Lights to turn on smiles

Flamingoes, giant umbrellas, talking ornaments and Santa Claus are all making an appearance in Renwick.

They are among 40,000 Christmas lights on display at Ron and Val Alcorn's home in Kowhai Dr.

For the past 16 years the Alcorns have been lighting up their driveway, garden, garage and house at Christmas time.

Mrs Alcorn said it started as a way to bring a smile to children's faces, and it grew from there. She works on the lights and ornaments throughout the year, collecting them from overseas, including relatives in the United States.

Unfortunately, 8 metres of lights she had ordered from Australia had not turned up in time to be put up this year.

Every year the display is changed slightly. "The neighbourhood kids will quickly tell me what is different."

This year a large star and 11 umbrellas had been added, as well as a few thousand more lights.

The couple, along with members of Mrs Alcorn's marching team, Funseekers Leisure Marchers, started putting together the display on November 10 and finished at the weekend.

Most of the lights were low voltage and ran off solar panels, but the power bill did go up about $100 a month while the lights were on, Mrs Alcorn said.

Donations left in a box at the gate helped pay the bill, and any extra money was donated to the marching team.

Peter Hind, of Blackmans Bay, has been installing Christmas lights at his place for as long as he can remember, with the display getting a bit bigger each year.

The 57-year-old electrician said he spent about two and a half days putting up the lights.

As well as colourful lights on strings and garden stakes, the display includes inflatable figures, glowing reindeer and the usual Christmas trees.

Mr Hind installs the lights at the start of each December.

He said he and his wife, Jill, got a kick out of seeing the smiles on the faces of passing children.

"It's good for the kids in the neighbourhood," he said.

The Hinds' place is one of a number of homes in Hampden Court that is lit up brightly this Christmas.

Mr Hind said it had become a bit of an annual street tradition, with neighbours gathering for an evening walk around to view the lights in the week leading up to Christmas.

Mr Hind said the widespread availability of solar-powered lights had made installation easier and power bills cheaper. He said 40 per cent of his lights were solar-powered.