Paul and Sabrina Donohoe have created a very, very bright winter wonderland with thousands of white Christmas lights in the front yard of their Tsawwassen home.
How many lights make up the display?
“I’ll be honest, I have no idea,” says Paul.
They began work on the setup at the beginning of November, says Sabrina.
It’s a family effort with their kids Olwen and Rhys, although it’s driven by the parents, she says with a laugh.
The display includes many inflatables, including the Bumble abominable snowman character from the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer animated show, candy canes and a miniature train that runs when weather permits.
Their display, which takes the parents a combined 40 to 50 hours to put together, gets a little bigger each year, Paul says.
Sabrina notes she was heading out earlier this week while a family had stopped to take a look at the display and conveyed thanks for putting it up.
“It gives everybody a taste of that Christmas spirit,” she says.
The display is at 367-55A St., Tsawwassen.
• Rob McLean has brought his synchronized light display to Ladner this year.
He and his family recently moved to 6269 Brodie Rd. and McLean has done up a display which includes about 80 light strands synched up to three songs: Carol of the Bells, Jingle Bells and Dominick the Donkey.
McLean, who works in the technology industry, uses hardware (controller boxes) and software to create the display.
The setup also includes a large Seasons’ Greetings sign, two four-foot stars and a pair of singing Christmas trees.
The show runs nightly from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. and is broadcast on 87.9 FM. The display is dedicated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (jdrf.ca).
• Ladner’s Patrick Jones is getting into the festive spirit with a Christmas light display sequenced to music.
“Christmas is a time of family. I really wanted to make something where people could come out with their families, bring their kids and just look at lights and have something they can enjoy,” he says.
Jones has spent many hours working on the synchronized display. He even got a little help from his daughter Kaylee soldering circuit boards.
“This year I’ve done a lot more of the behind the scenes kind of stuff.”
He notes the show runs for about 15 minutes and includes five sequences with a variety of music. The display runs from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. nightly at 4921-44A Avenue. Tune in to 103.9 FM to listen to the music or hear it from the driveway.
Here is a list of some Christmas light displays around South Delta:
Tsawwassen
• 5200 and 5300 blocks of Camaro Drive
• 367-55A Street
• 5963-16th Avenue
• 476 Milsom Wynd
• 5520-6th Avenue
• 5875 Vardon Place
• Rotary Club of Tsawwassen’s decorated trees at Diefenbaker Park
Ladner
• 4600 and 4700 blocks of 55A Street
• 4686-62nd Street
• 5152-45th Avenue
• 4858-57th Street
• 5374 and 5376-46th Avenue
• 5856-50th Avenue
• 6269 Brodie Road
• 4921-44A Avenue
