If you have not put up your own Christmas decorations yet, chances are you have seen festive displays all over the place.
Well, in the small Otago town of Lake Hāwea, the festive spirit is all the work of two very dedicated women.
Elizabeth Horrell and Barbara Mackenzie transform their local volunteer-run community centre into a Winter Wonderland.
Arguably, the pair are the town’s Christmas elves. With a year’s worth of planning and creating items for their colourful display, they have worked hard to construct this year’s showcase.
“It’s a labour of love,” Horrell said. “It certainly is,” Mackenzie replied.
“You’ve got to love Christmas!” she added.
Working together over the space of 10 days to unpack everything from storage — mostly at their homes like garages, attics and any space avaliable — and work out how it will be set up.
This year’s theme: Storybook Christmas.
Everything is perfected, right down to the final details.
“We’ve never argued have we?” Horrell said to Mackenzie.
“No, we haven’t. No, we’ve never argued.”
But Mackenzie told 1News: “I might put something [somewhere], Elizabeth moves it and you go, ‘Oh, [that’s] better anyway!'”
“Or you’ll walk in the next day and you’ll look at something and say, ‘I don’t like that, it’s not right’ and so we pull it all to pieces and put it all back together again!” Horrell replied.
But while the two dedicated women are behind the masterpiece, there are a lot of volunteer hands to make the show sparkle.
They stopped counting, but believe there has been more than 600 volunteer hours that have gone into this year’s display.
And then there’s big ideas over many months that the local Menz Shed put together.
Dave Prattley was roped in and built ‘Santa’s Wrapping Room’ for the display.
Its conveyor belt shows toys going in, and coming out as wrapped presents.
“In previous years we’ve done the staircase, which has been a number of things. This year it’s going to be a waterfall.”
A waterfall made out of white and blue Christmas lights, with a train that travels underneath it.
“And I’m sure they’ve probably, you know, muttering under their breaths about this silly woman wanting this thing. But it’s going to be a real showstopper!” Horrell said.
Not only is it for the public to enjoy for nine days, but the money raised goes back into their community centre, to keep the activities like lawn bowls going and lights on.
“This community centre is owned by the community. It’s one of the few,” Mackenzie said.
“So it’s run by volunteers, and we have to pay for the upkeep. And it’s quite expensive to run. So all the money we raise goes straight back to the community centre.”
But the best part for the duo — seeing people’s reactions.
“You’ve got to look at the kids’ faces when they walk through the door.”
The display will be up until Sunday, December 15.
