The community is once again being invited to step inside the home of Temuka Christmas enthusiasts Betty and George Weavers.
They have always decorated both the inside and outside of their home at Christmas time, but 15 years ago they opened it up to the community.
‘‘People asked ‘why not let people enjoy it?’ So we opened it to the public,’’ Mrs Weavers said.
Everything from their collection was personally bought from stores in New Zealand, including local places, as she liked to see exactly what she was buying, she said.
They had moved one couch from their lounge into the garage to make room for all the decorations, and had also put up a Christmas tree in their shower.
They were not sure how many Christmas items made up their collection, but thought it was in the hundreds, Mrs Weavers said.
‘‘About 30 years ago, our children tried to count how many Father Christmases we had and it got to the hundreds.’’
It took them nearly a month to set everything up this year as they had to hold off decorating outside because of the weather.
They usually added a few new items each year, but the price of decorations had increased just like everything else.
Their family did not really buy them new Christmas pieces as they could not remember what they already had.
Mrs Weavers admitted she sometimes forgot what had recently been added.
They did not have a favourite piece, but sometimes they sat in their lounge with the Christmas pieces lit up just for the fun of it.
People can visit the collection at 16 Seddon St in Temuka between 4pm and 10pm every day. The last day is Christmas Eve.
A gold coin donation is required for adults. The proceeds will go to the Cancer Society and Life Education.
