Windsor man brightens street with 72,000 Christmas lights

An east Windsor man is spreading his Christmas spirit in his neighbourhood with an enormous display of colourful lights, Christmas trees, festive music and a life size Santa Clauscovering his entire property.

"I moved here to Windsor and I approached a few neighbours and I said, 'I like to put up Christmas lights,' and there was a bit of a competition I think somewhere along the line, someone said, 'we can have one bigger than you,'" Robin Heath said of his neighbours.

Heath's entire yard, house, roof and fence, located the corner of Tranby Avenue and Matthew Brady Boulevard, are covered with Christmas decorations. Trees, stars, bells, reindeer, a sleigh and signs on the roof saying Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Hope and Peace are all covered in 72,000 colourful lights. All of it is synchronized to festive holiday music.

After the first year Heath told his neighbours if they didn't like it he'd turn the lights off,

"But they said, 'no make it bigger, make it bigger,'" Heath said. "It becomes a disease, just make it bigger and bigger and bigger."

The display has drawn many people to walk by or drive by his home.

It's caught on with someone of his neighbours too. Four other homes are participating this year with their own displays.

"Christmas is always a favourite time of year for me," says Brian Denomme who lives across the street. "Once Robin moved in the neighbourhood, with all the lights and everything he has, I thought, 'can I get on board?'"

Denomme's property, though not as elaborate, is also glowing in Christmas spirit, all with some help form Heath.

"Every year I add something else to it," he said. "In the summer time I watch Robin in his garage. I call it Santa's workshop because any time you see the garage door open he's in there building more decorations or making strings of lights."

Heath uses the summer to build all his decorations, which he says gives him a sense of accomplishment to see them up at this time of year.

"Every prop out here you see I've made," says Heath. "I made the big mega-tree; I made the Father Christmas and the sleigh; I made the deer on the sleigh; all these Christmas trees. I made everything, That's what I do, I make things."

When asked what his power bill was like he said jokingly, "I got shares in the company now."

"It doesn't matter what it is, I don't take any notes," Heath said seriously.

'It's all about the kids'

The display, which took about 20 to 30 hours to put up, and spreads over about 1,220 metres of cable, is all worth it when Heath sees how happy it makes the neighbourhood children.

"The younger kids look at Father Christmas because he's waving his hand and they wave back," he said. "There's a little girl that lives over the road and she used to look out the window every night and she was sitting there waving to Santa because she thought he was waving to her."

Heath says the kids from about four to eight years old come and dance up and down the grass by the house and sway their hands to the music.

"They really enjoy it," he says. "Christmas is for kids, it's all about kids so if the kids are enjoying it you're doing the right thing. It's as easy as that."

Health also has the music playing on his own radio station, 107.1 so families can listen in the car while looking at the glowing display.

Collecting for charity

Health also has a collection section on his yard where people can drop off different items, like food or toys for the less fortunate.

"We collect food for the food banks, we collect toys for the fire hall, now we're also collecting some donations and we'll probably put some in the various charities, probably the animal charities, like the Humane Society," he said.

So far this season, he's collected 600 food items and about 60 toys. Last year he raised nearly 2,000 food items and about 600 toys.

"I love it that people like it, and that just encourages you to do more," he said. "You come out here at night before you go to bed and you come pick up all the food you got and get it all packed away the next morning, we're collecting quite a fair bit of food."