Family 'love to spread joy' with Christmas lights

A Kent family are using their annual Christmas lights display to raise money for a local children's cancer charity.

Lavinia Hedges and her mum Nicola have decorated the family home in Wigmore Road, Gillingham, for the past five years, raising more than £35,000 for My Shining Star.

The 2025 display is Grinch-themed and includes a Dr Seuss-inspired grotto and sledge, and a replica of the post office in Whoville.

Ms Hedges said: "We love to spread joy in our community through decorations. It takes probably two weeks to set up for Christmas fully and we started planning back in August."

Previous themes include The Polar Express, It's a Wonderful Life, and Love Actually.

Ms Hedges said: "We needed to try and get some stuff together from second-hand retailers and shops, some things we made.

"We 3D print a lot of things, like the Cindy Lou and the Max the dog.

"It's a lot of planning and a lot of things going on behind the scenes too."

In 2024, her display was inspired by Disney.

"Surprisingly our electricity bills while running the displays are quite low as all the lights are low-powered LED bulbs, plus we have solar panels and battery storage," she said.

The family also celebrates Easter and Halloween with a light show, with people coming from as far away as Essex to see the display.

Ms Hedges said they had chosen My Shining Star to raise money for as the charity is based nearby in Rainham.

"We love that we can see what they're doing and the good work that they actually do as they haven't got any grants from the government," she added.

"They're self-funded so all the volunteers and staff work very, very hard to support families at a difficult time."

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