THE CHRISTMAS lights display at 83 Niagara Street became an Armidale tradition, winning competitions, but also drawing the ire of neighbours.
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Now they've been switched off for good after the owner, Warren Roberts, moved to Sydney.
Mr Roberts was inspired to decorate his family home with Christmas lights and decorations by his grandmother and her love of the festive season.
This is his story.
"It all began with the huge love of Christmas by my grandmother.
"I was raised by my grandmother since I was a boy. I became inspired by helping her decorate the large window of her home with tinsel, stars, and lights.
"She always had a Christmas tree that we would decorate. She would have the tree displayed in that same big window with cherries and fairy lights. She loved sharing the Christmas spirit to all who passed by her home on Niagara street.
"Additionally, I always remember she reminding me, 'that not all children have the same opportunity to celebrate Christmas'.
"I always understood how lucky I was to have a loving family, a roof over my head. I remembered the magical time of Christmas as a time to be with family, and reflect on the past year."
Christmas 1999, when Warren was 14 years old, was the first year of the Niagara street Christmas light display.
"One strand of fairy lights was put up with the use of my grandfather’s ladder, hammer and some thumb tacks.
"The lights were put on the eves of my grandmother's home. The display would grow every year after, which led to 14 years of Christmas light displays and whereby the town fell in love with the lights. It developed into one of the biggest christmas light displays in Armidale."
The display won a number of times in The Armidale Express Christmas Lights Competition and also won the people’s choice for the best display of Armidale.
"The Christmas Lights Display was not all smooth sailing ... it wasn’t free of vandalism," Mr Roberts said.
"Both Joseph and Mary were taken from our Nativity display on separate occasions with the stories placed in the Express, led to the return of them both, demonstrating the true spirit of Christmas.
"On one occasion I dressed up as Santa waving to folks driving by with Christmas music playing. This led to the visit by the local area command as they received a complaint about the music.
"It was requested that the Christmas music be switched off."
Again The Express came to the rescue, with a front page headline along the lines of ‘Santa’s Christmas Music Silenced’.
"Lets just say the Christmas Spirit that year still rang loud, even without the Christmas music.
"Although the Christmas lights are not on at the Niagara street home, I am now living in Sydney, I still thought it would be fitting to share some of the stories of the display over this long journey and wish my home town of Armidale a safe and Happy Christmas."
