Ooo-ahh those lit-up houses!

Until this year I had never been to check out the wild, sneaky and astonishing creativity of the people who enter the Nelson light up your homes competitions. Thanks to my 6 year old god daughter for inviting me to check it out.

A house that looks like an everyday house by day comes alive at night, transforming into a wildly colourful 3-D canvas of epic innovational dimensions that brings wows and ooo-ahhs and smiles from adults and children alike.

People wander up cloaked in wonder, exchanging conversations with people they do not know on anything from lighting technology to what was there last year, to how it’s all done and where to get lights and who might win it this year.

I love the vibrant colour, diverse eclectic mixtures from large, jolly, air-pumped smiling back-lit Santas to delicately lit butterflies alighting in formation, gardens growing candy sticks, jovial reindeer and sparkling bejewelled clothes lines that add a whole new dimension to hanging out the washing.

This is such a generous act of creativity, because it brings delight to so many members of the public. When people let their creativity sneak out like this, it enriches our lives, puts smiles on faces and builds community.