A festive-mad family have got into the holiday spirit early this year after putting up a dazzling display of over 10,000 decorations – 60 DAYS before Christmas.
John and Jean Copestick, both 74, began decking their halls at the end of September and finally finished sprucing up their tree last week.
Their winter wonderland is now adorned with snowmen, tinsel, flashing lights, a giant Santa Claus and over 10,000 fairy lights 13 weeks before Christmas.
They put up the amazing decorations – which cost £7,000- with the help of their daughter and son-in-law at their semi-detached property in Stirchley, Birmingham.
John, who lives with his wife of 57 years and their two foster sons, aged 27 and 25, said: “We’ve been doing it about 30 years, maybe longer.
“A lot of it is for the children at the local schools who come every year to see it, that’s mostly why I like to do it.
“The teachers bring them, sometimes they bring the special needs children where my lads went to school – they used to bring a coach load of them.
“I know it’s a little early – but we just love Christmas.
“If you saw their faces when they walk in you’d understand, especially the little ones. They think its just magic.
“We have a nice big tree, chocolates everything. We’ve got snowmen, scenery, gingerbread houses and loads of Father Christmases.
“We used to have a big Santa and a sleigh on the roof but I can’t get up there anymore.
“The decorations we’ve got in the back garden, you can’t buy them anymore. So I have to keep on patching them up as best as I can.
“People think they are amazing but some think we’re showing off. We aren’t. If you don’t like them then ignore them.
“My wife would have them up all year round if she could- she loves it.”
Son-in-law John Fitzgerald, 55 and his wife Jane, 50, helped put up more than 200 decorations for the couple.
John said: “The tree up the other week but everything else went up about two to three weeks ago starting from the back garden to the front garden and then the whole house.
“It’s taken about four or five weeks, from the end of September, start of October.
“There’s roughly ten boards on walls in back garden, along with what’s in the centre of the garden, the Father Christmas and Christmas tree.
“There’s probably about 20 in the back garden and out on the front a big thing with Father Christmas and Mrs Claus and two reindeers and plaques on the walls.
“In the house you’ve got about 200, if not more, and all the ceilings are completely covered from the back door.
“The living room is 95 square yards and that’s got ceiling coverage with decorations on, all the lights going around.
“Everything lights up, shelves, lights around the shelves, everything.
“It looks like the old-fashioned shops with a decorated window and we put lights all the way round that so they are flashing.
“There’s tree lights, a reindeer which is asleep but is moving, an angel in the window, unicorns, choirs.
“We have got a set of houses we bought a few years back and that plays 25 tunes so we just put that on.”
Their oldest decorations are 32 years old, but the couple, who work as foster carers for Birmingham City Council, buy new tinsel and trimmings every year.
John added: “They don’t take too much notice of the electricity.
“When people knock we switch the lights on if they are coming in.
“John has even had Sunday dinner and stopped when people came round and showed them.
“He doesn’t care what he’s doing, he will stop and say, ‘come on in’ and switch them all on for them.
“Neighbours love it, they say we remind them of Christmas and then start putting theirs up.
“But we are the only one in the street who light up the whole house.”
