early November and and takes near on 4 weeks to actually get up and in place. My Mum and a family friend Colin Ralph do this all by themselves with the 'occasional' help from my Dad (although he did help them a lot this year lol) They are out there all day everyday from the day they start whatever the weather! With my Mum even getting up on the roof each and every year without fail to make sure the top of the house and chimney are illuminated. I can't put individual ages on here as my Mum will kill me but let's just say the combined age of the 3 of them is 183  ;-)

I wanted to get it out there exactly how much hard work and dedication it takes to get this done each year. Each year i'm flooded with messages regarding switch on, appreciation and admiration for the lights and I know near on everyone takes a detour passed just to get a sneaky peek but I appreciate it's not always easy to park and get out to pop a little donation in the box hence me setting up this page. 

There is a charity box outside on the front left hand corner of the drive which has been their only means of collection to date which has been great as they have collected near on £35,000 for Mount Vernon alone.

So let's make this the best year ever and see just how much the lights can actually raise!      

Merry Christmas Everyone! x

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.