{"id":51360,"date":"2022-12-06T15:34:34","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T13:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/more-than-200-000-lights-go-display-as-fish-hoek-family-transform-their-home-into-a-christmas-beacon-20221206\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T20:21:38","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T18:21:38","slug":"more-than-200-000-lights-go-display-as-fish-hoek-family-transform-their-home-into-a-christmas-beacon-20221206","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/more-than-200-000-lights-go-display-as-fish-hoek-family-transform-their-home-into-a-christmas-beacon-20221206\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 200 000 lights go on display as Fish Hoek family transform their home into a Christmas beacon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Excited giggles of young children echo into the night as a family stops to take pictures in front of a Santa lights display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Haines family in Fish Hoek transforms their home with Christmas lights each year, opening up their front garden for the local community to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, a few surprises such as a Santa letter box have been added, to make sure all Christmas wishes do indeed reach Father Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had the first letters go in yesterday, a little boy who, shame it was past his bedtime so they drove here specifically tonight just to drop some letters in there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, these letters will be sorted and sifted out and make their way to Father Christmas and we will see what Father Christmas can do to make some Christmas wishes come true,\u201d said Matthew Haines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Haines family turned on their Christmas lights display on 1 December.PHOTO: natasha bezuidenhout<\/div>\n
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On Saturday 3 December, residents could purchase pizza to enjoy while observing the Christmas lights display.PHOTO: emily haines<\/div>\n
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On Saturday 3 December, families arrived just after 19:00 to admire the lights display and enjoy the mini-festival of pizza and other goodies on sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haines, who hails from California in the United States of America (USA), says it has always been a tradition in his family and the USA, to display Christmas lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year around 200 000 individual Christmas light globes adorn the front of his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing the display at this house since 2017, starting off much smaller, literally 10 or 15 strands of lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd then it\u2019s gotten a little bit out of control,\u201d he chuckled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery year it gets a little bit bigger. This year we got to just about 200 000 individual little globes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to the cost of keeping the lights on each night, Haines says it varies and it takes around 11 units per night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt varies on what the rates are and tariffs are and whatever Eskom wants to do but it is generally about R180 per night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast season it took about 11 units per night and I\u2019m sure because of how brilliant Eskom is, it\u2019s probably going to be a little more this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Christmas lights are imported from the USA and have mostly been purchased at flea markets, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe majority of it is second hand and the reason behind that is because we like the old vintage look, versus the new LED look and it\u2019s all from the States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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