Fairy Lights at Christmas Time

Ah Christmas. What a wonderful reminder of yesteryear. Childhood memories from the smell of pine trees, the glitter of decorations and the sparkle of the fairy lights. The more the merrier I say, although I’m sure someone else said it before me. In any case this statement is equally true for the number of friends at a party or the amount of Christmas lights decorating your home inside and out.

Memories of childhood come flooding back the moment I first spot the twinkling of the fairly lights that tells me Christmas is here. I am instantly transported in time to those days when I was young, when life was simple, carefree and the joys of the world were seen through the eyes of a child.

There is only one piece of advice I can give for anyone wanting to know how to get the best effect for displaying fairy lights. The more the merrier has never been so appropriate. The house in the image above, shows off every single aspect of the house from the outline of the roof, to the window frames and the garden below.

As an adult I am very much aware of the true meaning of Christmas. Whether we believe or not, Christmas began from the celebration of the birth of Jesus and hope for all mankind. The gift of life is transposed to the material gifts we give to each other. While many may see this as too much commercialism if it is done tastefully it can be a wonderful time for all.

For our family, Christmas was for many years and remains till this day a time to come together. Yes, we still have our arguments and disagreements but for those moments over a lovingly prepared meal, we are at peace and we are family.

One of the biggest highlights for me as a child was driving through the city from the south to the north. The week before Christmas we would visit my grandparents. They lived on the other side of town and dad would drive ever so slowly past every house with fairy lights so we could sit in awe and wonder at the magic of it all.

The trip took a little more than half an hour on an easy run, but at Christmas time it was stretched to two hours. So many houses with lights on their Christmas trees inside the front window or fairy lights adorning the verandas and fences. Dad never rushed on the way home either but went out of his way so we could capture every moment and gaze at the spectacles in front of us. It was always a magical time.

When I had children of my own I made sure the tradition continued. Even if we had nowhere to go, at some point before Christmas Eve we would clamber in the car and drive. The wonder of it all was that someone had taken the time to light up their home or front yard with those wonderful fairy lights. I would listen to the squeals of delight from my children in the back seat and remember days gone by when I was a child.

I remarried in my forties and my husband had not experienced the traditions of Christmas that I had been blessed with. But he jumped on board from the very first year. Adorning our tree and the windows of our front room with fairy lights. Now I could picture children in back seats sighing and ohing as they drove past ever so slowly to admire the twinkling from within.

These days I so look forward to driving the streets on Christmas Eve and even though the back seats are empty of children to gape and aw at the sights, we still spend hours appreciating the time ordinary people have spent in an attempt to delight children from their neighbourhood.

This to me forms part of the spirit, magic and wonder of Christmas.