The Christmas spirit is shining bright in South Delta.
An amazing display of creativity has been shown this year with wonderful imagination and creativity by residents in Ladner and Tsawwassen as well as community groups as a way to bring the community together.
Below are a number of submissions from the public as well as a detailed list of the displays that you can visit.
Santa and all his elves are busy at the North Pole loading gifts into the sleigh in Brad Keen’s display at 5445 4A Ave. There are more than 3,300 lights on display. The display will run until Jan. 4 from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. nightly.
John Kroeker’s light display is 500 lights outlining the house, plus a few stars and a mini-tree at his house at 6219 Dawn Drive in Ladner. The lights are synchronized to music which is broadcast on a low-power FM transmitter on 91.1FM. He currently has about 30 minutes of music which plays from sunset to 11 p.m. daily.
Meiric and Kathy Preece have once again gone all out with their display at 5374-46th Ave. in Ladner.
“My husband Meiric normally does our light display all by himself which takes him three days, but this Christmas is different,” said Kathy. “Meiric broke his heel last July and had to have surgery, so is not allowed to climb a ladder, so this year it’s been a family affair.
“Our son David put Santa and the reindeer on the roof and put all the upper roof lights up. I did some lower roof lights and Meiric put all the ground level lights up. I never dreamed our display would still happen this year, but with Meiric’s determination, our son’s help and our neighbors beautiful displays, it is as beautiful as ever.”
John and Gail Belonio have quite the unique display at their 5350 50th Ave. home in Ladner.
“I’m a professional Topiarist (the art of shaping trees and shrubs in geometrical and various shapes),” said John. “If you love castellated hedges, spiral trees, multi-tiered shrubs and cloud pruning then drive by and enjoy the show.”
Each year, siblings Dylan and Asia Mattu add a new element to their cartoon inspired Christmas light display at 4686 62nd St. in East Ladner.
“Growing up, we never put up outdoor lights, but I am proud to say that we continue to have one of the brightest houses in East Ladner for nearly a decade,” said Dylan. “It is so fulfilling to see the joy on peoples’ faces as the walk/drive past our home. This year, we made alterations to our It's a Small World feature to reflect the current state of the world and reinforce a sense of unity during these trying times.”
Another must-see in Ladner is Candy Cane Lane (55A Ave.) where the whole street is decked out in the Christmas spirit. This is a great spot for a nice stroll down the street to take in the spectacle.
James Zaitsoff has something a little different at their home at 856 51A St. in Tsawwassen.
“My wife insists that I not break my neck by attempting to hang lights along our gutters (reasonable), and so this year I went a different route,” he said. “My sons (age 3 and 5) helped me forage for logs and sticks to make a herd of ten reindeer, including a baby and Rudolph. Not a house covered in a ton of lights, but something different.”
Emmanuel Factor has set up his front yard with a light display again this year at his home at 1044 English Bluff Road.
“The display consists of numerous inflatables, a large sparklingly lit snow globe and so many LED lights that I can’t even count,” he said. “After taking a year off (2019) from doing my usual display, I’ve decided to get back into the spirit of things. You can see my display usually every day/night from dusk to 2 a.m. Feel free to wander into the driveway to have a different view and lookup at the tree canopy from underneath to see the laser lights shimmering like stars.”
Scott Mitchell’s house at 4859 13th Ave., which he decorates every year, is dedicated this year to all the front line workers as a way of thanking them for their service to the community.
Camaro Drive in Tsawwassen has almost 100 per cent house light participation.
“There are at least two houses that are very decorated and more additions were made to the displays this year,” said resident Kathleen Carswell. “We have a little library on our front lawn with lights and my old bicycle has lights as well. Our street also has some Christmas light balls that we all made together a few years ago and we hang them on the trees out front.”
Century Group’s Southlands project has a wonderful display for the community to enjoy.
Marketing Manager Jamie Schlackl said they had much larger plans for a Christmas community event at Southlands this holiday season, but with all the restrictions in place due to COVID-19, they had to put all those plans on hold.
“However, we still wanted to do something special for the community and for people looking for fun, festive things to do; keeping in mind that people are most comfortable right now with outdoor activities that offer plenty of space for social distancing,” he said. “With that in mind, we have done a fairly extensive outdoor Christmas light display at Southlands to make it a special place to come for an evening stroll and enjoy some holiday spirit.”
The light display includes Gunn House at the entrance at Boundary Bay Rd. and 3 Ave, Discovery Centre and Prado, Red Barn, the Grange, their show homes, and a beautiful 24" Christmas Tree, which will be a permanent fixture in the Market Square.
There is also a spectacular display across from the Gunn House at #6-6429 Market Ave. put up by a new homeowner, who was inspired by the Southlands display.
