Street lights up their lives with the …

By Jade Lawton
ALAN and Val Laurens’ annual Christmas display goes above and beyond the token string of lights.
The Beaconsfield couple decorate their Scenic Drive home with several Santas, reindeer, a snow dome, nativity scene and Christmas train – but it is the community involvement that sets their display above the norm.
They have a bubble machine, a visit from Father Christmas, a free sausage sizzle for passers-by and small gifts for children.
“I think it is a lovely thing for all ages, and Christmas is a special community time,” Mr Laurens said.
“At night it looks absolutely beautiful.” Thousands of people from far and wide come to view the display, which Mr Laurens and his son-in-law Gary Tinker start installing in November.
The decorations are pulled from their 11-month hiatus in the roof and laid out before Mr Laurens flicks the light switch on 1 December.
The garage is transformed into a nativity scene with straw and figurines imported from the US.
“The nativity scene is the true message of Christmas, the other things are secondary,” he said.
About 27 people will sit down for the Laurens family Christmas dinner, including a dozen or so friends who don’t have family of their own.
Father Christmas will be at the display from about 8.45pm to 10pm this Friday 18 December, and Alan will fire up the barbecue for a sausage sizzle.
Vandals have failed to dampen his Christmas spirit.
“We’ve lost a few things. We’ve lost five or six reindeers, five flashing lights and two years ago an eight-foot Father Christmas was slashed,” he said.
“We had another Father Christmas on a seesaw and he was literally wrenched from the ground – just wilfully damaged.
“But why should we let stupid people beat us? There is more good in the world than bad and good things win over the bad, that’s my opinion.”