Lighting up the street

Celebrating 20 years, this year, of decorating his house for Christmas, Steven Preston and his family do it for the love of children.

“We bought the reindeer on the roof as the first Christmas decoration for my parents 20 years ago. That was when the tradition started. They started it and I took over the house and the decorating from them,” says Steven.

Steven and his family had gone on holiday to America before they started their tradition and saw how amazingly the houses in the States were decorated.

East year, Steven adds something to his collection and at the beginning of November, he starts to put all the decorations up.

“It takes about three weeks to put everything up and only two days to take it all down again. It’s a lot of hard work but we do it for the children. My own children help me and when October comes they constantly ask me when we are going to start the decorations for Christmas.”

The decorations go up mid November every year and two weeks before Christmas, Father Christmas visits the house each night to see the children.

Steven says he and his family have a box by the front door in which they collect clothing, toys and non-perishable food which they donate to a different children’s home around the East Rand every year.

“We see a huge response each year and sometimes our neighbours decorate their houses a bit as well. Especially close to Christmas, we have a lot of people bringing their children to come see the house and we do it for the love of the children,” says Steven.

He plays Christmas carols each night and on Christmas Eve he leaves the lights on and carols playing through the night until Christmas morning.

“My children love it as well, so I think they will carry the tradition on. We will keep doing it every year for sure.”

Steven’s house is impossible to miss, at 14 Groenberg Avenue in Eastvale.

He invites people to came out and see the lights with their children and asks people to bring something small to put in the box for the children’s home.