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Christmas-mad mum decorates house with festive lights four months early
23 September 2022, 07:35 | Updated: 26 September 2022, 14:34
Heidi Parrish turned her garden into a twinkling winter wonderland a whopping 109 days before Christmas.
A Christmas-mad mum has put her decorations up almost four months early in the hope of spreading some festive cheer.
Heidi Parrish, known as @the_flaherty_four, took to Instagram to reveal she had turned her family home into a winter wonderland a whopping 109 days before the big day.
The mother-of-four explained she created the magical winter scene to boost the spirits of her children and the wider community.
Posting a photo of her garden decorated with bright lights, candy canes, rainbow stars, twinkling trees and even glowing reindeers, Heidi confessed she "couldn’t wait to get into the Christmas spirit".
Talking about her festive decision, she told GrimsbyLive: "I wanted to decorate my home early as making my children and other people smile when they see the lights makes me think what is there not to love about getting into the Christmas spirit early on."
"Especially after the pandemic, I think it made us all realise there is truly no time like the present so why not?"
Despite the vivid show shining bright for her Insta snap, Heidi explained she wasn't leaving the lights on from now until Christmas due to the cost of living crisis.
She added: "For now, I’m planning to only turn on the lights occasionally such as when we have friends over to ensure I’m not wasting energy and to keep costs to a minimum."
The social media star, who has over 50,000 followers on Instagram, told fans she was gifted the decorations by Devon-based company Christow Home.
However she was the one who decided to choose a Christmas theme so her family could "enjoy the festivities" on the countdown to 25th December.
Heidi's fans had mixed feelings about her early winter makeover, with some hailing her an inspiration while others questioned her motives.
"Just think your electric bill will be full of Xmas spirit! You could make people happier by helping a family or old person with their fuel bill rather than spend all the money lighting your house up so early. Do it in December, but stop trying to be the centre of attention," slammed one angry fan.
Another ranted: "Noo. I’m not ready for summer to be over yet.."
"You are crazy! Garden looks lovely though xx," said a third.
An ode to decorations of Christmas past
Many of her followers absolutely loved the idea though and agreed with her decision to get the decorations up early.
"I can't wait to Christmas, the lights are so beautiful," exclaimed one fan.
"Love it. Christmas is the most magical time ever why not make that festive period last longer," added another.
One excited fan wrote: "Yessssss! Here for all things Christmas. Love them they look amazing!"
And it looks like Heidi isn't the only one to kick the festive season off early as, according to business owners, many shoppers are choosing to stock up in autumn.
Josh Piercy, ECommerce Director at Christow Home, said: “Since the pandemic we’ve seen a trend of people decorating their homes a lot earlier than before.
"We think that the hardships and isolation of the pandemic led people to want to get in the festive mood earlier to make up for the Christmases lost to the pandemic.
"Last year, we sold out of some of our products earlier due to the very early demand for products and some customers were disappointed when they went to purchase products in December.
"This year we’ve stocked up to ensure that we can cater to all customers, whether they want to purchase today or on Christmas Eve."
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