More than 12,000 light bulbs are brightening up one Hamilton family's yard for the Christmas season - a tradition going back 30 years.
More than 100 decorations - from an inflatable penguin to strings of lights on the bushes - have been set up in the Glasspool family's front yard.
Ken Glasspool told the Richmond News it all started with a pair of baby reindeer found at the home of an elderly couple who were selling their Christmas decorations.
"It just snowballed from there," said Glasspool with a laugh.
Most of the light-up decorations were bought from garage sales during their visits to the Cariboo region of B.C. or they were given to them by kind neighbours, he added.
Among the light-up decorations, there are several hand-painted decorations such as snowmen, Mr. and Mrs. Claus and candy canes made by Glasspool's wife Cindy.
"She tends to start painting them during the summer, and each year we have something new of hers in our yard, too," said Glasspool.
It takes the Glasspool family about a month to put up the decorations.
In the past, the bins of decorations came out in mid-November, after his son’s birthday, and the total process of setting up the lights and decorations would take about three weeks to finish.
With the number of decorations they’ve collected over the years, however, they started on Nov. 1 this year, Glasspool explained.
But having a beautiful Christmas display doesn't come without troubles for the Glasspool family.
In the past, like for many residents, Christmas decorations have been stolen off their property during the holidays including a few projections.
"We've even had our son come out and see people on our driveway holding a sign or two and they'd pretend they picked them up to look at them," he said.
"But we've got really good neighbours, you know? They all have security cameras now, too, so it makes it a little bit easier, but it's really about the honesty."
Glasspool said Christmas is a memorable time for his family to be together and enjoy the holiday spirit. Despite the stolen decorations, he said he still continues to decorate his home year after year because it has become a tradition he can't let go.
"People enjoy it, and we enjoy it. We've thought about stopping sometimes, but we just naturally bring those decoration bins out in November and it just happens."
The Glasspool family didn’t realize their house was known for its Christmas display, aside from the odd neighbour asking them when their decorations were going up.
This year, the family posted a photo on Facebook showing their decorations and it was well-received within the Hamilton community.
"We didn't know how popular our home was with kids and families coming out and staring at it while the lights are on, and it makes the effort worth it."
📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
📲 To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter.
💬 Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
