Morpeth's Linda Pepperall admits she does have a "bit of an obsession" when it comes to Christmas lights, however, she says her December decorating serves a higher cause.
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"There's so many sad and bad things. There's not enough magic in the world," she said. "I just want people to be happy at Christmas. And if I can do that in a little way then it's worth it. It's our gift to the community."
Come Christmas, Mr Pepperall and her husband, Barry Pepperall, used to go driving to look at other people's displays.
Now the couple are too busy welcoming strangers, who sometimes arrive in actual busloads, to explore their front garden.
Ms Pepperall put up a string of icicles on her home on John Street 12 years ago and has kept adding to the display ever since.
"I draw maps. I plan it all out. It's got to balance and I like it when the more you look, the more you see. There's a lot of detail," the 53-year-old said.
She said it takes her and her husband about six weeks of effort after work to get the display up to scratch.
Ms Pepperall has built a santa sleigh and chair for visitors to take photos in.
"That's one of the benefits of working at a hardware store," she said. "You get inventive and you can make things totally different to everything else."
She said her favourite part of the hobby was seeing visitor's faces.
"You can usually hear the children say, 'Wow', as they come around the corner," she said. "So many families come by every year. It's beautiful. There's not enough community events anymore."
Ms Pepperall said she has consciously decided not to follow a trend of raising money for charity from the hundreds of visitors that stop by over the month.
"We wouldn't want anyone to feel they couldn't come out because they felt obligated to pay," she said. "I just want people to enjoy it, no strings attached."
Ms Pepperall prefers not to think about how much she has spent on lights.
"I could be addicted to worse things. And I get so much pleasure out if it.
She said she was particularly excited for her great niece Madelyn, 6, and great nephew Ryan, 10 months, to see her and husband's efforts this year.
Some other showstopping addresses include: 1 Tallowood Drive, Nulkaba; 10 William Street, Gillieston Heights; 64 Hampstead Way, Rathmines; 83 Maryland Drive, Maryland; 48 Sherriff St, Clarence Town; 94 Caves Beach Road, Caves Beach and 113 Everton Street, Hamilton. The Gee family has singing lights at 9 Daniella Way, Aberglassyn, and the display at 295 Minmi Road, Fletcher, is synchronised to music on the 91.2FM radio frequency.