Despite loadshedding, this house is the most lit for Christmas!
The effort and dedication to detail is extreme... We wonder if they get motivation from 'Deck the Halls'?
When we think about Christmas, we immediately think Christmas tree, lights, decorations, and a sense of cheeriness.
We guess it goes hand in hand. And we have to say that a big part of Christmas comes with the decor.
It gets everyone in the spirit of things. Which is why driving down West Street was such a big deal for many families from Durban.
But with that being said, as we delve through the peak season and go through the harsh loadshedding schedules (which we only assume will get worse), we are mindful of our electricity usage.
But we think people are just done with all that. After two years of having to watch ourselves due to the pandemic, everyone is finally ready to just let loose this Festive Season.
This house reminded us of a holiday movie that showed two neighbours trying to outdo each other with their Christmas house decorations, 'Deck the Halls'.
The difference here is this was for a bigger cause than wanting to be seen from space...
An example of someone who is unconcerned about the loadshedding is Rick van der Galien, the owner of the best-lit house in Brackenfell, Western Cape.
In 2019, Rick told Business Insider: "We have the best lights, and we donate money to a variety of animal shelters. To date we had about 5000 people popping in. We bought 3000 sweets for the kiddies and Santa will even be around from 22 December until 24 December.”
His home is deemed the best-lit house in Brackenfell. But it comes with a good cause in mind.
"Deemed as the 'best-lit house', this is no small task; over 9000 cable ties, 20km of lights and over one month to put up, it's safe to say that he works harder to keep the lights on than Eskom." (MSN)
For more from East Coast Radio
"Every year for the past four years, Van der Galien has extensively decorated his house with Christmas lights, all for a good cause; to raise money and supplies for animal shelters." (MSN)
Van der Galien has said that they have been lucky that their loadshedding schedule has been kind to them. But if loadshedding does hit after 8pm, then they will close.
Although many people would assume his electricity bill to be sky-high, he has assured people that he has only used LED lights.
He allows the public to come through and view the lights with no entry fee. All the donations go to animal shelters. People can visit until the 30th of December.
Brackenfell has their very own version of Botanical Gardens Trail of Lights.
Image Courtesy of Facebook